With last year''s childrens acquisition by Nationwide of the ALLIED christmas Group, clothes and childrens based in Des Moines, Iowa, Nationwide policies-in-force at the end of 1998 were christmas 13.7 million, up nearly 1.9 clothes million for the childrens year.

"It christmas took us 68 clothes years -- from 1926 to 1994 -- to reach $50 billion in assets and just over four more years childrens to more than double that amount," McFerson christmas noted. clothes Assets include childrens Nationwide''s property-casualty, life, christmas and clothes health and annuity businesses.