Insurance Company of North America
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Insurance |
| Founded | November 19, 1792 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Founder | Samuel Blodget, Ebenezer Hazard, John Maxwell Nesbitt (president at founding) |
| Fate | Merged with Connecticut General Life to form CIGNA in 1982; acquired by ACE Limited (now Chubb Limited) in 1999 |
| Successor | CIGNA Corporation (1982) |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia , United States |
Area served | United States, Canada, China, Mexico, United Kingdom, Philippines, Taiwan |
Key people | John Maxwell Nesbitt (first president), John A. Diemand (president in 1940s) |
| Products | Fire insurance, life insurance, marine insurance, automobile insurance, casualty insurance, homeowners policy, workers' compensation |
| Owner | Chubb Limited (parent company) |
| Parent | Chubb Limited |
Insurance Company of North America (INA) holds the distinction of being the oldest capital stock insurance firm in the United States, established in Philadelphia in 1792. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, it was a prominent insurer in America before merging with Connecticut General Life to create CIGNA in 1982. Later, in 1999, it was acquired by the global insurer ACE Limited (currently Chubb Limited).
1792–1794
In 1792, Samuel Blodget, a merchant from Boston, moved to Philadelphia partly to seek a commission from President George Washington and partly to collaborate with former U.S. Postmaster General Ebenezer Hazard on a business project. After their initial venture, the Boston Tontine annuity fund, failed to succeed, they initiated the Universal Tontine Association in Philadelphia with the goal of establishing a long-term investment fund for surviving members. However, this effort also failed to gain enough support.
By November 1792, investors convened at Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) and resolved to establish a general insurance company named Insurance Company of North America. On November 19, articles of association were adopted authorizing the company to underwrite fire, life, and marine insurance policies; however, its primary focus initially was marine insurance.
The firm commenced with $600,000 in capital by issuing shares at $10 each. Within eleven days, subscriptions reached 40,000 shares. On December 10, directors were chosen, with merchant and underwriter John Maxwell Nesbitt appointed president and Hazard as secretary. INA began its operations on December 15 from South Front Street in Philadelphia, issuing its inaugural policy for the vessel America.
On December 18, 1792, INA petitioned the Pennsylvania legislature for incorporation. Despite resistance from private underwriters, the charter was granted over a year later and signed by Governor Thomas Mifflin on April 14, 1794.
1794–1850
Shortly after obtaining incorporation status, INA expanded into fire insurance, setting itself apart from other Philadelphia insurers by covering not only buildings but also their contents. The company's first fire insurance policy protected William Beynroth’s dry goods located at 211 High Street in Philadelphia. Early fire marks included a six-pointed star and later featured an eagle rising from a rock—an emblem that represented INA until the 1950s.
By 1807, INA’s fire insurance services extended from New Hampshire down to Georgia. Due to unprofitable marine insurance caused by European conflicts, INA sought new markets on the American frontier such as Lexington, Kentucky. Under director Alexander Henry’s leadership, INA established agencies in Lexington, Frankfort, Louisville, Washington (PA), and Cincinnati by 1808—an initiative regarded as the origin of the "American agency system." A historical marker at Transylvania University commemorates this achievement.
1850–1942
In 1850, INA purchased property at 232 Walnut Street in Philadelphia which served as its headquarters until 1925 and remained a local office until 1942. Despite challenges posed by the Civil War, INA's agent network expanded dramatically from 40 agents to over 1,300 by 1876. The company appointed its first international agents in Canada (1873) and Shanghai (1897), becoming the pioneer U.S. insurer operating in China.
INA earned distinction by fully honoring claims after major disasters such as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. By the late 19th century, it broadened its portfolio to include inland marine insurance and introduced automobile insurance in 1905. Recognizing increasing demand for casualty coverage, INA launched its first subsidiary in 1920—the Indemnity Insurance Company of North America—to provide casualty insurance products.
Following World War I, INA contributed to founding the American Foreign Insurance Association aimed at expanding U.S. insurers’ international presence but withdrew in 1921 while continuing its own overseas growth. By World War II, INA operated service offices across Canada, China, Mexico, and the United Kingdom supported by a worldwide agent network.
As operations outgrew its Walnut Street location, INA opened a new sixteen-story headquarters at 1600 Arch Street in Philadelphia in 1925. This building was later designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978.
1942–1967
By the early 1940s, INA had become one of the largest insurance firms in the United States, boasting total assets near $117 million and holding the highest policyholders' surplus in fire insurance, exceeding $75 million. In 1942, to commemorate its 150th year, INA published Biography of a Business, a work authored by Marquis James, a historian honored with a Pulitzer Prize.
John A. Diemand, then president of INA, chaired a committee under the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) that introduced the concept of “multiple-line” underwriting. This innovation permitted non-life insurers to bundle various types of coverage into a single policy and received NAIC approval in 1944.
INA introduced the homeowners policy in 1950—an innovative multiple-line product that combined fire, theft, and liability coverage. This became INA’s signature product and set an industry benchmark, generating premiums of $777,000 in 1951 and escalating dramatically to $750 million by 1960.
Throughout the 1950s, INA increased brand recognition through marketing efforts such as sponsoring CBS Radio’s Christmas Sing with Bing for eight years and collaborating with Walt Disney. This partnership featured an information booth and family safety seminars at Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A., continuing into the early 1970s.
Confronted by competition from direct insurers like Allstate and State Farm, INA expanded its offerings by founding Life Insurance Company of North America in 1956 and entering the workers' compensation market through acquiring Pacific Employers Group (PEG) in 1965—a prominent West Coast casualty insurer established in 1923.
These strategic expansions strengthened INA’s market position and diversified its product range, solidifying its competitive standing amid a changing insurance landscape.
1967–present
During the transformative financial environment of the 1960s, INA’s leadership sought to broaden its operations beyond traditional insurance lines into related and unrelated sectors. Regulatory limitations prompted the formation of INA Corporation as a holding entity in 1967, with INA becoming its subsidiary in 1968—thus concluding more than 175 years as a publicly traded company.
On March 31, 1982, INA Corporation merged with Connecticut General Corporation (CGC) to create CIGNA Corporation. Within this new structure, INA served as CIGNA’s main property and casualty insurer, merging with CGC’s smaller P&C unit, Aetna Insurance Company. In 1999, ACE Limited acquired CIGNA’s international and U.S. property and casualty operations, including INA. ACE subsequently adopted the Chubb name following its acquisition of Chubb Corp. in 2016. Since then, INA has functioned as an active subsidiary within this global insurance group, maintaining licenses across all fifty U.S. states as well as markets such as the Philippines and Taiwan.
In 2020, New York Life Insurance Company purchased LINA and Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York from Cigna.
External links
- INA History – Official legacy page from ACE.
- Cigna Company History – Corporate timeline including former subsidiary INA.
- CIGNA Corporation – Company History – Information on INA and CIGNA P&C before ACE acquisition.
- ACE Insurance (Philippines) – Official website for INA's branch.