K&K Insurance Group, Inc.

1952 – today

Founded: 1952, Fort Wayne. The company's own history (in both its current Aon-hosted About page and its older Company History page) dates its origin to 1952, when its founders "began managing and marketing a benevolent fund to provide accident medical benefits to injured race car drivers." Insurance Business magazine's agency profile and its 2016 Top Program Administrators listing agree: founded 1952, headquarters Fort Wayne, by Nord and Teddi Krauskopf. The Rough Notes March 2002 50th-anniversary profile (Debra Tadevich, cited in the Nord Krauskopf record) is the trade-press corroboration. No incorporation record was retrieved, so 1952 rests on the accounts cited.

Founders: Nord Krauskopf (26 Jan 1922 – 3 Aug 1986, born and died in Fort Wayne) and his wife Teddi Krauskopf. Her full first name is given as Theodora (spelled "Teddie" in the Mopar Connection account; the company's own pages use only "Teddi"). A maiden name "Murdock" given for her was not found in any source worked — it is not carried as fact here. The "K&K" is the couple themselves: the company calls them "the original K&K."

What it did: Specialty insurance, at first only for motorsports: Nord, a Fort Wayne businessman who entered stock-car racing in 1948, found drivers covered only by their own contributions to a fund, and with Teddi pitched a plan for specialised race-driver insurance to Lloyd's of London (company About page — the "handshake" version in earlier summaries is that pitch, as the company tells it). K&K grew into a managing general underwriter — performing underwriting, sales, marketing, loss control and claims functions for the insurers it represents.

Course: Two intertwined arcs. The insurance arc: expansion in the 1960s–1970s into festival and fair insurance, a broader sports, leisure and event book across the U.S. and Canada in the 1980s, and sports and recreation expansion in the 1990s (company timeline; Music Connection 70-year account). The racing arc: K&K as NASCAR team owner/sponsor 1966–1977, winning the 1970 Grand National Championship with driver Bobby Isaac and crew chief Harry Hyde — a fact agreed by the company, Insurance Business and the Mopar account. Nord sold the racing team to J. D. Stacy in May 1977 (Mopar account). His retirement year is flagged: the company history text says he retired "in the late 70s," its timeline says 1980, and the Nord record says he retired in 1980 as chairman and owner and sold his ownership share in 1984 — the 1980/1984 sequence is carried, the "late 70s" wording is the loose variant. Ron Norton, a K&K underwriter since 1986, became president and CEO on 1 July 2022, succeeding Todd Bixler (Insurance Business / Performance Racing Industry).

Fate: Still operating, as an Aon subsidiary. Aon Corporation purchased K&K in 1993 (company timeline; Mopar account agrees), and it continues under the K&K name as a subsidiary of Aon plc, headquartered in Fort Wayne. Current company figures, carried as company claims: more than 250 employees in Fort Wayne, 80+ specialty programs, and coverage for 350,000+ events and organisations a year, under the motto "Insuring the World's Fun." The company timeline records a further Fort Wayne move in 2025: "The K&K office moves to Electric Works." The 1712 Magnavox Way address is not carried as current — it predates that move in the sources in hand.

Sources:

1. K&K Insurance, About Us (Aon-hosted) (founders Nord and Teddi Krauskopf, "the original K&K"; 1948 racing start; Lloyd's pitch; "in 1952, K&K Insurance was born"; 1970 championship, Isaac and Hyde; timeline: 1952 start, 1980 Nord retirement, 1993 Aon purchase, 2002 50th and 2022 70th anniversaries, 2025 Electric Works move; 250+ employees, 80+ programs, 350,000+ events) — https://kandk.prod.affinity.kentico.aon.com/about-us
2. K&K Insurance Group, Company History (1952 benevolent-fund origin; Nord retired "in the late 70s"; largest single motorsports insurance provider claim) — https://insure.kandkinsurance.com/sites/Entertainer/Pages/CompanyHistory.aspx
3. Insurance Business, "Agency profile: K and K Insurance Group, Ft Wayne IN," 15 Sept 2015 (founded 1952 by Nord and Teddi Krauskopf in Fort Wayne for motorsports participants; 1970 Grand National Championship) — https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/agency-profile-k-and-k-insurance-group-ft-wayne-in-24799.aspx
4. Mopar Connection Magazine, "The Legend of K&K Insurance, Bobby Isaac & Harry Hyde," 22 Jan 2020 (Nord and Theodora "Teddie," 1952, Fort Wayne, benevolent fund; racing team sold May 1977 to J. D. Stacy; company sold 1993 to Aon, continuing under the K&K name) — https://moparconnectionmagazine.com/gallery-the-legend-of-kk-insurance-bobby-isaac-harry-hyde/
5. Nord Krauskopf record (born 26 Jan 1922, Fort Wayne; died 3 Aug 1986; owner since the 1952 foundation; retired 1980; ownership share sold 1984; citing Tadevich, Rough Notes, March 2002) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord_Krauskopf
6. Insurance Business, "K&K Insurance names new president and CEO," 21 July 2022 (Ron Norton, effective 1 July 2022; 36 years at K&K from 1986; Aon subsidiary; Fort Wayne based; 70 years in business) — https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/kandk-insurance-names-new-president-and-ceo-413961.aspx