Since our founding in 1860 - more than 150 years ago - Guardian has been dedicated to protecting individuals, their families, and businesses.

It all began at Delmonico’s restaurant in New York City, where a group of 21 prominent German-American businessmen, led by civil rights lawyer Hugo Wesendonck, gathered to create the Germania Life Insurance Company of America. Our founders raised $200,000 in equity capital, which was twice the amount required by New York State law, showcasing that from the beginning, we’ve been committed to being financially strong for the long-term benefit of our policyholders.

Renamed “The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America” in 1918, we converted in 1925 from a mixed stock and mutual company into one that is wholly owned by our policyholders. We continued to expand our product portfolio over the years, expanding into the employee benefits market in 1957 and increasing our presence in the individual disability income insurance market with the merger of Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America in 2001.

Today, we are one of the largest mutual insurance companies in the United States with $8.0 billion in capital and $1.6 billion in operating income*. We have approximately 9,000 employees in the United States and a network of more than 2,750 financial representatives in 55 agencies nationwide.

Below are some key milestones in Guardian’s history.