Beneficial Financial Group
Encyclopedia
Beneficial Financial Group is an insurance and financial services company based in Salt Lake City, Utah
. It is a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation
, which is in turn owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The company was founded in the early 20th Century and as of fiscal year end 2005 had assets of $3.1 billion with yearly revenues of $600 million.
The Insurance side of the company was known for many years as the Beneficial Life Insurance Company.
Beneficial is certified by the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association for ethical business practices. It is a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation
(DMC), a for-profit management company of assets for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Beneficial held an "A+" (stable) rating from Standard & Poor's
for financial strength, when S&P downgraded the rating to "A" due to exposure to MBS
, and warned of further possible devaluations unless Deseret Management replenished some of Beneficial's capital as it deteriorates "from its currently strong level."
On June 16, 2009, it was announced that Beneficial would stop writing new policies at the end of August. Deseret Management reiterated its commitment to back existing policies, but said that Beneficial's relatively small size rendered it unable to compete with larger insurers.
. This office tower had the company name in large letters along the side, lit in blue at the top of the structure. The words Beneficial Life could be seen from quite a distance as the tower had an entirely unimpeded view of the Salt Lake Valley along the main artery known as State Street.
During the mid-1980s the Beneficial Life tower achieved notoriety when a rare breeding pair of Peregrine Falcon
s decided to take residence on the company letters on the north side of the building. While many people appreciated the falcons, they were not as popular with the pigeons (their prey) and the motorists who parked on the exposed parking level of the ZCMI Center Mall
, where the remains of the falcons' meal would drop on their cars.
Around the year 2006 Beneficial moved to the former Kennecott
building on an opposite corner of the same block. Both buildings will remain while almost the entirety of the block is torn down, along with neighboring blocks of downtown Salt Lake City, and turned into a new 1 billion dollar development called the City Creek Center
.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. It is a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation
Deseret Management Corporation
The Deseret Management Corporation is a for-profit management company of assets for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was established in 1966 by then church president David O...
, which is in turn owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The company was founded in the early 20th Century and as of fiscal year end 2005 had assets of $3.1 billion with yearly revenues of $600 million.
The Insurance side of the company was known for many years as the Beneficial Life Insurance Company.
Beneficial is certified by the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association for ethical business practices. It is a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation
Deseret Management Corporation
The Deseret Management Corporation is a for-profit management company of assets for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was established in 1966 by then church president David O...
(DMC), a for-profit management company of assets for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Beneficial held an "A+" (stable) rating from Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's is a United States-based financial services company. It is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. It is well known for its stock-market indices, the US-based S&P 500, the Australian S&P/ASX 200, the Canadian...
for financial strength, when S&P downgraded the rating to "A" due to exposure to MBS
Mortgage-backed security
A mortgage-backed security is an asset-backed security that represents a claim on the cash flows from mortgage loans through a process known as securitization.-Securitization:...
, and warned of further possible devaluations unless Deseret Management replenished some of Beneficial's capital as it deteriorates "from its currently strong level."
On June 16, 2009, it was announced that Beneficial would stop writing new policies at the end of August. Deseret Management reiterated its commitment to back existing policies, but said that Beneficial's relatively small size rendered it unable to compete with larger insurers.
Location
The company headquarters for many years was in the Beneficial Life tower, directly above the ZCMI Center MallZCMI Center Mall
The ZCMI Center Mall was a shopping center near Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah that was owned by Zions Securities Corporation, which opened in 1975 and closed in 2007. At the time of its opening, it was the largest downtown mall in the country...
. This office tower had the company name in large letters along the side, lit in blue at the top of the structure. The words Beneficial Life could be seen from quite a distance as the tower had an entirely unimpeded view of the Salt Lake Valley along the main artery known as State Street.
During the mid-1980s the Beneficial Life tower achieved notoriety when a rare breeding pair of Peregrine Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
s decided to take residence on the company letters on the north side of the building. While many people appreciated the falcons, they were not as popular with the pigeons (their prey) and the motorists who parked on the exposed parking level of the ZCMI Center Mall
ZCMI Center Mall
The ZCMI Center Mall was a shopping center near Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah that was owned by Zions Securities Corporation, which opened in 1975 and closed in 2007. At the time of its opening, it was the largest downtown mall in the country...
, where the remains of the falcons' meal would drop on their cars.
Around the year 2006 Beneficial moved to the former Kennecott
Kennecott Utah Copper
Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation , a division of Rio Tinto Group, is a mining, smelting, and refining company. Its corporate headquarters are located in South Jordan, Utah, USA. Kennecott operates one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world in Bingham Canyon, Salt Lake County, Utah. ...
building on an opposite corner of the same block. Both buildings will remain while almost the entirety of the block is torn down, along with neighboring blocks of downtown Salt Lake City, and turned into a new 1 billion dollar development called the City Creek Center
City Creek Center
The City Creek Center is a development with a shopping center, office and residential buildings, and fountain and stream under construction near Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It is an undertaking by Property Reserve, Inc. and Taubman Centers, Inc...
.