Our Ethics

Reflecting the moral teachings of the Catholic Church and upholding the core principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism in its good works, the Order makes ethics an essential commitment to its business client relationships.

This commitment to ethical leadership has been recognized in the business community when the Knights of Columbus was named a 2016 World’s Most Ethical Company® by Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. The Knights of Columbus has been recognized among the world’s most ethical companies since 2014 when it was one of only two in the life insurance category, underscoring the Knights’ commitment to leading ethical business standards and practices.

"For more than 130 years, the Knights of Columbus has been protecting the financial future of Catholic families and providing charity to those on the margins of society,” said Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson. “That founding principle of helping those in need is at work in every aspect of our business, guiding our corporate governance, our professional agency force, our investments, and our day-to-day business operations. It is this continued commitment to our foundational, Catholic principles that is the key to our ethical, sustainable and successful business model.”

The Knights of Columbus’ principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism serve as the basis of the Order’s core values which are Integrity, Professionalism, Excellence, and Respect. Internally, the Order abides by a Code of Ethics and Conduct that demonstrates how the core values guide employees and contractors in difficult situations.

“At the Knights of Columbus, our values influence more than just our investments too. They also inform every aspect of our business, from the way we conduct our business, to the way we sell our products and treat our employees,” Supreme Knight Anderson said in his remarks at the Sustainable Investments Conference in Chicago in 2011. “Our marketing code of ethics is based on the Ten Commandments and our ‘Golden Rule’ requires our sales agents to pledge to those they serve the same standards they would apply to themselves. In addition, we work hard to make sure that the same approach is applied to our employees by offering excellent benefits – including health care and a defined benefit pension – and by maintaining an excellent relationship with both our management and union employees.”