Striving for the Stars (1950 – 1975)

Manhattan Life Insurance flourished throughout the 1950s. This is partly due to the growing demand for supplemental health insurance and major medical plans, in general. By this time, house calls made up 10% of physician-patient encounters, a plummet from 40% in the 1930s. With improved specialization and newer technology, more people were visiting doctor’s offices and hospitals instead. But it is important to contextualize all this with an expansive, Cinemascope view.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, private health insurance grew rapidly for three main reasons. First, after millions of men entered the armed forces during World War II, the labor market experienced a shortage as the need for war material spiked. This led to a record number of women taking labor positions in factories, on farms, and in similar businesses. One of the ways U.S. employers incentivized new workers was by offering health insurance to their employees, a benefit which was far from ubiquitous at the time. Secondly, The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 defined health insurance as a condition of employment. Thirdly, in 1954, Congress ratified legislation that exempted employer-sponsored health insurance from federal income taxation, helping set the grand stage for the private healthcare industry and supplemental insurance market we see today.

As for Manhattan Life, it was executive leadership that facilitated years of blue skies. In 1950, Thomas E. Lovejoy Jr., First Vice President and Treasurer since 1940, was elected company President. As ambitious and charming as his father and grandfather before him, Lovejoy Jr. recognized the company’s growth opportunities for products as well as geographic reach. The country’s surge in suburban families and “The American Dream” they pursued meant people wanted policies to match. No stranger to innovation, Lovejoy Jr. and staff introduced the Family Plan, the first policy of its kind, in addition to Mortgage Protection, a straight decreasing Term plan, and a Family security policy with wide applications in conjunction with Social Security. Families were aplenty and we were ready to provide. 

Once Manhattan Life Insurance soared past $1 billion for insurance in force in October 1957, executives decided a new headquarters building was necessary. That building came in April 1958, in the form of the lavish Steinway Hall, housing Steinway & Sons, the celebrated piano company. 

The next decade introduced some technological advancements early on, further proving employees’ skillsets and their ability to adapt. This included the installation of our first computer, the GE-225, which prompted all December 1963 billing of the Pension Trust Sales Department to be computer-produced. Moreover, for the first time that year, the Actuarial Department’s year-end reserves were successfully run on tape. Such operational changes meant quicker and more efficient processes at Manhattan Life.

Thereafter, in 1969, as astronaut Neil Armstrong went for a stroll on the moon, we unveiled a stunning new logo that prominently featured the Statue of Liberty and adorned the side of our headquarters building. The organization was growing rapidly, now with numerous producing partners selling products throughout the States, as the company brand shined even brighter. 

Shortly after Donald M. Fordyce became company President in 1971, the astute Sister Colette Mahoney, Order of Sacred Heart of Mary, became the first woman elected to our Board of Directors, signaling a more progressive ideology. In 1974, we acquired an upscale office building in Beverly Hills, California, extending the brand’s footprint. 

Prelude to an Exciting Era (1975 – 2000)

After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the remainder of the decade was characterized by great stability for the company. Manhattan Life continued to serve families and individuals with an assortment of supplemental health and life products. Later, in 1980, Manhattan Life Insurance Company sold Steinway Hall to 111 West 57^th Street Associates, though the company would remain a tenant until the next turn of the century. 

The 1980s are famous for many things such as the end of the Cold War, the birth of Music Television (MTV) and big hair. But it is also a decade that helped further shape healthcare in the United States. As Americans’ new attitudes toward nutrition, investments, and retirements came into sharper focus, the cost of doctors’ offices and hospitals began to skyrocket, leaving some scrambling for additional coverage, specifically hospital indemnity and critical illness plans. Additionally, government legislation like the Healthcare Quality Improvement Act of 1986 redefined the complexities between healthcare providers and patients. 

Meanwhile, Central United Life Insurance became part of the Manhattan Life group of companies in 1993. For Manhattan Life Insurance, the 1990s was a largely promising period. Though, by 2000, our substantial growth in customers and the company’s strengthening product lines sparked the need for a leadership transformation.

A New Beginning (2000 – 2025)

Not only did the company celebrate 150 years of operations in 2000, but we also celebrated new ownership! That year, David Harris, President and Owner of Central United Life Insurance, fully acquired Manhattan Life, launching a fresh chapter of expansion and innovation. The most profound change was formally moving the company’s Corporate Office to Houston, Texas. The Lone Star State was just the right place to help the company evolve further, through product development and additional acquisitions.

A decade of prosperity with more staff, larger departments, hundreds of new producers and noteworthy sales resulted in exciting changes. In April 2013, Central United Life Insurance Company acquired Western United Life Assurance Company (WULA), based in Spokane, Washington, granting our organization access to the short to mid-term annuity market. Later, in April 2018, the Workplace Voluntary Benefits (WVB) and Financial Protection Plan (FPP) lines of business from Humana Inc. were also acquired. To better represent these and other historic changes, the company was rebranded as ManhattanLife, to encompass our entire family of Companies and honor the incredible legacy and value of the original organization.

However, the evolution did not end there. In June 2020, ManhattanLife acquired Standard Life and Casualty Insurance Company, bringing millions in revenue from writing Final Expense, Home Health Care, Short-Term Medical and Critical Illness policies through independent brokers and independent marketing organizations, with licensing in 29 states, at the time. Less than two years later, Tyler Harris was promoted to the position of company President in April 2022. From the day he began working at the company in 2011, Tyler utilized his expertise in business and data analytics. Under his dynamic leadership, multiple areas of the company were enhanced including Marketing, Corporate Communications, Enrollment Technology, and the International division. Then, in 2025, ManhattanLife reached a crowning achievement, when it celebrated 175 years of business!

We are thrilled to celebrate ManhattanLife’s 175 years of business in 2025! Throughout the year, we will showcase the company’s storied past, current developments, and our future outlook. ManhattanLife’s new emblem, shown below, centers entirely on the torch’s flame, with a teal arch signifying light that is as continuous as we are. 

For an abridged version of our history, visit the 175^th anniversary landing page.