PEMCO Car Insurance Claims

Public Employees Mutual Insurance Company or PEMCO is a mutual insurance company, located in Seattle, Washington. The company’s niche market is preferred risk, meaning that it prefers to insure the sector of society least likely to have an accident and who are willing to take proactive measures to protect their property.

PEMCO Auto Insurance

PEMCO offers all of the basic car insurance components, such as bodily injury liability, property damage liability, uninsured motorist bodily injury and underinsured motorist property damage, personal injury protection, collision, rental reimbursement, comprehensive, labor and towing, accidental death and vehicle loan endorsement.

The company is able to provide discounts on a variety of plans, such as when insuring both a home and car or more than one car. The company seeks to attract new customers and give incentives to existing customers by offering discounts if insurance participants have driven for 3 years without having had an accident, as well as a further discount for each 12 accident-free months, if insured drivers reduce the use of their cars and/or have the car outfitted with safety features. Drivers over 55 years of age who complete defensive driving courses are also promised discounts.

History of PEMCO

Robert J Handy, a Seattle schoolteacher, founded the Seattle Teachers Credit Union (now known as The School Employees Credit Union of Washington) in 1936 with a reputed capital of just $5. From that very small start, seven related companies evolved, the largest of which was founded in 1950 and is now known simply as PEMCO.

After starting his business and finding that he needed extra income, Hardy also worked in his friend’s insurance company. He sold auto insurance to the teachers who came to the credit union to get car loans. In 1949, Hardy embarked on another venture. This time he started his own insurance agency, registering it as the Public Employees Mutual Insurance Company (PEMIC) which, in 1989, was renamed PMIC.

PMIC offered home, fire and burglary insurance, as well as auto insurance coverage that included policies with car collision, comprehensive insurance and fire and theft coverage. In order to raise the $400,000 capital required by Washington state law to operate PMIC, Hardy started yet another business – the Public Employees Mutual Casualty Company (PEMCO), Hardy sold bonds in this newest company to his fellow teachers. Then he used his earnings from this venture to purchase guaranty bonds.

In 1950 PEMCO incorporated to allow it to issue liability insurance. PEMCO Life Insurance Company was the last of the companies Hardy established (in 1963). This company sells low cost life insurance to members of the credit union.

When, in 1977, Washington State law allowing companies which sold property and liability insurance to merge, PEMCO merged with PEMIC. PEMCO was retained as the name after the merger because it was well recognized.

PEMCO Today

PEMCO has mutliple subsidiary companies – PEMCO Insurance Co, PEMCO Mutual Insurance Co., PEMCO Life Insurance Co. and PEMCO Financial Services are the four of the most prominent subsidiaries. As a mutual company, PEMCO and its subsidiaries offer insurance coverage to teachers and public employees of Washington State only. Even though the company only initiated its life insurance division in 1963, it offers a wide range of insurance packages, such as auto and boat, fire, personal liability and home owner/property coverage and umbrella plans through its professional agents and on the internet.

The company has been rated as A- by A M Best, which also assessed its assets and premiums to be worth $100 to $250 million. According to PEMCO, its written premiums have grown from only $8,500 in 1949 to $322 million in 2006. This is for a company that only does business in Washington State with state employees. The company has 650 employees.