In the spring of 1999, the Virginia Bankers Association’s Management Services group introduced the concept of a consortium of community banks pooling their funds to acquire insurance agencies for the purpose of providing insurance products to their community bank customers. This concept had been thoroughly researched since 1997, with surveys of banks undertaken, discussions with Federal Banking Regulators held, and preliminary meetings held with community banks to “roll out” the concept. In June 1999 Bankers Insurance was formed and formally capitalized with over 60 banks participating.