| Corporate headquarters | One Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, Ohio 43215-2220, USA |
|---|---|
| Year established | 1926 |
| Total sales and premiums | $73.2 billion (2025) |
| Total assets | $359.8 billion (2025) |
| Number of employees | 22,000 |
| Number of affiliate companies | 319 |
| Financial strength rating | A (A.M. Best), A2 (Moody’s), A+ (Standard & Poor’s) |
| Underwriting expertise | Property & casualty, personal lines, commercial lines, agribusiness, excess & surplus/specialty, life, and pet insurance |
| Key people | Kirt Walker (CEO), Mark Berven (president and chief operating officer, Nationwide Property & Casualty), Craig Hawley (president and chief operating officer, Nationwide Financial), Vinita Clements (chief human resources officer), Michael Carrel (EVP and chief technology officer), Tim Frommeyer (EVP and chief financial officer), Mark Howard (EVP, chief legal officer), Ann Bair (EVP, chief marketing officer), Michael Mahaffey (EVP, chief customer, strategy and innovation officer) |
Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified financial services and insurance organizations in the US. Nationwide is rated A+ by Standard & Poor’s. It provides a full range of insurance and financial services products, including auto, business, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities and mutual funds; excess & surplus, specialty and surety; and pet, motorcycle and boat insurance.
Nationwide was established nearly 100 years ago when the Ohio Farm Bureau decided to set up its own insurance company to offer farmers in the state auto insurance rates that reflected their driving habits. At that time, farmers paid the same rates as city drivers even though they figured in fewer accidents and had fewer claims. In 1926, then called Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance, the company obtained a license to operate in Ohio, starting a business with more than 1,000 policyholders. The insurer wrote policies only for Ohio farmers who were members of the Ohio Farm Bureau.
In 1928, the company expanded to several states, including West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Vermont, and North Carolina. In 1934, Farm Bureau Mutual began offering fire insurance, through a new company, Farm Bureau Mutual Fire Insurance Company. The company also acquired Life Insurance Company of America in 1935, marking its entry into the life insurance market. By 1943, Farm Bureau Mutual operated in 12 states and the District of Columbia.
The company changed its name to Nationwide Insurance in 1955 and by 1965, has expanded its presence to 32 states. In 1978, Nationwide completed the construction of its One Nationwide Plaza headquarters in Columbus, Ohio – the largest single office building in the city at the time. The years that followed were marked by strategic acquisitions and business expansion. In 1997, its financial services arm, Nationwide Financial (NFS), began openly trading as a public company.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nationwide went to great lengths to help struggling customers by suspending policy cancellations, waiving late fees, and deferring payment deadlines. In 2021, even as the impacts of the pandemic began to subside, the company announced plans to keep many of its employees working from home permanently, shrinking from 20 physical offices pre-pandemic to just four.
Kirt Walker is chief executive officer of Nationwide. He was elected CEO in 2019 and also serves on Nationwide’s board of directors and as chair of the Nationwide Foundation.
Walker joined Nationwide in 1986 and has held a range of senior roles across the enterprise, including president and chief operating officer of Nationwide Financial, president and COO of Nationwide Insurance and president of Allied Insurance, Nationwide’s former independent agency subsidiary. Under his leadership, Nationwide has grown into the seventh-largest insurance industry company in the US and ranks number 72 on the Fortune 500.
Walker holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Iowa State University and a master’s degree in management, with an emphasis in leadership, from The American College of Financial Services. A native of Irvington, Iowa, he is active in civic and industry organizations, serving on boards and councils including The Institutes, Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the Columbus Partnership and Catalyst, and has received numerous honors for his community and industry leadership.
Nationwide describes its workplace culture as focused on performance, inclusion, and fairness. The company says this culture supports employees in their day-to-day work and helps it meet its commitment to providing strong service and support to customers.
