The board of the newly merged Catholic Knights and Catholic Family Life Insurance has selected Catholic Financial Life as the new name of its Milwaukee-based fraternal benefits organization.
Catholic Knights of Milwaukee completed its merger with Catholic Family of Shorewood last April. Early in the merger proceedings, both organizations identified the importance of considering a new name, said Bill O’Toole, president and chief executive officer of the organization.
“A new organization deserves a new name, but the essence of Catholic Financial Life remains consistent with our combined heritage and will be the foundation for future growth,” he said.
Catholic Financial Life will announce a new portfolio of insurance and financial products and enhanced member benefits this fall. The merged entity is the second-largest Catholic fraternal organization in the country based on assets.
With membership of 126,000 and licensed operations in 28 states, Catholic Financial Life has total assets of more than $1.1 billion and approximately $4.8 billion of insurance in force.
The recently merged organization has selected the independent auditing firm Milliman Inc. to conduct an annual assessment of the organization’s business and operating priorities. Catholic Knights formerly used A.M. Best for its audits.
“This is one more strategic step in our merger process,” O’Toole said. “While we appreciate A.M. Best and the services it has provided, we believe this new partnership is a better fit for our newly merged organization as we look toward the future. Our focus is on improvement. A.M. Best provides a historical perspective of past performance, while our new partner can provide future direction.”
