Insurance
Michael G. Ritzel, Field Agent
Street
address
Electronic mail address
Phone Numbers
Office: (785) 566-9775
Fax: (785) 566-9775
Home: (785) 566-3773
John Mahon, General Agent
Street address
Electronic mail address
Office phone
Voice: (785)
364-5450
Fax: (785) 364-5648
Information
The Knights of Columbus is a fraternal benefit society founded in 1882 by a
Catholic priest in
The corporate charter of the Knights of Columbus, granted by the Connecticut General Assembly on March 29, 1882, provides that: "The purposes for which said corporation is formed are the following: (a) of rendering pecuniary aid to its members, their families and beneficiaries of members and their families; (b) of rendering mutual aid and assistance to its sick, disabled and needy members and their families; (c) of promoting social and intellectual intercourse among its members and their families; and (d) of promoting and conducting educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and welfare, and public relief work."
The Knights of Columbus meets the goals of this charter by sponsoring council activities, by providing assistance to the Catholic Church, by doing charitable work in the communities where we exist, and by offering high-quality, individual life insurance to its members and families.
Father Michael J. McGivney - our founder - recognized and believed that the people of his day needed the protection that a life insurance program would bring. He wanted to guarantee that the Catholic widow and children of his time would be able to sustain the loss of their breadwinner, and continue with a life not afflicted with poverty and despair.
Today, 115 years later, the Knights of Columbus goal remains the same: protection of the Catholic families that choose membership in our Order.
In the days of Father McGivney, the insurance feature was a rudimentary system of collecting money and distributing benefits. Today it encompasses more than $31 billion of life insurance in force, with more than 1.3 million individual policies. A professional and knowledgeable agency field force numbering 1,350 brings the program to the home of every eligible Knight, tailoring a plan of life insurance coverage to meet his family's individual needs.
The Knights of Columbus insurance program has provided peace of mind to millions of men and women for more than a century. The continuing growth of the number of policies and the insurance in force is a testament to the confidence members have in the Order's ability to provide protection for them today, and well into the future.
Products
We offer our members and their families permanent life insurance, term insurance, and annuities. The permanent life and term products are participating plans - plans that are dividend-paying - and include:
Whole Life.
Life Paid-Up at 95.
Life Paid-Up at 65.
20-Pay Life.
Single Premium Life.
Annual Renewable Term.
Five-, 10-, and 15-Year Level Term.
Term to Age 30.
Term to Age 65.
Decreasing Term Plans.
Flexible Premium Annuity.
Single Premium Deferred Annuity.
Single Premium Immediate Annuity.
In addition, term insurance riders are offered. We also sell a policy called the Discoverer, consisting of whole life insurance and an additional protection benefit (term insurance). Special rates for nonsmokers on all life certificates make these plans even more attractive.
The Knights of Columbus sells its insurance to its members, wives of members, and dependents. It is sold through a career sales force that currently consists of more than 1,350 full-time professionally trained field agents.
These agents are equipped with one of the most modern computer programs available. It enables them to perform a needs analysis of the member and his family. This needs analysis allows the agent and the Knight to determine together the total amount of insurance protection needed, and calculate the best way to package the products to meet those needs. Our products have been "Protecting Families for Generations." We would like nothing better than to have the opportunity to help you protect your family.
Financials
Order Posts Record Annual Insurance Sales*
Insurance issued in 1998
totaled $4.2 billion
Year ends with $35.8 billion
insurance in force
At the close of business for 1998, the Knights of Columbus once again surpassed the $4 billion mark in insurance issued during a calendar year. The actual figure is $4,214,741,000. A record of more than $12 billion issued over a three-year period has been established, and December was the best month ever in issued business.
In announcing the milestone, Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant said the 1998 results "set another record of growth and progress for our insurance program." At year end, a total of 89,646 certificates had been issued, and the total amount of insurance in force stood at $35.8 billion.
Supreme Knight Dechant congratulated the general and field agents and home office personnel who worked together to make the record year possible. "Our members are confident of the quality and security offered by Knights of Columbus insurance," he said. "The momentum generated by this outstanding performance over the past 12 months points to great things for our Order in 1999."
Knights of
* Information taken from February 12, 1999 issue of Knightline, a publication of the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council.
Data for this page taken from the Kansas State Council Website