Our Corporate Heritage

What role should risk management play in the financial administration of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination? This question has been repeated throughout the church’s history. In 1860 church leaders debated the merits of making the infant denomination a legal corporation and securing insurance for church assets. This dialog culminated in the establishment of legal corporations for the purpose of holding title to and insuring church property. Several years later corporate insurance was again a focal point. William A. Benjamin, an Adventist member and insurance professional, presented an insurance proposal he believed could meet the specific needs of the denomination.

In 1936, the church accepted the proposal, appropriated $25,000 to begin the venture and invited Benjamin to develop it. Today Adventist Risk Management, Inc. administers a variety of property/casualty and life/health insurance programs. To facilitate these programs and to comply with various regulatory agencies, several legal corporations known as the Gencon Group have been established: Gencon Insurance Company of Vermont, Gencon Insurance Services, Inc., and Gencon Agency, Inc.

In 2000, ARM assumed responsibility for the operation of UNIBRAS Insurance Brokers, Ltd., an insurance agency in Brazil. And on January 1, 2003, Gencon Insurance Company International, Ltd. began operations servicing Seventh-day Adventist organizations located in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Located in Gibraltar, Gencon Insurance Company International, Ltd. is the first Gibraltar licensed insurance company to be formed by a United States based corporation.

Though the size and scope of the church has changed since 1860, the message of God’s love for the world is the same. Adventist Risk Management, Inc. works hard to ensure that business crises do not derail the message and mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which is to spread the gospel to the entire world.

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