Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company 4.15

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, OH. The company also operates regional headquarters in Des Moines, IA; San Antonio, TX; Gainesville, FL; Raleigh, NC; and Westerville, OH. Nationwide currently has approximately 31,000 employees, and is ranked #69 in the most recent Fortune 500. Nationwide is currently ranked #71 in Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For".Nationwide Financial Services (NFS), a component of the group, was partially floated on the New York Stock Exchange prior to being repurchased by Nationwide Mutual in 2009. It had owned the majority of NFS common stock since it had gone public in 1997.HistoryBeginnings as Farm Bureau MutualIn the 1920s, farmers were paying the same rates on their automobile insurance as city drivers even though they had fewer accidents and claims than city drivers. The Ohio Farm Bureau decided to set up their own insurance company to offer rates that accurately reflected the driving habits of farmers. On April 10, 1926 the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company obtained license to do business in Ohio and two days later it acquired its financing, a $10,000 loan drawn from the membership dues of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. At that time, Ohio law required 100 people to pledge to become policyholders. The first agents managed to recruit ten times that number, and on April 12, 1926, Farm Bureau Mutual started business with over 1,000 policyholders.