verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message rli corp. industry insurance founded 1965 founder gerald d. stephens headquarters peoria illinois u.s. key people jonathan e. michael chairman & ceo michael j. stone president chief operating officer 1 services insurance website www.rlicorp.com rli corp. nyse rli is an american property and casualty insurance company headquartered in peoria illinois with more than 50 branch offices conducting business in all 50 states . founded in 1965 by gerald d. stephens replacement lens inc. rli was one of the first insurers of contact lenses and eventually the company emerged as one of the leading contact lens insurers in the united states . building upon its success in the contact lens market rli further expanded its business into other niche insurance markets . today the company offers specialty property casualty insurance coverage in both the specialty admitted and excess and surplus markets . 2 rli conducts its operations primarily through four insurance subsidiaries rli insurance company mt. hawley insurance company rli indemnity company and contractors bonding and insurance company . all of rli s insurance subsidiaries are rated a superior by a.m. best company a distinction held by fewer than 10 percent of all property and casualty insurance companies in the country . rli insurance coverages are distributed to customers across the u.s. through branch offices that market to wholesale brokers and retail agencies . rli also provides select coverages through independent agents . the company offers nearly 40 different types of casualty property and surety coverage ranging from individually underwritten coverages to highly complex coverages . 3 some lines of insurance the company offers include general liability commercial and personal umbrella liability commercial transportation executive products liability professional liability commercial property marine crop reinsurance property reinsurance contract surety commercial surety and oil and gas surety . 4 history edit rli s history of innovation dates to the early 1960s when founder gerald d. stephens recognized the expense of replacing contact lenses and founded rli replacement lens inc. a contact lens insurance agency . in 1965 he acquired the holding company that would later become rli corp. rli was one of the first insurers of contact lenses and eventually it emerged as the largest insurer of its kind in the world . over time the demand for contact lens insurance shrank with the emergence of more affordable disposable soft lenses . in order to remain competitive stephens expanded rli s offerings to include commercial property and liability insurance . in 1994 the company retired its founding contact lens insurance product and in 1996 rli sold its rli vision unit to maui jim a manufacturer of luxury sunglasses . currently rli offers a variety of specialty insurance coverages designed for niche markets that are underserved by the insurance and reinsurance industry . rli s long history of financial strength and stability evidenced by its a superior a.m. best rating can be accredited to its unique business model . rli looks for underserved niches and opportunities to offer enhanced products that are new to the marketplace . the company puts decision making in the hands of its expert underwriters which enables producers to quickly and easily get customers the coverages they need . 5 external links edit rli corp. and subsidiaries official website rli casualty rli design professionals rli environmental rli executive products group rli home business insurance rli marine rli personal umbrella rli professional services group rli re rli rv insurance rli specialty programs rli surety rli transportation contractors bonding and insurance company safefleet rockbridge underwriting references edit officers & directors . retrieved 2015 11 07 . rli history rli corp . 404 page not found snl financial lc . business insurance personal insurance surety bonds rli corp . that s different . rli image brochure . retrieved june 25 2013 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title rli corp. & oldid 712303496 categories companies listed on the new york stock exchangecompanies established in 1965companies based in peoria illinoisinsurance companies based in illinoishidden categories articles needing additional references from september 2014all articles needing additional references navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial 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