KLIC History

When Lonnie Benjamin Kilpatrick established the Kilpatrick Life Insurance Co. in 1932,

Americans were solidly in the grip of the Great Depression. For many, meeting even the

basic expenses of daily living was a constant struggle. In such circumstances, the costs

associated with burying a loved one placed a near-impossible burden upon a family.

Perceiving the need to help families deal with this wrenching problem, Lonnie and his

wife, Nellie Peters Kilpatrick, established a firm which, at a cost of literally pennies a

month, could insure the payment of the family member’s burial expenses. It was a service

which was direly needed and greatly appreciated by Shreveport area citizens.

“My father was truly an optimist,” says current Kilpatrick President/CEO Virginia K. Shehee. “He always expected the best – of himself and others. His generosity was legendary, and people never forgot that.”

Today the company he founded during those dark Depression days ranks among the top domestic insurers in Louisiana. The fundamental operating philosophy remains true to the ideas of its founder. The home office is located in Shreveport and has twelve district or area offices to serve north Louisiana, central Louisiana and east Texas.

“Our clients are still primarily individuals,” says Mrs. Shehee. “We now offer a wide variety of life insurance products – permanent and term life, before-need, mortgage insurance, hospital indemnity and ambulance policies, for example. Most of our products remain geared toward the needs of the family buyer rather than the corporate buyer. Our agents still go out to visit people in their homes rather than asking them to come to us. We still do a little advertising, getting most of our business through the reputation our company has built over the years. Our number one commitment was – and is – to provide sincere service with financial fairness to the people who are our clients and friends.

“And we still honor those burial policies that we sold back in the thirties,” Mrs. Shehee adds, “even though the cost of burial, like everything else, has been multiplied many times over since then. Our reputation is our most important asset.”

The growth of Kilpatrick Life Insurance Company over the years has been generated by increased sales based on customer demand, as well as through the acquisition of existing insurers. These include the purchase of Bayou State Insurance in Minden in 1967 and Central State Life Insurance company in Alexandria in 1982.

With financial assets of some $124 million and reserves approaching that figure, Kilpatrick Life Insurance Company

employs a staff of nearly 200. In addition to the 15,000-square-foot home office and district headquarters in Shreveport,

Louisiana, our offices are located in Alexandria, Arcadia, Coushatta, Jena, Logansport, Mansfield, Marksville, Minden,

Oakdale, and Springhill, and a Texas office in Longview.

After her husband’s death in 1956, Nellie Kilpatrick took over as President of the company, and Virginia Shehee

became the firm’s Chief Executive Officer following her mother’s death in 1971. In the Kilpatrick tradition, Virginia

Shehee has generously contributed both time and resources to numerous local businesses, civic and cultural

organizations.

“I, as an individual, and we as a company, have always tried to participate in our community, to make Shreveport and

this entire area a better place to live,” Mrs. Shehee says. “We’re sold on Shreveport, on Louisiana, on East Texas, and

perhaps even Arkansas,” she says with a twinkle in her eye. “We think this is one of the best places in America to live

and work, and we plan to be here to celebrate our Centennial while providing products and services that our community needs.”