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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > August 12, 2009
Catholic Knights to merge with Catholic Family Life Insurance
Published August 12, 2009 - BizTimes Daily
Catholic Knights, one of the largest Catholic fraternal benefit organizations, and Catholic Family Life Insurance, the oldest, today announced they have signed a letter of intent to merge.
The merger would result in a combined membership of 120,000 with licensed operations in 27 states, total assets exceeding $1.1 billion and approximately $4.8 billion of insurance in force.
The merged organization, whose name will be determined in the coming months, will be headquartered at Catholic Knights' current location in downtown Milwaukee, according to Catholic Knights president and chief executive officer Bill O'Toole.
OToole will remain president and CEO of the merged organization. Dan Lloyd, president and CEO of Shorewood-based Catholic Family Life Insurance, will serve as a senior level executive with the merged company, although his title has not yet been determined.
"This partnership is an excellent fit," O'Toole said. "It joins together two organizations dedicated to providing financial security, volunteer service opportunities and support to members who embrace Catholic values. All of us take that mission very seriously, and we believe a merger will allow us to provide an even higher level of service to our members, our Church and our communities."
"Our two organizations are extremely similar, and it's clear that by coming together, we can realize significant operational benefits and cost savings that can be passed on to our members," Lloyd said. "This merger really is about good stewardship and providing the strongest future possible for the families and communities that depend on us."
The two companies said they are not certain about how the merger will affect employees in Milwaukee and Shorewood.
"CK and CF value the important contributions of all of their employees and both organizations are committed to treating all employees in a fair and just manner … At this point, it's not exactly certain how the merger will impact employees, but that topic will be a large part of merger discussions as they move forward. When the organizations have more information about the impact on employees, they will share it. If there are cuts, CK and CF will do everything they can to make the transition as easy as possible," said Brenna Kriviskey Sadler, spokeswoman for the combined companies.
The boards of directors for both organizations have given their approval to move forward with a merger, with the target of completing the merger agreement by Dec. 1, 2009. Under both societies' bylaws, representatives of the groups will vote on whether to finalize the merger during the first quarter of 2010.
The Rev. Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, who serves on the Catholic Knights board as spiritual director, praised the proposed merger and its benefits for Catholics.
"I want to congratulate Catholic Knights and Catholic Family, two exemplary fraternal societies, on this historic occasion," Dolan said. "This merger is exciting and beneficial for their members and the church, and I commend Catholic Knights president Bill O'Toole and Catholic Family president Dan Lloyd for their vision.”
Consolidations and mergers are ongoing in the commercial and fraternal insurance industry, according to O'Toole and Lloyd. Since 2000, 25 mergers have taken place in the fraternal system. The most notable fraternal merger occurred in 2002, when Lutheran Brotherhood and Aid Association for Lutherans formed Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Catholic Knights of America merged with Catholic Knights in 2005. Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Northern Fraternal Life merged with Catholic Family in the early 1990s.
