Travelers 2002 Annual Report Download - page 7

In 2002 we made progress in:
•Becoming a key trading partner with our agents and brokers. In recent years significant consolidation has occurred
among agents and brokers in the United States. We expect this trend to continue. These larger organizations seek
to narrow the number of insurance companies with which they do significant business in order to become more
efficient and profitable. Our goal is to be one of their key trading partners. We can do that by continuing to broaden
the products and services we offer to agents and brokers and delivering a “consider it done” attitude: aggressive,
responsive and professional. This will assure The St. Paul’s position as a “go-to” market.
•Introducing our Small Commercial platform. We began a major expansion of our small business insurance operation.
This is a $50 billion market that is highly fragmented among insurance companies. We see plenty of market opportuni-
ty for a focused and skilled national carrier. The core of our platform is SPCXpressSM, a state-of-the-art Web-based
underwriting tool, which enables agents and brokers to enter the information necessary to qualify, price, issue and
endorse typical small business policies – all in a matter of minutes. Our products, St. Paul MainstreetSM and St. Paul
AdvantageSM, have been enhanced to offer increased flexibility to small business owners at a competitive price.
Excellent service is key to success in the small commercial arena. Our national service center in Atlanta is devoted
exclusively to meeting the customer service needs of agents and brokers and their small business clients. Our
objective is to make doing business with The St. Paul inexpensive, fast and efficient, and we believe that we have
set a new standard for the small commercial marketplace.
•Establishing our Property Solutions operation. In 2002 we combined our large account property and catastrophe
risk underwriting expertise to form a unique organization called Property Solutions. This unit makes it easier for
agents and brokers to work with us by providing a single point of contact within The St. Paul for large property
accounts. It offers us the flexibility to underwrite a broad range of property insurance programs while managing
our overall exposure.
•Expanding our Specialty Operations. A key component of our ongoing strategy involves expanding our position as
a leading specialty insurance provider, offering value-added, industry-specific underwriting, loss control and claim
expertise to select groups of customers. We are focused on increasing our presence in our current specialty areas
and building or acquiring attractive new specialties that offer the potential for profitable growth.
For example, during the fourth quarter of 2002, we acquired the renewal rights to Royal & SunAlliance’s U.S. finan-
cial and professional liability business. This business, representing approximately $125 million of written premiums,
is similar to our own book of financial and professional liability business. And in February 2003, we purchased the
renewal rights to a book of excess casualty business, representing approximately $155 million of written premiums,
from Kemper Insurance Companies.
Nuveen Investments
Although investor uncertainty and marked stock market volatility characterized 2002 in the asset management
business, Nuveen Investments continued to demonstrate its ability to succeed in serving affluent and high-net-worth
individuals and institutional clients. I am extremely pleased with the performance of Nuveen and its leadership team.
In 2002, Nuveen’s record net earnings of $126 million were the result of disciplined cost management, record sales
of investment products and managed asset growth. Nuveen, through its long-term, conservative investment philoso-
phy and consistent product innovation, has attained a leadership position in exchange-traded funds and managed
accounts, and is a growing factor in the institutional sector.
The St. Paul Companies 2002 Annual Report 5