American International Group

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading global insurance organization. AIG member companies provide a wide range of property casualty insurance, life insurance, retirement solutions, and other financial services to support their clients in business and in their personal lives through their General Insurance and Life & Retirement business units. AIG has operations in nearly eighty countries and jurisdictions.

AIG was founded in 1919 by Cornelius Vander Starr, after he established the American Asiatic Underwriters (AAU), a general insurance company in Shanghai, China. Later, the AAU became a part of the American International Underwriters (AIU). Two years later, in 1921, Starr wanted to gain general life insurance agency powers. He was unable to find a US company willing to assume the risk, so he created his own, Asia Life Insurance Company (ALICO).

In 1926, Starr opened his New York office under the name AIU. Then, in 1931, Starr joined British and Chinese businessmen in a partnership and established the International Assurance Company (INTASCO).

AIU established a foundation for Latin American business in 1932 when George Moszkowski, who ran the New York office, negotiated the purchase of the Central American and Caribbean portfolios of an American insurer withdrawing from foreign operations.

When World War II came about, AIU was able to capitalize on world economic and political situations. In 1933, Starr moved his headquarters to New York, temporarily closing the Shanghai office during the war. In 1940, AUU established a regional headquarters in Cuba, and other offices in South America opened shortly after. AIU's Central American business grew vastly with the local economies of these neutral countries during the war years.

At the end of World War II, the Shanghai office was reopened under the guidance of K.K. Tse, who would be an employee of AIG for over seventy years.In 1949, a regional headquarters was opened in Hong Kong, and by late 1950, operations in China were closed. However, other surrounding countries were recovering from war, and with economic improvement underway, AIU entered Japan and West Germany by selling insurance to occupying US troops. Pre-war, AIU operations were limited to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, but post-war, AIU was in a better position to expand operations.

In 1947, Starr began developing a reorganization that would help revive those affected by the war. He announced the incorporation of a Philippine arm of the American Life Insurance Company, the Philippine American Life Insurance Company (Philam Life). US businessman, Earl Carroll, was to head up the new company, and as a result, grew quickly, largely through the sale of endowment policies. These policies provided farmers and small merchants with the means to build their savings in a country with few banks.

The following year, in 1948, INTASCO was reorganized when Starr took control of the business. He added "American" to the company's name, changed the company's abbreviated name to "AIA," and assigned it to the Southeast Asian territories of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, with a headquarters of Hong Kong.

Also in 1948, Starr created two Bermuda-based companies, American International Underwriters Overseas, Ltd. (AIOU) and American International Reinsurance Company, Inc. (AIRCO). The following year, Starr established the American International Underwriters Association (AIUA) to serve as a partnership of American insurance companies that were represented by AIU.

During the 1950s, AIU continued with its rapid expansion. Branches were established in Western Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Australia. By 1960, AIU was operating in seventy-five countries. Acquisitions during the '60s included controlling interest in the National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the New Hampshire Insurance Company. By 1969, AIG acquired majority interests in National Union, New Hampshire, and American Home, and by 1970, AIU and its agencies and subsidiaries became wholly owned subsidiaries of AIG.

In the early 1970s, AIG increased its specialization by forming several new groups, including A.I. Credit Corporation, North American Managers, Inc., AIG Oil Rig, Inc., AIG Risk Management, Inc., AIG Data Center, Inc., and American International Insurance Company of Ireland, Ltd. AIG also acquired all remaining shares of the New Hampshire and National Union companies. By 1975, AIG's net income surpassed $50 million.

The next year, in 1976, AIU stopped writing policies for insurance companies it did not own. The same year, the company was organized into four broad categories: the foreign general insurance division, the brokerage division of domestic general insurance, the agency division of domestice general insurance and a life insurance division. AIG absorbed AIRCO in 1978 and completed its nine-year plan to consolidate and simplify corporate culture.

In 1979, AIG entered Eastern Europe and initiated joint ventures with state-owned insurers in Hungary, Poland and Romania. Later, operations began in China and Yugoslavia. That same year, AIG reported over $250 million in net income.

The following decade, during the 80s, AIG ventured into healthcare services and acquired various financial and investment sources and real estate holdings. Acquisitions included United Guaranty Corporation, Uberseebank A.G., Ticino Societa d'Assicurazioni Sulla Vita, Southeastern Aviation Underwriters, and Jurgovan & Blair.

The first year AIG reported a decline in profits was 1984. The decline was largely due to losses including those resulting from a major hurricane. In 1984, AIG Oil Rig, AIG Energy, AIG Entertainment and AIG Political Risk consolidated under the name AIG Specialty Agencies, Inc. The following year, AIG's profit margins rebounded and exceeded their 1983 earnings, posting a net income of $420 million. By 1987, the company had surpassed $1 billion in net income.

In 1987, two of AIG's most important executives, National Union President Joseph P. DeAlessandro and American Home President Dennis Busti left for other companies. Taking their place was Jeffrey W. Greenburg and Joseph R. Wiedemann, respectively.

AIG continued to broaden its trading markets in 1987, when it became the first foreign insurance organization on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The following year, AIG was listed on the London International Stock Exchange. By 1990, AIG was listed on both the Paris and Switzerland stock exchange.

In June 1990, AIG bought Fischbach Corporation for $43 billion. The Florida-based contractor was an AIG customer that began having financial difficulties. Throughout this decade, AIG continued to expand outside the United States and increased non-US revenue to 54 percent of the total in 1994. Also in 1994, Russia and Uzbekistan were added to AIG. Later that year, AIG received a license for its joint venture in Russia, which offered commercial insurance to Russian companies and foreign firms operating in Russia.

In May 2017, Brian Duppereault was appointed CEO after over twenty years with the company. Duppereault was CEO until his retirement in 2021 and was replaced by Peter Zaffino. Zaffino joined AIG in July 2017 as global chief operating officer, and in December 2019, he was appointed to President of AIG, before becoming CEO. In January 2022, he became chairman of the board of directors.

In June 2022, AIG was named to the Civic 50 List by Points of Light for the first time ever. The list recognizes the fifty most community-minded companies in the United States. The company was awarded the honor due to their commitment to helping individuals, businesses and communities, and largely in part to their $25 million contribution to nonprofit organizations, over 20,000 employee volunteer hours, and the AIG Compassionate Colleagues Fund that enables employees to make donations to a fund helping fellow colleagues overcome financial hardships.