Katolicka Jednota Zen Texaskych

What Katolicka Jednota Zen Texaskych does

Katolicka Jednota Zen Texaskych, operating as KJZT Family Life, is a private fraternal benefit society headquartered in Austin, Texas, founded in 1894 at St. Joseph's Parish in Yoakum to serve Czech Catholic women and their families. The society sells whole life, term life, and senior life insurance, tax-deferred annuities, and individual retirement annuity plans (Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP) to its members, with underwriting ranging from standard medical to relaxed-issue products for ages 50-80. Premiums are billed monthly on a subscription basis, with deposit minimums on annuity products ranging from $2,000 to $10,000.

KJZT operates a Texas-only distribution model combining licensed insurance agents and field managers with parish-based local societies and Czech cultural events (e.g., Slavnost in La Grange, National Polka Festival in Ennis), supported by member and agent portals and a quarterly Fraternal Journal. Member benefits layer non-insurance value on top of the insurance core: Camp Guardian Angel, Junior Scholarships, Orphan Benefits, Catholic School Tuition Benefit, Guaranteed Insurability for Newborns, and Script Save pharmacy discounts. The organization is member-owned (no external investors), rebranded from 'Catholic Family Fraternal of Texas' to 'KJZT Family Life' in January 2019, and is led by President/CEO Catherine Sylvester, who was appointed in 2021. In 2024, members contributed over 27,000 volunteer hours and $274,000 in donations to Texas communities and parishes.

Name

Katolicka Jednota Zen Texaskych

Legal name

Katolicka Jednota Zen Texaskych - Catholic Women's Union of Texas

Website

https://kjzt.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1894

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

KJZT Family Life is a private Texas-based Catholic fraternal benefit society, founded in 1894, offering whole life, term, and senior life insurance plus annuities and IRAs to members across Texas. It supplements insurance with camp, scholarship, orphan, and community-giving benefits through a parish-based local society network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Direct Life Insurance Carriers (524113), Direct Life, Health, and Medical Insurance Carriers (52411)

SIC

Life Insurance (6311), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Whole Life Insurance (FSAIABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Level Term Life Insurance (FSAIAAAA), Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance (FSAIABAG)

Keywords

• Fraternal life insurance
• Whole life insurance
• Term life insurance
• Tax deferred annuities
• Fraternal benefit society

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Whole Life Insurance Premiums: Members pay regular premiums for whole life insurance coverage that remains in effect until age 100. Premiums are payable for life, until age 100 or death. The policy includes guaranteed cash values that accrue on a tax-favored basis.
2. Term Life Insurance Premiums: Term insurance products offering coverage for 10, 20, or 30 year periods with high face amounts and low premiums. Coverage is guaranteed from day one.
3. Senior Life Insurance Premiums: Whole life cash-value coverage for individuals age 50-80 with relaxed underwriting (no medical exams). Offers Level, Graded, and Modified Death Benefit options with face amounts from $5,000-$25,000.
4. Tax Deferred Annuities: Single Premium Deferred Annuities (minimum $10,000 deposit) and Flexible Premium Deferred Annuities (minimum $2,000 deposit) that grow tax-deferred and help fund KJZT community programs.
5. Individual Retirement Annuity Plans: Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plans that must involve an annuity. Same contribution limits, tax advantages, and catch-up provisions as standard IRAs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

KJZT Family Life is a Catholic fraternal benefit society that sells whole life insurance, term life insurance (10/20/30-year), senior life insurance for ages 50-80, tax-deferred annuities (SPDA, FPDA, 5-Year SPDA), and individual retirement annuity plans (Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP). It supplements these financial products with fraternal member benefits including youth camps, scholarships, tuition grants, and community disaster relief programs delivered through a network of local societies across Texas.

Product overview

KJZT Family Life operates as a Catholic fraternal benefit society offering a portfolio of insurance and retirement products alongside member benefits. The core insurance offerings include Whole Life Insurance (with variants like Life Paid-up at Age 65, 20 Year Pay, 15 Year Pay, and Single Premium) and Term Life Insurance (10, 20, and 30-year terms). Specialty plans include Senior Life for ages 50-80 with simplified underwriting. Retirement products consist of Tax Deferred Annuities (SPDA, FPDA, and 5-Year SPDA) and Individual Retirement Annuity Plans (Traditional IRA, SEP, Roth IRA). The organization enhances member engagement through extensive fraternal benefits including Camp Guardian Angel, Junior Scholarships, Catholic School Tuition Benefit, Script Save pharmacy discount, Orphan Benefits, Guaranteed Insurability for Newborns, and the Fraternal Journal. Founded in 1894 and rebranded from Catholic Family Fraternal of Texas to KJZT Family Life in January 2019.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 27,000+ volunteer hours contributed by members in 2024
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments8 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• American Fraternal AllianceminorOthers · 1 January 2026KJZT participates in American Fraternal Alliance conferences and events. President/CEO Catherine Sylvester attended the 2026 Spring Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA, where she was honored along with leaders from other fraternal organizations to pay tribute to female founders of the fraternal movement.
• Kerr County Flood Relief Fund (hosted by Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country)minorOthers · 1 January 2025KJZT donated $42,314.25 to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund following July 2025 Central Texas floods. The fund directs donations to vetted organizations providing rescue, relief, and recovery efforts.
• Austin Disaster Relief NetworkminorOthers · 1 January 2025KJZT donated $14,104.75 to Austin Disaster Relief Network following July 2025 Central Texas floods. ADRN is a trained network of churches offering disaster survivor support including physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
• Camp Buckner (Buckner International)coreOthersCamp Buckner provides the facility for KJZT's Camp Guardian Angel summer camp program. The camp is held at Camp Buckner's location in Burnet, Texas. KJZT requires all camp participants to sign Camp Buckner's Consent, Indemnification, and Acknowledgement of Risks form.
• Catholic Charities of TexasminorOthersDuring Hurricane Harvey disaster relief, KJZT forwarded donations and matching funds to Catholic Charities Program of affected areas.
• Clerical Endowment Fund (CEF)minorOthersThe CEF is a voluntary donation fund for members to benefit those studying for the priesthood. Donations are presented to the Bishops of the Dioceses as indicated by donors. The State Chaplain offers Masses for donors and enrollees.
• Czech Catholic Foundation of Texas (CCFT)minorOthersKJZT members are eligible for CCFT's annual Youth Essay Contest. KJZT junior member Nicole Enders won the 2024 contest with a $500 cash award and icon of St. Ludmila.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• WoodmenLife: Fraternal benefit society providing life insurance and annuity products through local chapters and field representatives. Closely mirrors KJZT's chapter-based community distribution and fraternal benefit society structure.
• Gleaner Life Insurance Society: Fraternal benefit society offering life insurance and annuities to members through a society/fraternal network. Comparable in scale, structure, and member-benefit orientation to KJZT.
• Loyal Christian Benefit Association: Christian fraternal benefit society offering life insurance, annuities, and member benefits. Comparable to KJZT in faith-based fraternal structure and community-benefit orientation, though without the Catholic specificity.
• Modern Woodmen of America: Large fraternal benefit society offering life insurance, annuities, and fraternal member benefits through local representative/fraternal programs. Comparable operating model to KJZT's field-agent-plus-society structure, though at materially larger scale.
• Royal Neighbors of America: Fraternal benefit society originally founded for women, offering life insurance and member benefits through a chapter-based network. Comparable to KJZT's women-founded heritage and community-led fraternal model.
• Catholic Order of Foresters: Catholic fraternal benefit society offering life insurance, annuities, and member benefits through a parish-based society network. Highly comparable to KJZT in mission, product mix, and Catholic parish-driven distribution model.
• First Catholic Slovak Union: Catholic fraternal benefit society with strong Slovak-American cultural roots offering life insurance, annuities, and fraternal benefits. Comparable to KJZT in combining Catholic faith, Slavic heritage, and insurance products.
• CSA Fraternal Life (Czech-Slovak American Fraternal Life): Fraternal benefit society serving Czech and Slovak Americans with life insurance and annuity products. The closest analog to KJZT, sharing both the fraternal benefit society structure and the Slavic-American/Catholic niche focus.
• National Slovak Society: Slavic-heritage fraternal benefit society providing life insurance and annuity products. Comparable to KJZT in ethnic-Catholic cultural anchoring and fraternal insurance model.

Broad incumbents

• Thrivent Financial: Large fraternal benefit society that has expanded into a broad Christian-aligned financial services platform (life insurance, annuities, advice, investments). Demonstrates the larger-scale trajectory KJZT's fraternal model could take, though Thrivent operates far beyond KJZT's niche.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KJZT.TEX
• Xx.com/cathfamtx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Katolicka Jednota Zen Texaskych