THE LIBERTY CORPORATION ARCHIVES MSS 160. Register. of the SOUTHERN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY RECORDS Record Group

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1 THE LIBERTY CORPORATION ARCHIVES MSS 160 Register of the SOUTHERN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY RECORDS Record Group cubic feet

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION iii CORPORATE HISTORY iii SCOPE AND CONTENT iv SERIES DESCRIPTIONS ANNUAL STATEMENTS CONVENTIONS EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS... 5 INTERNAL PUBLICATIONS O. HENRY FESTIVAL REPORTS ON EXAMINATION SENIORITY AWARDS CORPORATE SECRETARY LEASE / SERVICE AGREEMENTS TEXAS (SOUTHERN LIFE OF TEXAS) PRINTED MATERIAL SEPARATION LIST ii

.. 5 INTERNAL PUBLICATIONS.... 6 O. HENRY FESTIVAL..... 10 REPORTS ON EXAMINATION.... 11 SENIORITY AWARDS.

3 REGISTER OF THE SOUTHERN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY RECORDS, Mss 160, Record Group 10, 33.1 cubic feet, including photographs and oversize. INTRODUCTION The Southern Life Insurance Company (SLIC) Records consist of correspondence, financial summaries, legal agreements, memoranda, newsletters, newspaper clippings, photographs and slides, printed material, reports, and memorabilia. This record group documents the history of SLIC from its founding in 1927 until its acquisition by Liberty Life Insurance Company in The development of this firm parallels, on a smaller scale, the history of Liberty Life. The collection holds research potential in the areas of twentieth century North Carolina history and the history of the insurance industry, as well as providing a reference source for internal use by The Liberty Corporation. It is comprised of accessions 87-4, 88-7, 88-8, 88-9, and The bulk of this material originated in the offices of SLIC executives T. Clyde Collins, Jr. (Executive Vice-President and Secretary) and Marie E. Moyer (Vice-President, Marketing Services). These files were transferred to The Liberty Corporation Archives in 1987 and 1988 and processed by Bryan F. McKown, who also wrote this register. It was accessioned into Special Collections as accessions and The material was reboxed by Kristina Cathcart in The register was revised by James Cross in CORPORATE HISTORY The origins of SLIC date to 20 October 1927 with the chartering of its predecessor firm, Dixie Life Insurance Company, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Among the early investors in the new enterprise was attorney A. J. Fletcher ( ), who continued to serve on the Board of Directors for over fifty years. In April 1931, W. L. Carter ( ) was appointed President and Director of the fledgling company, and the firm s headquarters were moved to Greensboro. The following year, Dixie Life acquired the Greensboro-based Southern Life and Accident Insurance Company, and the parent firm changed its name to Southern-Dixie Life Insurance Company. The addition in 1935 of T. C. Collins ( ) as Agency Manager and Secretary considerably strengthened the firm s management team. From that date, Carter, Collins, Fletcher, and their descendants would retain financial control of the company and oversee policy decisions through its Board of Directors. Through the 1930 s and 1940 s Southern-Dixie Life specialized in weekly premium, or debit, life insurance targeted to lower-middle and working class families, primarily in central and eastern North Carolina. By 1947, steady sales increases and a growing home office staff prompted the company to move its headquarters to a separate building at 330 South Greene Street in Greensboro, where it would remain for 33 years. Shortly thereafter, the firm changed its name to Southern Life Insurance Company. The end of World War II also brought new managerial talent and increased opportunities for expansion to Southern Life. In 1946, Wilbur L. Bo Carter, Jr. (1922- ), a recent graduate of iii

printed material, reports, and memorabilia. This record group documents the history of SLIC from its founding in 1927 until its acquisition by Liberty Life Insurance Company in 1986.

4 Davidson College and veteran of combat in Europe, joined the company and assumed an active role in long-range decisions as well as day-to-day operations. By the time he succeeded his father as president in 1964, Carter had witnessed product diversification, geographic expansion, and tremendous sales growth. Beginning in 1951, SLIC launched its Ordinary (later to be known as General Agency) Division which eventually encompassed thirteen southeastern states. In 1952, SLIC purchased and reinsured the business of Southern Life Insurance Company of Florence, South Carolina and the following year bought Dixie-Security Life of Sumter, South Carolina, thus acquiring established debit business in the Palmetto State. To compare Southern Life s overall growth during the period, its total insurance in force in 1947 was $59.8 million; at the end of 1964, that figure stood at $343 million. For the next twenty years, SLIC would maintain a pattern of increased sales and conservative investment which would earn A. M. Best s A+ (Superior) rating. The benchmark of $1 billion insurance force was attained in 1976, and the $2 billion mark was reached in The company also embarked on an ambitious building project in 1979, which would include a new headquarters building in downtown Greensboro with an adjacent hotel. By the mid-1980 s, however, a combination of factors which included increasing operating costs, diminishing or static investment yields, an outdated marketing strategy, and the approaching retirement of Wilbur Carter, induced the Board of Directors to seek a buyer for Southern Life. Consequently, the SLIC Board agreed in October 1986 to sell the firm to Liberty Life Insurance Company of Greenville, South Carolina. In noting the similarities between the two companies, The Liberty Corporation s W. Hayne Hipp commented, It s a natural fit for our two companies to be together It (the sale) is a classic case of two plus two adding up to five. The final agreement of sale for $80 million in cash, or the equivalent of $400 per share, was concluded on 31 December SCOPE AND CONTENT The Southern Life Insurance Company Records document a wide variety of marketing and administrative functions. The great majority of this material covers the years from The collection is arranged in series as follows: 1. Annual Statements , Conventions External Communications Internal Publications O. Henry Festival Reports on Examination Seniority Awards Corporate Secretary Lease/Service Agreements Texas (Southern Life of Texas) Printed Material iv

Beginning in 1951, SLIC launched its Ordinary (later to be known as General Agency) Division which eventually encompassed thirteen southeastern states.

5 The various series chart in great detail the administrative, financial, and marketing activities of Southern Life. The large (7.125 cu. ft.) and important Corporate Secretary series provides much information on upper-echelon decision making. Among the significant files in this series are the minutes of the Executive, Finance, Management, and Retirement Plan Committees. The two series entitled Annual Statements (Series 1), and Reports on Examination (Series 6) furnish copious financial data pertaining to SLIC s assets, investments, and operations. Series 4, Internal Publications, contains a relatively complete run of in-house publications such as the Field News and Currents. These newsletters detail the month-by-month development of Southern Life s sales force as well as providing biographical information on many individual agents and managers. Another prominent feature of this record group is its extensive (10.45 cu. ft.) collection of photographs and slides that document ceremonial occasions, home office personnel and activities, and sales conferences. As a note of caution to the researcher, a small but significant portion of SLIC records are yet to be accessioned. Specifically, the minutes of the Board of Directors and certain subsidiary files remain active in The Liberty Corporation s Legal Department. If this material becomes available, it likely will be added to Record Group 10 in separate series. Also, two reference folders related to the Southern Life records are available in the files of RG 11.4, The Liberty Corporation Archives. v

Among the significant files in this series are the minutes of the Executive, Finance, Management, and Retirement Plan Committees.

THE LIBERTY CORPORATION ARCHIVES MSS 160. Register. of the HISTORICAL RESEARCH MATERIAL RECORDS. 1905-1986, bulk 1979-1985

THE LIBERTY CORPORATION ARCHIVES MSS 160 Register of the HISTORICAL RESEARCH MATERIAL RECORDS 1905-1986, bulk 1979-1985 Record Group 11.1 2 cubic feet TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION......... iii CORPORATE