The Ohio National Life Insurance Company was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 9, 1909. The corporate headquarters was a single room, staffed by six employees, in a downtown office building on Fourth Street. In 1913, one of the early presidents, Albert Bettinger, a full-time attorney, would leave his law office and walk a few blocks to the new insurance company and manage activities. By 1914, Ohio National had purchased the Toledo Life and Seven States insurance companies, and had absorbed the Ohio Mutual Life Insurance Company. Albert Bettinger realized that the company's needs had grown and made a management decision that was to have far-reaching impact on the future of the company.

The insurance company had not changed much in the early 20th century. However, by 1914, a new discipline, insurance actuary, was beginning to have an effect on the industry. Albert Bettinger persuaded Troy W. Appleby, a founding member of the American Society of Actuaries, to become Ohio National's actuary. The team of Bettinger and Appleby combined the best in seasoned management with insurance planning.