About Kansas City Life

Who we are:
Kansas City Life Insurance Company was established in 1895 in Kansas City, Mo. Our agency force of more than 2,500 serves 49 states and the District of Columbia. We insure more than half a million policyholders from coast to coast. Our Home Office is located in Kansas City, Mo., with a staff of more than 400 associates who provide support for our field force and policyholders.

What we do:
Kansas City Life Insurance Company markets individual life, annuity and group products through general agencies located throughout the United States. Variable life and variable annuity options are distributed through Sunset Financial Services Inc. Kansas City Life’s wholly owned broker/dealer subsidiary.

When and how we began:
Originally chartered as Bankers Life Association on May 1, 1895, the Company was founded by Major William Warner, President; J.H. North, Vice President; and S.E. Rumble, Secretary. Rumble conceived the idea of forming a life insurance company in the “heart of America.” At the time, Kansas City was known as the Athens of the West and was the second largest city in the western half of the United States; only San Francisco was larger.

The Kansas City Life Insurance Company name was adopted in 1900. The Company began issuing policies in small amounts from an office in the Scheidley Building, located at Ninth and Main Streets in Kansas City, Mo.

In 1897, the Company moved to the Navajo Building, then the Rialto Building, where it remained until 1924 when the Company moved to its present location. The Home Office sits on approximately five acres of land purchased for $200,000. Built for $1 million, the building was dedicated on Aug. 1, 1924.

How we compare:
Standard Analytical Services, Inc., based in St. Louis, Mo., is an organization established in 1932 to provide unbiased, independent and factual reports of significance to the insurance industry based on statutory financial statements filed with state insurance departments.

Download Standard Analytical Services Comparative Report

Kansas City Life’s Century II Variable Product Series is distributed by Sunset Financial Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kansas City Life Insurance Company.