GM Nation

What GM Nation does

GM Nation is the community-facing brand for Golden Memorial Insurance, a family-owned insurance distribution agency founded in 1963 by Ray Barragan Sr. and MaryAnn Barragan in Hollister, California and now headquartered at 3125 E Robertson Blvd, Suite A in Chowchilla, California. The company distributes final expense insurance — whole life policies with coverage from $1,000 to $20,000 for ages 0–85, plus a Modified 20-Pay variant for ages 0–80 — underwritten by Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Co., which carries an AM Best A- (Excellent) rating. Each policyholder receives complimentary Funeral Consumer Guardian Society (FCGS) membership providing 24/7 funeral arrangement support and average family savings of $1,800 on traditional funerals and up to $600 on cremation. Operations are presently authorized in 16 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin), with New York and Washington explicitly outside the footprint.

GM Nation runs a direct-to-consumer go-to-market executed entirely through a nationwide network of 2,000+ independent contractors who sell Golden Memorial policies in the field. Its proprietary Lead Financing System underwrites the cost of exclusive TV, direct mail, and digital leads for contracted agents, recovering those costs via a small commission withholding rather than upfront fees to the agent. Agents are paid commissions within 24 hours of each sale, retain lifetime renewal residuals on their book of business, and progress through a structured path from field agent to district manager to regional manager to agency ownership. An in-house policy service team handles retention calls, underwriting approvals, and client satisfaction — work that competing agencies typically leave to the individual agent. Training, events (GM Awards, Las Vegas and Monterey Galas), incentive trips, and Rolex rewards are used to recruit and retain the agent pipeline.

Reported scale metrics include $53M+ in annualized yearly premiums, an average agent yearly income of $76,434, and over $1M in policies saved through retention efforts in the past year. The firm is privately held and family-owned, with no disclosed outside investors and no parent company; second-generation leadership is provided by Ray Barragan Jr. (President), AnnMarie Barragan (SVP, 32+ years with the firm), Andrew Barragan, and CFO MaryAnn Barragan. The core employee headcount at headquarters stands at 26, reflecting that the operating model is built around an independent-contractor agent channel rather than W-2 staff.

Name

GM Nation

Legal name

Golden Memorial Insurance

Website

https://gm-nation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GM Nation, DBA Golden Memorial Insurance, is a family-owned final expense insurance distribution agency founded in 1963, selling whole life burial policies ($1,000–$20,000) through 2,000+ independent field agents across 16 U.S. states, underwritten exclusively by Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance (AM Best A-).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Final Expense Insurance

NAICS

Direct Life Insurance Carriers (524113)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Final Expense / Burial Life Insurance (FSAIABAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Whole Life Insurance (FSAIABAA)

Keywords

• Final expense insurance
• Burial insurance
• Funeral insurance
• Life insurance agents
• Insurance lead financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chowchilla

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Insurance Agent Commissions: Agents earn commissions on each final expense insurance policy sold. Commissions are paid within 24 hours of sale. Contracts include lifetime renewals where agents continue earning residuals on renewals.
2. Renewal and Residual Income: Agents earn renewal commissions and residual income as policies renew over time. The residual model provides steady income stream after retiring from active sales.
3. Lead Financing Charges: A small portion of agent commissions is withheld to cover lead charges and charge-backs for the lead financing system.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

GM Nation operates Golden Memorial Insurance, the largest final expense insurance agency in the United States, distributing funeral and burial insurance coverage ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 to individuals ages 0-85. Policies are sold exclusively through a nationwide network of 2,000+ independent agents across 16 states and are underwritten by Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Company, which holds an AM Best A- (Excellent) rating. The Modified 20-Pay plan allows qualifying policyholders (ages 0-80) to complete premium payments over 20 years while maintaining coverage thereafter.

Product overview

GM Nation is a community platform for Golden Memorial Insurance agents, offering final expense insurance as the core product. The main offering is the Final Expense Insurance plan (available ages 0-85) with coverage from $1,000 to $20,000, plus the Modified 20-Pay option (ages 0-80). These are underwritten by Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance (A.M. Best A- rated) and backed by a free FCGS membership providing funeral arrangement support. The platform also provides agent support services including a Lead Financing System (direct mail, digital-web, and TV leads) and a Training Program (from field agent to agency builder). Available in 16 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Final Expense Insurance Whole-life funeral and burial insurance plan that pays cash for funeral and other end-of-life expenses anywhere in the world and is accepted by funeral directors everywhere. Available to individuals ages 0-85 with coverage from $1,000 to $20,000, optional accidental death benefit up to $100,000, no physical exam required, and rates that never increase for the life of the policy.
• Modified 20-Pay Whole Life Modified payment whole-life option available to qualifying applicants ages 0-80 that allows policyholders to complete premium payments over a 20-year period while maintaining coverage thereafter, on the same simplified one-page application and no-physical-exam underwriting as the standard final expense plan.

Quantifiable outcome

• Agents paid within 24 hours of sale
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance Co.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLincoln Heritage Life Insurance Co. underwrites Golden Memorial's final expense and funeral/burial insurance plans. The company is rated A- (Excellent) by AM Best, providing financial stability backing for the insurance products sold through GM Nation agents.
• Funeral Consumer Guardian Society (FCGS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFCGS is a partner that provides FREE membership to policy holders. When a policyholder passes away, FCGS immediately assists surviving loved ones with funeral arrangements, helping them cope with details that arise. Families save on average $1,800 on traditional funerals and up to $600 on cremation through this partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Colonial Life: Colonial Life, a Unum subsidiary, distributes supplemental insurance including life and accident products through worksite and individual agents in channels that overlap with GM Nation's final expense focus.
• Transamerica: Transamerica sells final expense insurance through agent and direct channels with similar simplified underwriting to GM Nation, competing for the same senior end-customer with comparable products and coverage ranges.
• Mutual of Omaha: Mutual of Omaha is a major direct writer of life insurance including a strong final expense product line, distributed through both captive agents and independent networks - a direct competitor for GM Nation's core market.
• Lincoln Heritage Life Insurance: Lincoln Heritage is GM Nation's exclusive underwriting partner and independently sells its own final expense products through other distribution channels - both an upstream dependency and a direct competitor in the final expense space.
• Senior Market Sales: Senior Market Sales is a leading insurance marketing organization serving agents with final expense, Medicare, and senior market products - structurally analogous to GM Nation as an IMO/distributor targeting the same end customer.
• Ritter Insurance Marketing: Ritter is one of the largest IMOs providing agents with senior market products (final expense, annuities, Medicare) and lead-generation support - same business model and end-customer as GM Nation's Golden Memorial platform.
• Globe Life: Globe Life operates one of the largest agent-driven life insurance distribution platforms with significant final expense exposure through Globe Life Direct and Family Heritage Life, directly competitive with GM Nation's agency model and product focus.

Broad incumbents

• Aflac: Aflac is a broad incumbent in supplemental life and accident insurance sold primarily through agent networks - competing for similar small-ticket life policies targeting middle-income consumers and seniors.
• Corebridge Financial: Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Life & Retirement) is a broad incumbent life insurance carrier with final expense offerings and a large agent distribution network that competes in the broader life insurance market where GM Nation operates.

Emerging players

• F&G Annuities & Life: F&G is a growing life insurance and annuity carrier with simplified-issue products including final expense-style whole life offerings targeted at similar middle-market and senior customers through agent channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GMNation
• Instagraminstagram.com/gmnation_?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gmnation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 GM Nation