It’s that time of the year again, when companies feel extraspecial for having made the list of Fortune magazine’s "100 BestCompanies to Work For." And while it’s great to have lists likethese because it fosters improvement, it’s also great to see whatthese companies are doing and how advisors, agents, brokers,business owners and the most important part that make up thesecorporations—employees—can emulate them and grow.

But, how do they do it? Fortune deploys its research teams andconducts extensive employee surveys in corporate America, accordingto their methodology. Two-thirds of a company’s rankings arebased on the results of the Trust Index Employee Survey, sent to arandom sample of employees of that company, Fortune says. Thesurvey asks questions about management’s credibility, overall jobsatisfaction and camaraderie. The other third is based on responseson the Culture Audit, which is a more detailed surveyabout benefits, communication, hiring practices, payand other categories. If you want to learn more about itor nominate a company, go here.

Keep reading to find out which financial and insurance companiesmade it on the list this year. Their ranks are listed according toFortune’s list, and our list goes from the lowest rated to thehighest rated. And there are some surprises along the way…

See also: Insurance industry adds 13,900 jobs inJanuary and Here are the 25 best business jobs for 2015

No. 95: Nationwide

This auto, home and life insurance company has an interestingbenefit for their employees. "Life resource counselors" helpworkers tackle challenges ranging from finding an electrician tolooking for assisted living arrangement for aging parents, saysFortune. Nationwide employs 33,672 people in the U.S.,of which 52% are women. They received more than 100,000 jobapplicants last year and added a total of 455 jobs in 2014.

No. 79: EY

Loosing only one spot from last year, EY, formerly known asErnst & Young, has made Fortune's list for 17 years. Founded in1894 and with a revenue of $25.8 billion as of last year, itemploys a total of 31,288 people in the U.S., of which 45% arewomen and 33% are minorities.

(Photo: AP. PRNewsFoto/Ernst & Young LLP)

No. 68: Allianz Life Insurance

Even though Allianz went down in rank, from 47 last year to thisyear's 68, benefits such as a 401(k) plan with dollar-for-dollarmatch up to 8% of pay and a 20% discount on the purchase of Allianzstock keep it on this list. The company employs 1,689 people in theU.S., of which 50% are women.

(Photo: Allianz's website)

No. 50: Goldman Sachs

With more than 467 partners, even though they’re no longer apartnership, Goldman Sachs remains one of Wall Street’s topinvestment banks, according to Fortune. They dropped five ranksfrom last year, and have been featured on this list for 18 years.The firm was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in NewYork. They offer incredible perks to their employees, such ascompressed work weeks, full-paid sabbaticals and college tuitionreimbursement options. They currently employ 13,802 people in theU.S.

(Photo: Goldman Sachs Twitter)

No. 49:Aflac

The beloved duck in insurance and its creator, Aflac, jumpedranks from 58 last year to 49 this year. They have been featured onthis list for 17 years. Also, of their 4,728 employees in the U.S.,67% are women and 44% are minorities. Another interesting fact isthat they received a whopping 27,037 job applicantions, or 53applicants per job opening, last year. They also have 5% offull-time voluntary turnover, and they must have amazing humanresources and staffing departments to go through all of thoseapplications! If you want to know more about their company story,and how the Aflac duck was "born," you can read and see a video here.

(Photo: The real, live Aflac Duck shines for thecameras before the 57th GRAMMY Awards®. Eric Reed/AP Images forAflac)

No. 48: FactSet Research Systems

Here's a nice surprise: the perfect blend of technology,analytics and finance. That's what FactSet mixes to providesoftware for investors. Founded in 1977 and headquarterd inNorwalk, Conn., FactSet describes itself as the "nerdy place wheresoftware specialists deliver computer-based financial informationto Wall Street professionals." Fortune cites FactSet's benefits,such as free lunches, 100% health insurance premium coverage andstanding workstations as a few of the features that lure, retainand make for very happy employees. The company went up two ranksfrom last year and has been featured for seven years on Fortune'slist. It has a total of 1,997 employees in the U.S.

(Photo: FactSet's Facebook page)

No. 33: USAA

It started with 25 Army officers meeting in San Antonio, Texas,back in 1922 to insure each other's cars, says USAA's website. The company offers differentfinancial services to people who have served in the U.S. militaryand their families. USAA dropped a few spots from 17 last year to33 this year. They have been part of this list for 10 years. Thecompany employs a total of 26,267 U.S. employees, of which 31% areHispanic or Latino, 54% are women, 9% are African American and 2%are Asian.

(Photo: USAA Facebook page)

No. 6: Edward Jones

Headquartered in Des Peres, Mo., Edward Jones today servesnearly 7 million investors. It was founded in 1922 by Edward D.Jones Sr. (not to be confused with the Dow Jones founder also namedEdward D. Jones), according to their website. Even though they fell two spotsfrom number four last year, their U.S. employee count is impressiveat 37,164 and 63% of them are women.

(Photo: Edward Jones' website)

No. 5: Robert W. Baird & Co.

Based in Milwaukee, Wis., Robert W. Baird & Co. is an employee-ownedfinancial services and investment banking company that bears thename of its founder, Robert Wilson Baird, and was founded in 1919.The investment firm has $120 billion in client assets and,according to Fortune, "Attributes success to CEO Paul Purcell’s onerule: there are "no a**holes here." Apparently only a few dozenpeople have been fired for breaking that one rule. Baird moved upspots from number nine to fifth, and has been featured on this listfor 12 years. It has a total of 2,822 employees in the U.S.

No. 3: Acuity Insurance

A newcomer to this list and based in Sheboygan, Wis., Acuityspecializes in PC insurance for both businesses and consumers. Itwas founded in 1925 and, according to their website, manages over $3 billion inassets and is the 65^th largest insurer in the U.S. Theirwebsite also boasts that the compay has "less than 2% employeeturnover," thus attracting and retaining "motivated, experiencedand dedicated professionals."

So, how do they keep their people around? Amazing benefits suchas no limit on tuition reimbursement, unlimited sick days and a401(k) plan where they match 8% into accounts every quarter. Theyhave about 1,039 employees in the U.S.

(Photo: Acuity's Facebook page)

Who took the top spots?

In second place, The Boston Consulting Group, a managementconsulting firm in Boston, and Google took first place (obviously,because of their amazing benefits…and all the other things theydo).

See also:

12 cool and unusual company benefits

The insurance company of the future