Prudential started back in 1875, and over the years has developed a reputation for strong business sense and second to none customer service. They have a long rich history and it goes back to Newark, New Jersey, when an insurance agent named John Fairfield Dryden had a revelation to start making life insurance available to the working class. Slowly, Prudential started to become a bigger name along the east coast and four years later, they began to sell beyond the state of New Jersey, and into New York City and Philadelphia. Because these areas where highly populated, it expanded the customer base and they began to add middle class workers to the client list. Just ten years after they originated, they reached $1 million in assets. This prompted Dryden to adopt “the rock” as its company symbol. “The rock” is still a part of Prudential today, and it implores the strength and security that Prudential offers to its customers.
Over the next few decades, Prudential was able to remain viable and withstood the Great Depression and other economic setbacks. Finally, in the 1940’s they began to really take off. During this period of time, their assets grew six-fold and they were able to expand their shop nationwide and begin to offer new and innovative services. This continued for the next thirty years, as they began opening offices in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Jacksonville, Houston, and they were even able to put a base in Toronto and begin to reach out to Canadians. Prudential had started to take over North America.
Through the 1980s, Prudential was expanding and growing at an unbelievable rate. They were the first major insurance company to market variable annuities, and in 1984, they came out with the Variable Appreciable Life. Customers loved this approach because it gave them investment options. It gave them power and they loved it. When they began to looking toward the 1990s and had just passed their 100 year birthday; they had already surpassed the $100 billion mark in assets.
On December 13, 2001, Prudential reached another milestone when they put themselves on the New York Stock Exchange. Prudential has been synonymous with what the American dream is all about. Their names and logo have been with us through the past 100 plus years, and they are a part of US corporate history.
Over the course of century, they have earned the respect of working effectively with doctors and hospitals across the country. They have done this by establishing quick processing and providing prompt claims. This allows them to provide useful information to both the doctor and the patient, not to mention established safe, cost effective, and quality health care.
Prudential has a long successful history and I have no doubt that they will continue and build upon their tremendous success and be around for another 100 years.
