AIG leadership will change on March 1, 2021 when Peter S. Zaffino will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer currently held by Brian Duperreault, who will then become Executive Chairman. AIG panel counsel members will want to monitor this and other news items listed below.
Zaffino is a 30-year veteran of the insurance and reinsurance industry. Prior to joining AIG in 2017 he chaired the risk and insurance business at Marsh & McLennan Companies. He also worked as President & Chief Executive Officer of Guy Carpenter from 2008 to 2011.
Duperreault was AIG’s sixth CEO in 12 years when he took the reins in 2017. His priorities at the time were reducing risk exposures, selling assets, and streamlining operations. (See our 2017 blog post, “AIG Panel Counsel Impact of CEO Change.”)
AIG General Insurance and Life & Retirement Sectors
AIG is structured with two core businesses. General insurance is the largest segment with insurance products and services for commercial and personal insurance customers, representing 64 percent of AIG’s total revenue.
The Life and Retirement business, the smaller of the two core business sectors, includes life insurance, retirement and institutional products offered through an extensive distribution network. AIG announced on November 5, 2020 that it intends to separate the life and retirement business from AIG to establish two independent market leading companies.
AIG commercial lines include liability, financial lines, property, special risks, and reinsurance (this principally includes Validus Re). A more detailed description of certain lines follows:
- Liability products include general liability, environmental, commercial automobile liability, workers’ compensation, excess casualty and crisis management insurance products. Casualty also includes risk-sharing and other customized structured programs for large corporate and multinational customers.
- Financial lines products include professional liability insurance for a range of businesses and risks, including directors & officers (D&O), mergers and acquisitions, fidelity, employment practices (EPL), fiduciary liability, cyber risk, kidnap and ransom, and errors and omissions (E&O) insurance.
- Special Risks products include aerospace, political risk, trade credit, portfolio solutions, energy-related property insurance products, surety, marine and crop insurance.
AIG’s personal lines include Accident & Health, the Private Client Group serving high net worth clients, personal auto (including Japanese personal auto), personal property, travel, and warranty.
In May 2020 AIG formed Syndicate 2019, a Lloyd’s syndicate managed by Talbot, and set up a series of quota share arrangements to reinsure risks related to AIG’s Private Client Group, a recognized market leader in the High Net Worth market.
AIG Longer Term Initiatives
Executives within the General Insurance sector who are featured in AIG investor presentations reflect the insurer’s efforts to grow the next layer of leadership, with many new hires made from 2018 through 2020. New appointments include key executives in claims, underwriting and operations.
AIG’s investment portfolio has been significantly de- risked over the last five years and is currently reported to be well diversified with solid credit characteristics.
“AIG 200” continues to be a priority. This is a global initiative to achieve transformational change at AIG in the following ways:
- Deliver $1B of savings in general operating and other expenses
- Execute multi-year efficiency initiatives to support underwriting excellence
- Modernize the corporate operating infrastructure
- Enhance user and customer experiences
- Become a more unified company
AIG Panel Counsel Considerations
The AIG panel counsel program is always of great interest to insurance defense law firms that are either already on the panel or that aspire to be members. Maintaining an awareness of the corporate culture and priorities at AIG is a good way to enhance your law firm’s ability for AIG panel counsel consideration and retention.
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Disclaimer
This article is provided for educational purposes only. It is not to be interpreted as legal advice or an opinion in regard to any topic discussed. The article should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state. Every situation is different and circumstances vary widely depending on the governing state law, policy provisions, and related considerations.
