Workmen’s Auto Insurance Company

Specialties

Workmen’s Auto Insurance Company (Workmen’s) is a nonstandard auto insurance carrier, that is a wholly-​owned subsidiary of Mercury General Corporation (NYSE: MCY) and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California. Workmen’s sells personal lines automobile insurance mainly through independent agents. The Company is licensed in 22 states and actively doing business in seven states — California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, and Utah. Workmen’s business model involves working with small independent agents, often located in small towns and rural areas.

History

Established in 1949.

Workmen’s was founded in Los Angeles by R. Leslie Kelley. In 1959, Mr. Kelley sold the Company to Mr. Nickolas Shammas; who bought it to diversify his investments believing that insurance nicely balanced his other businesses.

During the several years that Mr. Shammas owned Workmen’s it was a small California auto insurance carrier. In 1987 with the passing of Prop 103, it was decided to expand beyond California.

From 2002 to 2005 Workmen’s conducted business in 16 states. Thereafter, cyclical trends in insurance and the Great Recession (2008) led to its downsize.

In December 2009, the company’s 60^th anniversary, the brand was refreshed.

On January 2^nd, 2015 Workmen’s became a wholly-​owned subsidiary of Mercury General Corporation. The Shammas Family entered the negotiation the last quarter of 2014 and it was approved by the CA Department Of Insurance in December 2014. The new ownership provided the financial backing Workmen’s needs to grow and serve the nonstandard driver even better.