Founded by Edwin Horner in 1955, the company grew from a local term life insurance company in Lynchburg, Virginia, specializing in impaired risk underwriting into a national provider of life insurance and annuity products. Beginning in 1996 GE Capital’s acquired the company and First Colony Life experienced accelerated growth and expansion. Employment nearly doubled from 800 employees in 1996 to more than 1,500 employees in 1999, including more than 750 employees at a new separate Customer Service Center facility in Lynchburg. BGA distribution continued as First Colony Life’s primary life insurance and annuity sales channel with a sales force of more than 135,000 independent life insurance agents and brokers. On January 1, 2007, First Colony Life Insurance Company merged into Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company, a Genworth Financial company.
key dates
1955: First Colony Life Insurance Company founded by Edwin Horner in Lynchburg, VA.
1963: Broadway-Hale, a California department store chain, purchases controlling interests in FCL.
1965: Los Angeles Investment Company buys out Broadway-Hale’s majority stock block. George Stewart becomes President and leads the company to national prominence in the life insurance and annuity markets.
1968: FCL renovates the former Guggenheimer department store building on Main Street in Lynchburg as its home office.
1971: FCL purchases its parent company, Los Angeles Investment Company.
1972: FCL purchases American Mayflower Insurance Company of New York to expand into the separate New York market.
1992: Ethyl offers initial public offering of 8.6 million shares of First Colony Corporation, holding company for First Colony Life Insurance Company. Ron Dolan becomes President of FCL: Mr. Stewart becomes Chairman of the Board.
1993: Ethyl spins off remaining 80 percent interest in FCL. First Colony Corporation becomes a 100 percent publicly held company with subsidiaries First Colony Life Insurance Company and American Mayflower Life Insurance Company of New York.
2003: GE spins off GE Financial Assurance and most of its insurance-related businesses into Genworth Financial, Inc.
2005: FCL offers term life insurance with a return of premium that includes enhanced cash value accumulation options and a loan feature, the first life insurance company to do so.
2007: FCL merges into Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company, a Genworth Financial company.
