The American International Group, Inc, or AIG, as it is generally known as, is a major American insurance corporation and represents people around the world. Their U.S. headquarters are located in New York City, at the American International Building; they also have operations and offices around the world. They are a great company to work with because they offer all lines of insurance.
AIG was started by Cornelius Vander Starr, all the way back in 1919. Vander Starr started AIG in Shanghai, China, by selling insurance to the Chinese. He was the first Westerner to successfully sell insurance to the Chinese, and once AIG became a success in China, he parlayed that success to other markets around the world. He continued AIG expansion into Latin America, Middle East, and then Europe. AIG continued to market its insurance benefits with success and finally succeeded in the United States.
Initially, AIG underwhelmed big time in the U.S., with people deciding to go with other carriers. Vander Starr gave AIG’s U.S branch to Hank Greenburg and see what he could do with it. Greenburg came up with a novel idea; he decided to forgo selling personal insurance and decided to put his focus on high-margin corporate coverage. This is how AIG made its mark in the insurance world. They stopped selling insurance to agents and instead focused on independent brokers. This avoided the possibility of having to sell insurance at lower prices or having to deal with market competition. This was genius because all companies must pay their agent’s salaries even when they are not selling insurance. On the other hand, with brokers, AIG could keep the price of insurance up, even when sales were down for long periods of time with little or no penalty. This put AIG at the top of the insurance heap and in 1969, they went public and never looked back.
In the preceding decades, AIG became the largest underwriter of commercial and industrial insurance in the United States. They didn’t stop there, AIG America General, which is based in Nashville, TN, became one of the highest ranked life insurer in the United States as well. AIG has also delved into the world of auto insurance and started AIG Direct. These policies cover a wide range of auto insurance, including: private automobiles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, and commercial vehicles.
Like its inception, AIG has continued its success around the world. They offer insurance policies in Australia, Pakistan, China, Hong Kong, India, Philippines, Singapore, United Kingdom, Indonesia, and others. They underwrite millions of insurance policies every year and continue of offer millions of coverages to millions of different people and businesses. Their presence in these countries also provides millions of jobs. Some of the different coverages include: General insurance, corporate insurance, life insurance, auto insurance, auto insurance and many others. AIG has also gotten into other interests and sponsors the popular football team Manchester Untied and they own a skiing resort, called Stowe Mountain Resort.
