COMMONWEALTH LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
Palace Building, Tulsa, Oklahoma
HISTORICAL DATA
This company was organized under the laws of Oklahoma on August 7, 1924, and licensed August 8, 1924, on which date it began business as a stipulated premium company. Its original name was Security Life Insurance Company with headquarters at Muskogee. Oklahoma. The name was changed to Fidelity Life Insurance Company in August, 1939, when T. J. McComb and associates acquired control and headquarters were moved to Oklahoma City. The present name was assumed April 26, 1940, after the present management acquired control on March 4, 1940.
The original Security Life Insurance Company was operated by and for members of the colored race. The Commonwealth Life, however, does not accept Negro business, and in June, 1940, was considering reinsuring all its colored business.
Financial Statement — As reflected by examination made by Oklahoma Insurance
Department as of March 4, 1940:
Assets
Land Sales Contracts $39
First Mortgages 3
Collateral Loans 5
Policy Loans 1
Cash
Agent's Balances & Notes Rec 4
Furniture & Fixtures 1
Interest Due 1
Due A Deferred Premiums 1.
Gross Assets $59,
Non-admitted Assets 9,
Liabilities
322 Policy Eeserves $20,166
750 Coupon Reserves 1,512
400 Supplementary Contracts 2.313
998 Premiums Paid in Advance 23
140 Unearned Interest 55
463 Reserve for Death Claims 2,561
986 Reserve for Taxes 161
.066 Suspense Account 366
096 Reserves for Other Liab 1,107
¦ Capital Stock $14,375
,221 Surplus 7.185
,397 Total Capital A Surplus 21.660
Total Admitted Assets $49,824
The authorized capital of the company is $50,000, of which $14,375 had been paid in on July 19, 1940. Par value is $1 per share.
Administration—The business is strictly proprietary in character and all profit belongs to stockholders. Women are written on the same basis as men. The company was examined in April, 1940, by the Oklahoma Insurance Department.
Total $49,824
Classes of Insurance Written—Ordinary life and accident.
Officers — George Kabureck, president; H. Knight, vice-president and treasurer; E. A. Berghuis, secretary; Dr. P. H. Hemphill, medical director; John T. Gibson, general counsel.
Directors—Dr. Paul H. Hemphill, C. H. Baskin, George Kabureck, E. A. Berghuis, G. Leroy Beasley, Dr. Eugene S. Briggs.
Operates in Oklahoma only.
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The earliest roots of Providian Financial can be traced back to Commonwealth Life Insurance Company. When founded in 1904, Commonwealth Life was intended to serve as a catalyst to economic development in Kentucky and as a means to keep both business and capital within state borders. To emphasize this connection, the firm was named after the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It also adopted the state's motto, "United We Stand, Divided We Fall," and its seal. Two of the company's founders figured prominently in its early years. Colonel Joshua D. Powers, the firm's first president, was a lawyer, a state legislator, and founder of several corporations. Darwin W. Johnson joined the company as secretary-treasurer after working for several years in the tobacco business.