Mountain Life Insurance Company was originally incorporated in Arizona in 1972 as a subsidiary of the Bank of Maryville, Maryville, Tennessee, and was moved to Tennessee in 1979.
In 1983 the Bank of Maryville was acquired, and Mountain Life was purchased by Mountain Services Corporation, a holding company owned by five individuals: Patrick Norris, President of Mountain Life; Earl R. Whaley, Chairman of Earl R. Whaley & Company; Alex Cantrell, President of Cantrell & Associates; Ray Smith, Chairman of the Bank of Huntingdon; and D. Webster Johnston, former Chairman of the Crescent Company and Third National Bank. These individuals made up the original Board of Directors.
In 1987 the holding company, Mountain Services Corporation, offered fifty percent of its stock in an IPO. The offering was oversubscribed in three and a half weeks to approximately 200 shareholders, most of whom are producers for the company.
On January 1, 2018, Mountain Life Insurance Company was purchased by Terry E. Forcht and the Kentucky National Insurance Group. Today, Mountain Life Insurance Company serves policy owners through independent insurance agents in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.