A Thriving Insurance Organization Built on Giving Back

GCU’s fundamental commitment to giving back helps GCU agents differentiate their own business, provide more perceived value to their clients, and help them do well while doing good in their communities.

It’s an age-old concept that feels remarkably fresh today: caring for and doing good by others. That fundamental notion is one of the unique aspects of GCU that personally attracted me to the organization. I came to recognize the rare opportunity I had to continue to build a rewarding career for myself while, at the same time, build up the community around me. I could feel good about the work that I, the GCU team, and our agent partners were doing together because every success we had would directly benefit the people we serve as clients while also helping our neighbors in the community who need support. It is an idea that has been embraced for generations yet feels brand new and tremendously relevant when discovered today.  

GCU is a not-for-profit, member-owned fraternal benefit society. We exist to help our clients (we call them members) attain financial security through our first-class annuity and life products and other benefits. Through our agents we provide an excellent portfolio of solutions including Fixed Deferred Annuities, Fixed Indexed Annuities (FIA), Single Premium Immediate Annuities (SPIA), Whole Life Insurance, and Term Life Insurance.  Beyond products, GCU also promotes camaraderie, friendship and mutual support via good works in the community (that’s the fraternal part). Still, we proudly support our IMOs and independent insurance agents in the same way traditional carriers do — by providing highly competitive commissions on annuity and life insurance sales — but here is how we differ significantly. As a 501(c)(8) not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization, our mission drives our decisions — supporting our members and local communities is part of who we are. That commitment is not something we put into practice just once or twice a year or on special occasions. It is a pledge we deliver on every day of the year. 

We are committed to Main Street, not Wall Street. Being a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society originally founded by blue-collar laborers, we’re admittedly a bit different than traditional carriers. We are member owned, not publicly traded. Instead of our objective being making profits for shareholders, we focus our efforts on helping secure the financial futures of our members and giving back through meaningful community initiatives. Our GCU organization, our members, and our agents give back to their communities throughout the year via fundraising events, scholarships, and volunteering opportunities. Simply put, the GCU family is comprised of hometown people of faith guided by their values and a commitment to protecting the assets and well-being of others.

That commitment to giving has been part of our organizational makeup since the very beginning more than 133 years ago. While you may not be familiar with GCU (admittedly, we’re not a household name), our roots run deep. In the mid-1800s, the Greek Catholic Church (Byzantine Catholic Church today) was comprised of Rusyn (ROO-sin) immigrants who had come to America from Eastern Europe. These people of faith commonly supported their families by working hazardous jobs in industrialized America’s burgeoning coal mines, iron mills and steel mills. 

Unfortunately, due to the high level of risk associated with such work, commercial life insurance companies consistently refused to insure them. In response, church members came together to form “lodges” at multiple Greek Catholic Church parishes specifically to create a way to provide much needed financial security and protection. Each lodge would pool money from its members to help ease the burden on impacted families. Building on the success of the idea, it was decided to bring those lodges together for greater effect, and the Greek Catholic Union (GCU) was established in the winter of 1892 with a mere 743 members and $600 in total assets. That single caring gesture seeded our financial strength and secures our future through our continued commitment to, “Protecting Families, Promoting Faith and Fellowship, Strengthening Communities.”

GCU has grown from humble beginnings to a multibillion-dollar organization. Today, GCU has grown to more than 49,000 members across America, and $2.79 billion in assets under management. Along the way, we have weathered the storms of war, numerous bear markets, financial depressions, inflation, and recessions. GCU has not only survived but has thrived through it all and continues to expand on its mission. And that strength continues to be recognized. GCU has once again earned the AM Best Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent).* 

This fundamental commitment to giving back helps GCU agents differentiate their own businesses. Offering proven financial products that can provide the security individuals and families need, while also benefitting others around them is a value our GCU agents — and their clients — can embrace. In addition to selecting a resource that can provide the security they need for their family, we believe that people want to do business with an agent and an organization that also has strong values and is providing a tangible, positive impact on lives in their communities. When our agents and their clients can do well while also doing good for those around them, it is undeniably a win-win scenario — one that helps differentiate GCU agents from the rest of the pack. 

Serving another vital community … our Agents. Beyond the enterprise-wide commitment to serving local communities, I am proud to say that GCU is equally committed to our community of independent agents. Despite being in an age of increasingly impersonal service, within our industry and beyond, at GCU we are dedicated to proactively establishing and maintaining meaningful relationships with our agents, being responsive to them and their needs, and acting as a true partner in their success. We recognize the importance of their role and expertise, and we welcome them as vital and valued members of our family and our community. 

As mentioned at the outset, I was personally drawn to GCU by the rare prospect of being part of an organization that provides tremendous professional growth potential while simultaneously doing purposeful, highly beneficial work in a growing number of communities. GCU is now delivering this invaluable combination of good and prosperity in 32 states across America, plus the District of Columbia. I encourage any agent who is driven to do well while also doing good by others to give GCU a closer look. I am confident that they, like me, will quickly discover how tremendously rewarding it can be to be associated with an organization that is committed to growing business while giving back meaningfully to an expanding community. 

An invitation to purpose-driven agents. 

We wholeheartedly believe that the more you know, the better GCU looks. If you are an agent who is driven by values and is looking for opportunities to grow your book of business while also serving the people of your community, take a few moments to explore GCUusa.com. Or reach out to us directly at (855) 306-0608 to discuss how you could immediately begin having greater impact on lives while positively impacting your business. 

* A- (Excellent) rated by AM Best since 1980. AM Best is a third-party independent credit rating agency that rates an insurance company on the basis of the company’s financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet its obligations to policyholders. A- is the fourth highest rating out of 15 categories and was affirmed for GCU in November 2025.