The ink was barely dry on his shingle when Lorimer Davidson, who worked for a Baltimore investment firm, approached Kreeger about a small Texas automobile insurance company that was seeking a buyer for 75 percent of its stock. Kreeger agreed to help find an investor.

The more Kreeger tried to sell others on the company, the more he sold himself. Finally, with no other investors in sight, Kreeger put together his own syndicate, including Davidson and himself. They bought three-fourths of the Government Employees Insurance Company for $1,150,000 in 1948. Kreeger became vice president and general counsel of the company.

Over the years GEICO added companies offering life insurance, home owners' insurance, and auto financing. It expanded across the nation. Still it retained the original formula: saving sales commissions through mail solicitations and word-of mouth referrals; passing savings on to policy holders; limiting coverage to a select group; and providing outstanding service.

Kreeger became president of GEICO in 1964 and moved up to chief executive officer and chairman of the board in 1970. He decentralized the company and expanded services to include mutual funds and annuities. By 1972 more than 2 million GEICO policies were in force.

When he retired from GEICO in 1974, David Lloyd Kreeger was perhaps better known for his contributions to the arts than for his role in the creation of an insurance-industry giant. He still chairs the boards of the Washington Opera and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. His list of "miscellaneous philanthropies" is longer than most people's resumes. His hallmark has always been the same: "Outstanding Service."