The Transamerica Corporation is an American holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms operating primarily in the United States, offering life and supplemental health insurance, investments, and retirement services. The company’s main offices are in Baltimore, Denver, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with affiliated offices located throughout the United States. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Aegon, a European financial services company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.
Transamerica funds the Transamerica Institute, a nonprofit foundation which comprises the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and the Transamerica Center for Health Studies.
History
In October 1904, A.P. Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco, which later became known as Bank of America. In 1928, Giannini put the banks into a holding company he named the Transamerica Corporation. In 1930, the company acquired Occidental Life Insurance Company, founded in 1906, and renamed it Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company. Gradually, the company became a more diversified conglomerate which included the film studio United Artists, Transamerica Airlines, and Budget Rent a Car.
In 1972, the company completed construction of the Transamerica Pyramid skyscraper in San Francisco which served as its headquarters for many years. Although the company currently retains only a small presence in the building, the building is still depicted in the company's logo and marketing materials.
In the 1980s, Transamerica began to divest and focused exclusively on financial services. It was eventually pared down to three main product divisions: insurance, investments, and retirement. In July 1999, Transamerica CEO Frank C. Herringer announced that Aegon, the Netherlands-based insurer, would acquire the company. Transamerica Occidental merged into Transamerica Life Insurance Company October 1, 2008.
Products and services
Transamerica primarily offers insurance and financial services. Types of life and health insurance policies offered include term life, whole life, universal life, variable universal life, accidental death, Medicare supplement, and long term care. Transamerica companies also offer a variety of mutual funds and annuities.
Transamerica’s retirement division offers defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution retirement plans, including 401(k) and 403(b), 457, profit sharing, money purchase, cash balance, Taft-Hartley, multiple employer plans, nonqualified deferred compensation, and rollover individual retirement accounts. Other services include plan-level record keeping and administrative services, participant communications and education services, fiduciary risk mitigation services, open investment architecture, and compliance guidance and regulatory support.
Sponsorships
Transamerica sponsors four professional golfers, two of whom are members of the PGA Tour, as well as one member each of the Champions Tour and LPGA Tour. These golfers are Zach Johnson, Tom Watson, Azahara Muñoz, and Kyle Stanley. Transamerica is also the jersey sponsor for the Colorado Rapids soccer team, as well as the field sponsor for the Charlotte 49ers. The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, awarded to the best senior or fourth-year junior quarterback in college football in the United States, is sponsored by Transamerica. Winners include AJ McCarron, Collin Klein, and Andrew Luck.
Transamerica sponsors numerous marathons and triathlons, including the Ironman, Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, and the Chicago Triathlon.
Foundations
Transamerica funds two foundations: the Aegon Transamerica Foundation and the Transamerica Institute. It created the Aegon Transamerica Foundation in 1994 to provide financial grants to community non-profit organizations. Transamerica employees also volunteer services to these organizations. The foundation received the Corporate Citizenship Award in 2013 for creating the first urban farm in Iowa.
The Transamerica Institute consists of two divisions the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and the Transamerica Center for Health Studies. The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies researches and provides education on trends, issues, and opportunities related to saving and planning for retirement. The Transamerica Center for Health Studies focuses on identifying, researching, and analyzing health care issues facing consumers and employers. The Transamerica Institute is funded by contributions from Transamerica Life Insurance Company.
See also
- Transamerica Pyramid
References
External links
- Company website
- Transamerica Institute
- Transamerica Center for Retirement Services
- Transamerica Center for Health Studies
- Aegon website