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American Fidelity's
History
Founded on the
principles of fairness and financial security
more than 40 years ago, American Fidelity
Assurance Company (AFA) has achieved unparalleled
success as the largest privately owned life
insurance company in the nation.
The Oklahoma City-based company serves more
than one million customers in 49 states
and 20 countries. In 2004, American Fidelity
was ranked 31 among Fortune magazine’s 100
best companies to work for in the United
States, and was the highest ranking insurance
company on the list. Since 1982, AFA has
consistently been rated “A+” by A. M. Best
Company, one of the leading insurance rating
services in America.
At the heart
of this company’s achievements are the three
generations of the Cameron family, men whose
resilience and steadfast vision enabled
them to triumph over professional setbacks
and personal tragedy.
“This is a family
business, and I like the feeling that I
am adding on to the foundation that my grandfather
and father built,” says company Chairman
and CEO Bill Cameron. “I am proud of the
products and services we sell and the difference
we make in people’s lives. Reputation means
everything.”
Humble Beginnings
Provided Motivation for AFA Founder
Bill’s grandfather,
C.W. Cameron, and his father, C.B. Cameron,
started AFA in 1960 as an outgrowth of an
insurance agency C.W. had operated since
1930. The elder Cameron’s humble beginnings
make the present-day success of the company
all the more remarkable. 
The oldest of
seven children, C.W. was raised on a small
tenant farm near Mangum, Oklahoma. When
his father was disabled, C.W. dropped out
of school at age 14 to help take care of
the family and run the farm. He later worked
odd jobs as a carpenter, cotton picker,
and part-time bank clerk. Life was uncertain
and financial struggles persisted.
“I think a lot
of what my grandfather went through in his
childhood left an impression on him and
was the genesis for him going into The insurance
business,” says Cameron.
C.W. worked his
way up to assistant cashier at the First
National Bank of Altus, earning $135 a month.
He noticed that insurance salesmen seemed
To bring in larger paychecks, so he decided
to try that line of work. He partnered with
a farmer in starting the Boise and Cameron
agency in 1930. The business prospered until
the Great Depression took its toll, forcing
Boise to leave the agency in 1932.
Using his savings,
C.W. bought one-third of an agency in Davidson
and sold fire and casualty and disability
insurance. He also sold insurance for other
firms, but his big break came when he started
selling insurance for North American Accident
and Health Insurance Company of Chicago
in 1933. C.W. sold his interest in the Davidson
agency and became the local agent for North
American. Two years later he moved to Oklahoma
City to become North American’s general
agent for the state of Oklahoma. In a short
time, C.W. distinguished himself as the
top-selling agent managing the most profitable
North American branch in the nation. By
the mid-1940s, he was the general agent
for four states.
Pioneering Efforts
Led to AFA's Birth
Much of Cameron’s success was the result
of pioneering efforts to make insurance
available to the working class. He was an
early leader in voluntary payroll deduction
insurance, known today as worksite marketing.
Cameron sold group accident and health insurance
to state agency employees and to trade associations.
His agency was also one of the first of
its kind to offer insurance to schoolteachers.
Building on that beginning, AFA is now the
largest provider of voluntary disability
insurance to teachers across the United
States.
As the agency
prospered, the need arose for more office
space. Cameron constructed his own office
buildings on Classen Boulevard in 1954,
building one of the first suburban office
buildings in Oklahoma City. In 1959, C.W.
and Gene McCrory started the affiliated
North American Insurance Agency to focus
on Property and Casualty insurance.
The North American
Company in Chicago experienced changes in
ownership in the 1950s and was eventually
acquired by the CIT Group. Since CIT wanted
to focus on selling individual insurance,
Cameron proposed that he take on all of
the accident and health business previously
handled by the Cameron Agency for North
American. His son, C.B., had recently returned
home from the Air Force, and the pair decided
to start their own insurance underwriter.
In 1960, American Fidelity was born.
Despite Tragedy,
AFA Saw Rapid Growth
Their new company
grew very rapidly until, at the height of
their personal and professional success,
the Cameron family’s world literally crashed
in 1977 when a Thanksgiving plane flight
turned deadly. Returning from a Colorado
family ski trip, the plane slammed into
a mountainside and two days went by before
rescue teams found the passengers. C. B.
died in the accident and the rest of his
family, their friends and the pilot were
severely injured.
After the death of his son, C.W. promoted
William E. Durrett to President of AFA.
Following C.W.’s death in 1991, Durrett
became Chairman of the Board, a position
held until 1998 when he moved to Senior
Chairman and Bill Cameron became the Chairman
of the Board. During the tenure of Durrett
and CFO (and later President) John Rex,
the company built a strong financial base
and grew rapidly.
C.B.’s son Bill
started working in AFA following a two-year
period at Liberty Bank where he began work
after graduating from Dartmouth in 1982.
In 1987, Bill led the recapitalization efforts
for Commercial Bank that has subsequently
become First Fidelity Bank, which is affiliated
with AFA through the Cameron family’s ownership.
AFA's Growth Crosses
International Lines
In the 21st century, AFA has continued to
grow rapidly with continued strong internal
growth plus the acquisitions of Mid-Continent
Life and American Public Life in 2000. It
has also planted the seeds for future expansion,
through the establishment of other areas:
the Latin American Life Division that sells
insurance in 17 countries in Latin America;
Pacific World Group, which brokers property
and casualty insurance in Malaysia, Singapore
and Hong Kong; and Asset Services/InvesTrust,
which provides investment management consulting
and independent trust services.
Despite AFA’s
impressive national and international success,
Bill Cameron is proud that the company his
grandfather and father started is still
operated like a family business.
“We are committed
to keeping the company private and independent,”
he says. “I’m building on their foundation,
and I want to pass these opportunities on
to my kids and to future generations.”
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