Public | |
Traded as | : AIG S&P 100 Component S&P 500 Component |
Industry |
Insurance Financial services |
Founded | 1919 Shanghai, China |
Founder | Cornelius Vander Starr |
Headquarters | New York City, New York, United States |
Area served
|
Worldwide |
Key people
|
Douglas Steenland (Non-executive Chairman) (President & CEO) |
Products | Insurance, Property Casualty: Commercial & Consumer, Life & Retirement, Mortgage Insurance |
Revenue | US$ 52.4 billion (2016) |
US$ 74 million (2016) | |
US$ 349 million (2016) | |
Total assets | US$ 498.3 billion (2016) |
Total equity | US$ 76.9 billion (2016) |
Number of employees
|
Approximately 56,400 (2016) |
Website | www |
Douglas Steenland (Non-executive Chairman)
American International Group, Inc., also known as AIG, is an American multinational insurance corporation with more than 88 million customers in 130 countries. As of 2015 AIG companies employed around 65,000 people. The company operates through three businesses: AIG Property Casualty, AIG Life and Retirement, and United Guaranty Corporation (UGC). AIG Property Casualty provides insurance products for commercial, institutional, and individual customers. AIG Life and Retirement provides life insurance and retirement services in the United States. UGC focuses on mortgage guaranty insurance and mortgage insurance. AIG also provides financial services in global capital markets operations, including direct investment and retained interests.
AIG was a central player in the financial crisis of 2008. It was bailed out by the federal government for $180 billion, and the government took control. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) of the US government concluded AIG failed primarily because it sold massive amounts of insurance without hedging its investment. Its enormous sales of credit default swaps were made without putting up initial collateral, setting aside capital reserves, or hedging its exposure — a profound failure in corporate governance, particularly its risk-management practices."
AIG's corporate headquarters are in New York City, its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) headquarters are in London, and its Asian headquarters are in Hong Kong. The company serves 98% of the Fortune 500 companies, 96% of Fortune 1000, and 90% of Fortune Global 500, and insures 40% of Forbes 400 Richest Americans. AIG was ranked 40th largest company in the 2014 Fortune 500 list. According to the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 list, AIG is the 42nd-largest public company in the world. On March 31, 2015 AIG had a market capitalization of $75.04 billion.
AIG traces its roots back to 1919, when American Cornelius Vander Starr (1892-1968) established a general insurance agency, American Asiatic Underwriters (AAU), in Shanghai, China. Business grew rapidly, and two years later, Starr formed a life insurance operation. By the late 1920s, AAU had branches throughout China and Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In 1926, Mr. Starr opened his first office in the United States, American International Underwriters Corporation (AIU). He also focused on opportunities in Latin America and, in the late 1930s, AIU entered Havana, Cuba. The steady growth of the Latin American agencies proved significant as it would offset the decline in business from Asia due to the impending World War II. In 1939, Mr. Starr moved his headquarters from Shanghai, China, to New York City.