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

But, how do they do it? Fortune deploys its research teams and conducts extensive employee surveys in corporate America, according to their methodology. Two-thirds of a company’s rankings are based on the results of the Trust Index Employee Survey, sent to a random sample of employees of that company, Fortune says. The survey asks questions about management’s credibility, overall job satisfaction and camaraderie. The other third is based on responses on the Culture Audit, which is a more detailed survey about benefits, communication, hiring practices, pay and other categories. If you want to learn more about it or nominate a company, go here.

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

No. 95: Nationwide

This auto, home and life insurance company has an interesting benefit for their employees. "Life resource counselors" help workers tackle challenges ranging from finding an electrician to looking for assisted living arrangement for aging parents, says Fortune. Nationwide employs 33,672 people in the U.S., of which 52% are women. They received more than 100,000 job applicants last year and added a total of 455 jobs in 2014.

No. 79: EY

Loosing only one spot from last year, EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, has made Fortune's list for 17 years. Founded in 1894 and with a revenue of $25.8 billion as of last year, it employs a total of 31,288 people in the U.S., of which 45% are women and 33% are minorities.

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

allianz

No. 68: Allianz Life Insurance

Even though Allianz went down in rank, from 47 last year to this year's 68, benefits such as a 401(k) plan with dollar-for-dollar match up to 8% of pay and a 20% discount on the purchase of Allianz stock keep it on this list. The company employs 1,689 people in the U.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 a partnership, Goldman Sachs remains one of Wall Street’s top investment banks, according to Fortune. They dropped five ranks from last year, and have been featured on this list for 18 years. The firm was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York. They offer incredible perks to their employees, such as compressed work weeks, full-paid sabbaticals and college tuition reimbursement options. They currently employ 13,802 people in the U.S.

(Photo: Goldman Sachs Twitter)

No. 49: Aflac

The beloved duck in insurance and its creator, Aflac, jumped ranks from 58 last year to 49 this year. They have been featured on this list for 17 years. Also, of their 4,728 employees in the U.S., 67% are women and 44% are minorities. Another interesting fact is that they received a whopping 27,037 job applicantions, or 53 applicants per job opening, last year. They also have 5% of full-time voluntary turnover, and they must have amazing human resources and staffing departments to go through all of those applications! 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 the cameras before the 57th GRAMMY Awards®. Eric Reed/AP Images for Aflac)

No. 48: FactSet Research Systems

Here's a nice surprise: the perfect blend of technology, analytics and finance. That's what FactSet mixes to provide software for investors. Founded in 1977 and headquarterd in Norwalk, Conn., FactSet describes itself as the "nerdy place where software specialists deliver computer-based financial information to Wall Street professionals." Fortune cites FactSet's benefits, such as free lunches, 100% health insurance premium coverage and standing workstations as a few of the features that lure, retain and make for very happy employees. The company went up two ranks from last year and has been featured for seven years on Fortune's list. 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 different financial services to people who have served in the U.S. military and their families. USAA dropped a few spots from 17 last year to 33 this year. They have been part of this list for 10 years. The company employs a total of 26,267 U.S. employees, of which 31% are Hispanic 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 serves nearly 7 million investors. It was founded in 1922 by Edward D. Jones Sr. (not to be confused with the Dow Jones founder also named Edward D. Jones), according to their website. Even though they fell two spots from number four last year, their U.S. employee count is impressive at 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-owned financial services and investment banking company that bears the name 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 one rule: there are "no a**holes here." Apparently only a few dozen people have been fired for breaking that one rule. Baird moved up spots from number nine to fifth, and has been featured on this list for 12 years. It has a total of 2,822 employees in the U.S.

(Photo: Baird's website)

No. 3: Acuity Insurance

A newcomer to this list and based in Sheboygan, Wis., Acuity specializes in PC insurance for both businesses and consumers. It was founded in 1925 and, according to their website, manages over $3 billion in assets and is the 65^th largest insurer in the U.S. Their website also boasts that the compay has "less than 2% employee turnover," thus attracting and retaining "motivated, experienced and dedicated professionals."

So, how do they keep their people around? Amazing benefits such as no limit on tuition reimbursement, unlimited sick days and a 401(k) plan where they match 8% into accounts every quarter. They have 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 management consulting firm in Boston, and Google took first place (obviously, because of their amazing benefits…and all the other things they do).

See also:

12 cool and unusual company benefits

The insurance company of the future

Special Reports /

Top 10 financial and insurance companies to work for in 2015

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