Victoria Insurance

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

Type	Mutual
Industry	Financial services
Founded	1926; 92 years ago (1926) (as Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company)
Headquarters	One Nationwide Plaza Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Key people	Steve Rasmussen, CEO
Products	Insurance, Investments, Banking
Revenue	US$ 43 billion (2016)
Net income	US$ 910 million (2016)
Total assets	US$ 209.8 billion (2016)
Number of employees	33,597
Website	nationwide.com

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 34,000 employees, and is ranked #68 in the most recent Fortune 500. Nationwide is currently ranked #54 in Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For".

Nationwide Financial Services (NFS), a component of the group, was partially floated on the 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.

In 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.

The first product of the new company, as its name implied, was automobile insurance. The company wrote policies only to Ohio farmers who were members of the Ohio Farm Bureau.

In 1928, Farm Bureau Mutual expanded to West Virginia, followed by Maryland, Delaware, Vermont, and North Carolina. Farm Bureau Mutual began underwriting residents of small towns in 1931 and residents in larger cities in 1934. Also, in 1934, Farm Bureau Mutual began offering fire insurance. This product grew the following year with the purchase of a struggling fire insurance company.