COMPANY TIMELINE
In Fort Worth, D.C. Lewer begins work as an agent for Dallas-based Southland Life Insurance Co. selling life insurance to Rock Island Railroad workers. The Southland Life building was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
With an entrepreneurial spirit, D.C. Lewer moves his young insurance agency and growing family from Ft. Worth to Kansas City to better serve national accounts.
In Fort Worth, D.C. Lewer begins work as an agent for Dallas-based Southland Life Insurance Co. selling life insurance to Rock Island Railroad workers. The Southland Life building was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
The Lewer Agency moves to the Country Club Plaza where D.C. Lewer purchases a two-story office building and remodels the space for his growing company. The office location serves as the Lewer HQ for the next 50 years.
Lewer Canada is incorporated after the President of Husky Oil contacts D.C. Lewer and asks him, "Chuck, can you do the same thing for us up here in Canada that you did for all those U.S. oil companies?"
D.C. Lewer designs the Lewer logo on a napkin in the lobby of the historic Hotel Bayerischer in Munich, Germany. The logo has a likeness of four integrated “M”s, representing D.C.’s four key tenants of his business: Manpower, Markets, Merchandise, Money. The logo becomes a registered trademark in 1994.
Lewer Life Insurance Company is incorporated in June and merged with Presidential Life Insurance Company of America.
Lewer Life Insurance Company holds its first Board of Directors meeting. (Original board members: D.C. Lewer, Mike Lewer, David Rittmaster, Kent Carter, Bill Everly, Bill Spies, Bill Mead, Glenn Sowders, and L.E. Barrett)
LewerMark enrolls its first client school (Edmonds Community College in Washington) into the student insurance program, marking the company’s official launch.
Mike Lewer appointed as President of the Lewer Agency, Inc.
D.C. Lewer purchases the final apartment building on the Country Club Plaza to complete the "Lewer Block."
LewerMark attends its first NAFSA National Conference in Miami. NAFSA is the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors: Association of International Educators.
LewerMark attends its first NAFSA National Conference in Miami. NAFSA is the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors: Association of International Educators.
D.C. Lewer retires from daily operations.
LewerMark wins Washington University in St. Louis, enrolling over 9,000 domestic and international students.
Lewer Financial Advisors opens its doors.
Lewer updates company logo and brand.
After eight years at Lockton, Nik Lewer joins the company with his cousin Matt Lewer as third generation owners.
Lewer converts its student insurance block of business to new offshore carrier-partners, Sirius International Insurance Corporation and Brit Global Specialty.
The Lewer Agency celebrates its 60th anniversary by announcing the onboarding of a new client, Kiddie Academy.
“The Benton Farm” by artist Thomas Hart Benton, which was displayed in D.C. Lewer’s personal office for almost 40 years, is loaned to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.
On July 22nd, Lewer moves across the state line from the Country Club Plaza to Corporate Woods in Overland Park, KS.
The Lewer Companies logo and brand is updated in celebration of its relocation.
On August 22, Chairman and Founder D.C. Lewer passes away at his home. He was 92.
Lewer Benefits Group lands Hertz affinity account.
The Lewer Companies adds SERVPRO as a national affinity account.
The Lewer Companies adds Visiting Angels as a national affinity account.
The Lewer Companies adds Glass Guru to its Affinity Markets.
WHO WE ARE
The Lewer Companies is a family-owned business with 65 years of experience designing creative and affordable benefit programs that attract talent and aid in employee retention.
As a small business ourselves, our passion is to ensure both you and your employees are protected so you, the business owner, can focus on the success of your business. We listen to your personal and professional strategies and equip you with information and support to navigate all available options confidently.
Our long-standing, national partnerships with franchisors and industry experts allow you peace of mind that you’re receiving quality guidance from trusted advisors.
OUR FOUNDER
In 1956, a 28-year-old entrepreneur D.C. “Chuck” Lewer had an idea that would help him provide for his growing family and would later develop into an international company. Raised on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, D. C. Lewer knew about long days and hard work. At the age of 18, he ventured to California and discovered he had a talent for selling. Nine years later, D.C. moved to Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife, and found a job selling insurance as an agent for Southland Life Insurance Company. The Rock Island Railroad provided D.C. with his first customers, but it was the oil industry that created his first account. One chapter of special importance in the Lewer Companies’ history occurred in 1961 when, after three years of monthly sales meetings in Houston, D.C. Lewer, at the age of 33, signed an agreement with the Continental Oil Company (Conoco), one of the largest petroleum companies in the country. Though he was, in fact, an unknown man doing business with a national giant, L. E. Barrett, who was Conoco’s Director of Human Resources, worked diligently to assist the young man from Fort Worth with the development of the Conoco Dealers’ Employee Benefits Plan. The new Conoco plan was first introduced in the 11-state Rocky Mountain region. That summer, D.C. Lewer moved his family to Colorado, where he introduced the new plan to Conoco dealers in the Denver region. By fall, he returned to Fort Worth, where he continued to build his young company into a robust operation that would take the insurance industry by storm.
In 1961, he made the move to Kansas City to sign up Conoco dealers and fatefully decided to remain to be “as close to the Heart of America” as possible. Not long after, the young company was relocated to the Power & Light building in downtown Kansas City, and it was during this time that D.C. Lewer was honored by Insurance Salesman Magazine as the number-one producing life insurance agent in the United States
Building on the trust of a growing clientele, the enrollment of Conoco’s dealers across the country became a full-time job for D. C. Lewer who was working night and day to keep up with his Conoco responsibilities. D. C. Lewer’s long and fondly regarded 11-year association with Southland Life came to an end so that he could focus on enrolling Conoco dealers into their new benefit program, while growing the Lewer Agency at the same time. And grow it did. By 1969, The Lewer Agency had grown so large more office space became necessary. From the Power & Light building, The Lewer Agency was relocated to its current location on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. As the company continued to grow, it expanded into nearby buildings and now occupies four buildings on what is referred to as “Lewer Block.” The piece-by-piece apartment building acquisitions in the 1980s would eventually complete the Lewer Block. Following D. C. Lewer’s retirement in 2004, his son Mike Lewer, assumed the position of CEO and President after 30 years of working in a variety of significant roles, both in the US and Canada. Mike’s son, Nik Lewer, joined the company as a Vice President in 2015 and is now leading the Sales and Marketing efforts carrying the torch lit by his grandfather more than 60 years ago. Today, the relationships that started with D. C. Lewer continue and have been built upon by the next two generations as new chapters and new opportunities present themselves.
“Our company is not just a business….it is a family legacy, and one I believe our Associates embrace each day as we take care of our clients. More than 60 years ago, my father established a set of guiding principles based on ethics and transparency, which continues to drive our business today. I am so grateful and humbled to be a part of a family company that always strives to do right by the customer.
The ability to lead this business and family legacy through to the next generation is an adventure I treasure daily. It is a humbling experience, and I look forward to passing it on to my son. Each successive Lewer generation is committed to the Founder’s vision as we look to the next 60 years.
This company is indeed what it is built on—a family.”
-Mike Lewer, CEO
