Protective Life

Protective Life is the principal brand associated with Protective Life Corporation, a Birmingham-based financial-services holding company whose primary operating subsidiary is Protective Life Insurance Company. The insurance company was established in 1907 and paid its first death claim in 1909. Over more than a century, Protective developed from a regional Alabama life insurer into a national provider of life insurance, annuities, stable-value products, and consumer asset-protection coverage. Its products are marketed throughout the United States through independent agents, brokers, broker-dealers, financial institutions, and other distribution partners. The company’s core business is long-duration protection and savings-oriented insurance. Its life-insurance portfolio includes universal life, variable universal life, and other products used for death-benefit protection, estate and business planning, retirement planning, and wealth transfer. Its annuity business includes fixed and variable products distributed through financial professionals and institutions. Protective also operates in stable-value products, including funding agreements used by institutional investors, trustees, bank trust departments, and money-market vehicles. Through its asset-protection activities, the group markets extended service contracts and credit life and disability coverage connected with automobiles, watercraft, recreational vehicles, and other financed consumer assets. Protective’s expansion has been driven partly by acquisitions and reinsurance transactions. Important steps included the 1927 combination with Alabama National Insurance Company, the acquisition of West Coast Life in 1997, the purchase of Chase Insurance Group in 2006, the acquisition of United Investors Life Insurance Company in 2010, the 2013 acquisition of MONY Life Insurance Company and assumption of certain MONY Life Insurance Company of America policies, and the 2019 transaction involving substantially all of the individual life and annuity business of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company. These transactions broadened the company’s product base, policy administration capabilities, geographic reach, and in-force insurance portfolio. Protective became a public company in 1993, when Protective Life Corporation was listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PL. Its status changed after The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, a Japanese insurer, completed the acquisition of Protective Life Corporation on February 15, 2015. Protective subsequently operated as part of the Dai-ichi Life Group while retaining its U.S. operating identity and Birmingham base. Richard J. Bielen became president and chief executive officer on July 1, 2017. The company’s corporate activities include insurance operations, acquired-business administration, investments, enterprise risk management, and distribution through professional intermediaries. The brand’s market positioning emphasizes financial protection, retirement income, insurance permanence, and long-term policyholder service rather than mass-market consumer finance. Protective also maintains a community presence through the Protective Life Foundation, which supports education, healthy development, at-risk youth, cultural institutions, civic initiatives, human-services organizations, and the United Way. In 2019, the company became the naming sponsor of Protective Stadium in Birmingham, which opened in 2021 as the home venue of UAB Blazers football. Protective remains an active U.S. insurance business within the international Dai-ichi Life organization.

Protective Life Insurance Company was established in 1907 in Alabama and paid its first death claim two years later. Its early development was closely connected with the regional insurance market, but the business gradually expanded through consolidation and leadership changes. In 1927, Protective merged with Alabama National Insurance Company. Samuel Clabaugh, Alabama National’s president, became president of the combined organization, which continued operating under the Protective name. In 1937, leadership passed to Colonel William J. Rushton. A further generational transition occurred in 1969, when William “Billy” J. Rushton III became president. During his tenure, Protective pursued an acquisition-led strategy intended to extend the company beyond its Alabama base and establish broader national capabilities. Drayton Nabers Jr. became chief executive in 1992. The following year, Protective Life Corporation became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PL. The company’s expansion continued with the 1997 acquisition of West Coast Life. Protective also acquired Chase Insurance Group in 2006, an important step around the company’s centennial period, and marked its hundredth anniversary in 2007. In 2010, it acquired United Investors Life Insurance Company from Torchmark. These transactions added policy blocks, distribution capabilities, and insurance expertise while supporting Protective’s growth across the United States. John D. Johns became president and CEO in 2002 after Nabers retired. Under Johns, Protective completed a major 2013 transaction involving MONY Life Insurance Company. Protective acquired MONY Life and reinsured selected policies issued by MONY Life Insurance Company of America. The transaction strengthened Protective’s scale in life insurance and increased the amount of in-force business administered by the group. The most significant ownership change came in 2015, when The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company of Japan acquired Protective Life Corporation. The transaction ended Protective’s period as a New York Stock Exchange-listed company and made it part of the Dai-ichi Life organization. Protective retained its U.S. identity, headquarters, operating platforms, and relationships with American agents and financial institutions while gaining the support of an international insurance group. Richard J. Bielen became president and CEO on July 1, 2017. Protective subsequently continued to emphasize organic insurance operations, administration of acquired businesses, and large transactions involving life and annuity portfolios. In 2019, the company completed its largest transaction to that point through a reinsurance arrangement covering substantially all of the individual life and annuity business of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company. The transaction materially expanded Protective’s acquired-business platform and reinforced its specialization in managing legacy and in-force insurance portfolios. Protective’s activities extend beyond individual life insurance. Its operations include annuities, stable-value products, institutional funding agreements, and asset-protection coverage. Life and annuity products are sold through brokers, independent marketing organizations, broker-dealers, financial institutions, and other professional channels. Stable-value products serve institutional customers, while asset-protection products cover selected consumer obligations and financed assets. The company has maintained a civic and philanthropic presence in Birmingham and elsewhere through the Protective Life Foundation. The foundation supports education and healthy development for at-risk youth, as well as cultural, civic, community, human-services, and United Way initiatives. Protective also entered into a significant naming-rights sponsorship in 2019 for a new Birmingham football stadium. Protective Stadium opened in October 2021 and became the home venue of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers football team. Protective Life remains an active U.S. insurer and a wholly owned business within the Dai-ichi Life group.

1. 2021Protective Stadium opens

   The Birmingham stadium carrying the Protective name opens and becomes the home of UAB Blazers football.

   Source
2. 2019Great-West life and annuity reinsurance transaction

   Protective assumes substantially all of Great-West’s individual life and annuity business through reinsurance.

   Source
3. 2017Richard J. Bielen becomes CEO

   Bielen becomes Protective’s seventh president and chief executive officer.

   Source
4. 2015Acquisition by Dai-ichi Life

   Dai-ichi Life completes its acquisition of Protective Life Corporation, taking it private.

   Source
5. 2013MONY Life transaction

   Protective acquires MONY Life Insurance Company and reinsures selected MONY Life Insurance Company of America policies.

   Source
6. 2007Centennial anniversary

   Protective marks one hundred years of operation.

   Source
7. 1997West Coast Life acquisition

   Protective acquires West Coast Life as part of its national expansion.

   Source
8. 1993Protective Life Corporation lists on the NYSE

   The holding company becomes publicly traded under ticker PL.

   Source
9. 1927Merger with Alabama National Insurance Company

   The merger brings Samuel Clabaugh into the presidency of the combined business.

   Source
10. 1909First death claim paid

    Protective pays its first recorded death claim.

    Source
11. 1907Protective Life Insurance Company is established

    The company begins operations as an Alabama life insurer.

    Source

A long-term U.S. insurance and retirement-solutions provider focused on life protection, annuity accumulation and income, institutional stable value, acquired insurance portfolios, and complementary asset-protection products.

• Life insuranceLife insurance

  Protective markets life-insurance products designed to provide death-benefit protection and support estate, business, retirement, and wealth-transfer planning. Distribution uses independent agents, brokers, stockbrokers, and independent marketing organizations. The portfolio includes universal-life and variable-universal-life structures as well as insurance associated with institutional and business-owned planning.

• Universal lifePermanent life insurance

  Universal-life products combine a death benefit with policy-account features and flexible premium or benefit structures, depending on the contract. They are used by individuals and businesses seeking long-term protection, supplemental cash-value accumulation, or planning flexibility. Specific product availability and features vary by state and distribution channel.

• Variable universal lifePermanent life insurance

  Variable universal life combines permanent insurance protection with investment-oriented policy-account options. The policyholder bears investment risk within the contract’s available choices, making the product suitable for certain wealth-planning and insurance needs but more complex than traditional fixed insurance. Protective distributes such products through professional financial channels.

• AnnuitiesRetirement and savings products

  Protective’s annuity business includes fixed and variable annuities sold through broker-dealers, financial institutions, brokers, and other financial professionals. These products can be used for tax-deferred accumulation, retirement-income planning, and principal or market-exposure objectives depending on contract design. The company also administers annuity blocks acquired from other insurers.

• Stable-value productsInstitutional insurance products

  Protective provides fixed- and floating-rate funding agreements and related stable-value solutions for institutional customers. Buyers and users may include municipal-bond-proceeds trustees, institutional investors, bank trust departments, and money-market funds. These products are intended to support predictable value and yield characteristics within institutional investment and cash-management arrangements.

• Asset-protection productsConsumer protection

  The asset-protection business markets extended service contracts and credit life and disability insurance. Coverage can protect consumers’ investments in automobiles, watercraft, recreational vehicles, and other financed or service-covered assets. This business complements Protective’s life and annuity operations by addressing specific consumer obligations and ownership risks.

• 2019Protective Stadium naming sponsorship

  Birmingham, Alabama · United States

  Protective was announced as the naming sponsor for a new 47,000-seat football stadium at the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex. The sponsorship linked the company’s name with a major civic and collegiate-sports venue in its headquarters city.

  Outcome. The venue opened as Protective Stadium on October 2, 2021, replacing Legion Field as the home stadium of UAB Blazers football.

  Source
• Protective Life Foundation community philanthropy

  United States

  The Protective Life Foundation supports education and healthy development for at-risk youth and contributes to cultural, civic, community, human-services, and United Way initiatives.

  Outcome. The foundation serves as the company’s continuing charitable platform; specific campaign-level outcomes are not stated in the supplied sources.

  Source

• 2019Great-West individual life and annuity reinsurance transactionM&A

  Protective’s strategy included expanding through acquired insurance blocks and applying its administration and risk-management capabilities to long-duration business.

  What changed. Protective completed a reinsurance transaction covering substantially all of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company’s individual life and annuity business.

  Aftermath. The transaction became Protective’s largest transaction at that time and materially increased its acquired-business operations.

  Source
• 2015Acquisition by Dai-ichi LifeM&A

  Protective was an established U.S. life insurer and publicly traded holding company with businesses spanning life insurance, annuities, and acquired policy portfolios.

  What changed. The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company acquired Protective Life Corporation on February 15, 2015.

  Aftermath. Protective became a wholly owned subsidiary within the Dai-ichi Life organization and ceased to operate as an independent public company.

  Source
• 1993Public listing to support national expansionStrategy

  Protective had been expanding beyond its regional Alabama origins through acquisitions and sought a broader corporate platform.

  What changed. Protective Life Corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker PL.

  Aftermath. The listing provided a public-company structure during the company’s subsequent acquisition and national-growth period.

  Source

• 2019Protective announces naming sponsorship of Birmingham football stadium

  Protective became the naming sponsor of a new stadium at the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex, later opened as Protective Stadium.

  CampaignOther
  Source
• 2019Protective completes Great-West individual life and annuity transaction

  Protective completed a reinsurance transaction involving substantially all of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company’s individual life and annuity business.

  M&A
  Source
• 2017Rich Bielen becomes president and chief executive officer

  Richard J. Bielen succeeded John D. Johns as Protective’s president and CEO.

  Leadership change
  Source
• 2015Dai-ichi Life completes acquisition of Protective Life

  The Japanese insurer acquired Protective Life Corporation, taking the U.S. company private and adding it to the Dai-ichi Life organization.

  M&A
  Source
• 2013Protective completes MONY Life transaction

  Protective acquired MONY Life Insurance Company and reinsured selected policies of MONY Life Insurance Company of America.

  M&A
  Source
• 2010Protective Life acquires United Investors Life Insurance Company

  Protective acquired the Alabama-based insurer from Torchmark as part of its expansion of life-insurance operations.

  M&A
  Source
• 2006Protective Life acquires Chase Insurance Group

  The transaction broadened Protective’s insurance operations and preceded the company’s centennial year.

  M&A
  Source
• 1997Protective Life acquires West Coast Life

  Protective expanded its life-insurance platform and national distribution through the acquisition of West Coast Life.

  M&A
  Source

1. Protective Life
2. Protective Life official website
3. Protective Life leadership