History
History Told…In 1921 with one part-time secretary and 187 policies, Pekin Insurance made its modest entrance into the arena of the insurance industry. By 1939, the Company had 20,000 policies in effect, followed with 30,000 by 1945. Fire insurance was added to auto insurance as a new coverage line in 1952 and the Home Office had grown from a small, donated office space to a four-story building.
Pekin Insurance Company was formed as a companion to the original Farmers Auto in 1961. General liability and workers compensation coverages were also added at that time. During the next four years, the Company continued to grow with the formation of “PAC,“ a premium finance company, and Pekin Life Insurance Company. As a result of this growth, the name “Pekin Insurance” was adopted to cover the entire range of Company activity.
While the Company coverages expanded over the years, the office space for this growth also expanded. Today, the Home Office is located on a 30-acre site, containing 124,000 square feet of floor space. The Company that began serving one county in Illinois now serves five states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and boasts nearly 900,000 policyholders. The modest beginning as a small automobile insurance company to the present day group of Companies offering a broad portfolio of products designed to meet most insurance needs is a testimony to the strength, stability, and forward-looking philosophy represented by the name, Pekin Insurance.
As we look toward the future and the inevitable changes it will bring, one thing remains the same for Pekin Insurance - the principle of protection and service to our policyholders.