AUTO INSURANCE

AARP, Inc., formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a United States-based membership and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, Ph.D., a retired educator from California, and Leonard Davis, founder of Colonial Penn Group of insurance companies.AARP is a membership organization for people age 50 and over and operates as a non-profit advocate for its members and is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States.

AARP has seven affiliated organizations The AARP Foundation's website claims the nonprofit "wants to win back opportunity for those now in crisis, so thousands of vulnerable low-income Americans 50+ can regain their foothold, continue to serve as anchors for their families and communities and ensure that their best life is still within reach." Key areas of focus are hunger, income, housing and isolation. The Foundation's vision is "a country that is free of poverty where no older person feels vulnerable:

According to the group's official history, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus founded AARP in 1958. AARP evolved from the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA), which Andrus had established in 1947 to promote her philosophy of productive aging, and in response to the need of health insurance for retired teachers. After ten years, Andrus opened the organization to all Americans over 50, creating AARP. Critics of AARP offer an alternative version of the group's origins. 60 Minutes reported in a 1978 exposé that AARP had been established as a marketing device by Leonard Davis, founder of the Colonial Penn Group insurance companies, after he met Ethel Percy Andrus In the 1990s, the United States Senate investigated AARP's non-profit status, with Republican Senator Alan Simpson, then chairman of the United States Senate Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy, questioning the organization's tax-exempt status in congressional hearings. According to Charles Blahous, the investigations did not reveal sufficient evidence to change the organization's status  AARP Foundation, a non-profit charity that helps people over age 50 at social and economic risk; AARP Institute, a non-profit charity that holds some of AARP's charitable gift annuity funds; Legal Counsel for the Elderly, a non-profit charity that provides low- or no-cost legal assistance to seniors in Washington, D.C.; AARP Experience Corps, a non-profit charity that encourages people over age 50 to mentor and tutor school children; AARP Insurance Plan, a non-profit social welfare organization that holds some of AARP's group health insurance policies; AARP Financial Services Corporation, a for-profit corporation that holds AARP's real estate; and AARP Services Inc, a for-profit corporation that provides quality control and research.

The organization was originally named the American Association of Retired Persons, but in 1999 it officially changed its name to "AARP" (pronounced one letter at a time, "ay ay ar pee") to reflect that its focus was no longer American retirees.

 The organization says that it is non-partisan and does not support, oppose or give money to any candidates or political parties. AARP's total revenue for 2006 was approximately $1 billion and it spent $23 million on lobbying.[15] Middle-class security has been a major focus for the organization in recent years.[16] AARP also provides extensive consumer information, volunteer opportunities, and events including the annual National Event & Expo (2013 in Las Vegas from May 30–June 1 and in Atlanta from Oct. 3–5). One of AARP's goals is to reduce hunger among seniors through the Drive to End Hunger. In 2011, AARP and AARP Foundation formed a relationship with NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports to increase awareness of hunger in America with the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger race car and related food drives.

American Family Insurance (aka AmFam) is a private mutual company that focuses on property, casualty and auto insurance, but also offers commercial insurance, life, health, and homeowners coverage, as well as investment and retirement-planning products. A Fortune 500 company, its revenues for 2008 were over $6.7 billion. It should not be confused with American Family Home Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Munich Re subsidiary American Modern Insurance Group, Inc., or American Family Life Insurance Company of Columbus.

American Family Insurance's history began on October 3, 1927, 

when insurance salesman Herman Wittwer opened the doors of Farmers Mutual Insurance Company in Madison, Wisconsin (not to be confused with the Farmers Insurance Group). At the time, the company's only product was auto insurance and its target market was farmers. Wittwer believed farmers presented lower risks than city drivers because they drove less often and not at all in the winter.[

Over the years, Farmers Mutual expanded its market and product line to meet the changing needs of its customers. In 1963, Farmers Mutual changed its name to American Family Mutual Insurance Company to reflect its broader customer base.

Subsidiaries[edit]

Companies of the American Family Insurance Group include: