American International Group, Inc. (AIG) (NYSE: AIG; TYO: 8685) is a major American
insurance corporation based in New York City. It has its European HQ in Croydon
in London, England, UK and its Asian HQ in Hong Kong, China. AIG is the sixth-largest
company in the world according to the 2007 Forbes Global 2000 list.
The company became a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on April 8,
2004. It is also the sponsor of Manchester United F.C. On December 11, 2006 it
was announced that a division of AIG would purchase from Dubai Ports World disputed
North American ports.
AIG's history dates back to 1919 by when
Cornelius Vander Starr set up an insurance agency in Shanghai, China. Starr was
the first Westerner in Shanghai to sell insurance to the Chinese. When his business
was successful there, he expanded to Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the
Middle East.
In 1962, Starr gave management of the company's unsuccessful
U.S. holdings to Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, who shifted the company's
U.S. focus from personal insurance to high-margin corporate coverage. Greenberg
focused on selling the insurance through independent brokers rather than agents
because Greenberg wanted to avoid selling insurance at prices which occasionally
became too low (to cover the future payouts) given marketplace competition;
a company with agents must pay their salary even while selling little to no insurance.
Instead, with brokers, AIG could price insurance properly even if it suffered
decreased sales of certain products for long lengths of time with very
little extra expense. In 1968, Starr named Greenberg his successor. The company
went public in 1969. Greenberg resigned as the company's CEO in February 2005
amid concern from the board about regulatory inquiries.
Type Public
(NYSE: AIG; TYO: 8685)
Founded 1919
Headquarters 70 Pine Street, New
York City, New York
Employees 97,000
Website www.aig.com |
