American Fidelity Life Insurance Company was founded in 1956 by decorated WWII Marine, Charles Woodbury. As a combat aviator, Mr. Woodbury was instilled with a sense of purpose, commitment and all the values and traditions that make our military and country the strongest in the world.
After leaving the military Mr. Woodbury returned to Pensacola, Florida and began working with local families, both military and non-military. His goal was to help them increase their quality of life and security by offering them unique and stable financial products designed specifically for their needs. In working with these people, he discovered that they all had a similar problem, a lack of retirement and insurance planning. Mr. Woodbury also realized that most companies providing programs to the men and women of the US Armed Forces were out of touch with their unique needs.
Mr. Woodbury believed he could provide a better program for our U.S. military and civilians worldwide by forming his own company–American Fidelity Life Insurance Company (AmFi).
SGLI
Servicemembers Group Life Insurance
Our founder Charles Woodbury’s insurance companies were among the founders of the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and AmFi is proud to be an underwriter of this U.S. military program that protects all military members throughout the world today. We strongly encourage participation in SGLI. Our flexible universal and whole life insurance plans and their extraordinary record of building cash, are an excellent supplement to the government or other programs.
Charles Putnam Woodbury was a man of vision. His forward-thinking and blue-collar work ethic helped him become one of Northwest Florida’s most successful businessmen. He loved his country and the military members who fought to protect it. He was also a family man and community leader who gave back generously. Few people in American history were as devoted to their country and community as Mr. Woodbury.
Originally from Kansas City, MO., Mr. Woodbury was nineteen when his father died prematurely. He was forced to leave college in Arizona and move home to care for his mother and four sisters. This was an early lesson for him in the value of life insurance.
Soon after World Word II started, Mr. Woodbury joined the Navy as an aviation cadet. He later served in the Marines as a combat fighter pilot. After leaving active duty, he remained in the military as a reservist before retiring as a Major after twenty years of service. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Gold Stars, Purple Heart, Presidential Citation with Bar and the Bronze Star as well as various other theatre and campaign medals.
Mr. Woodbury was married to Eleanor Gunn, also a Marine, and they settled in Pensacola, Florida, the home of Naval Aviation. He became a leader in Northwest Florida in both insurance and banking and had a special interest in serving the needs of the military community. As a natural leader, he was gifted at promoting leadership for young people and enjoyed creating jobs for the community as well. He was a volunteer fire-fighter, he chartered the first Boy Scout troop ever in Warrington, Florida and later became chairman of the Gulf Coast Council.
His significant contributions to the community earned him the prestigious award of Florida’s first Northwest Business Man of the Year in 1960. Over the course of Mr. Woodbury’s life, he positively affected the lives of thousands of people and to this day his companies and family continue his tradition of helping our military and civilians achieve success in their lives.