Travelers 2002 Annual Report Download - page 8

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 8 of the 2002 Travelers annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 100

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100

6
Looking Forward
The year 2003 marks The St. Paul’s 150th anniversary – a milestone very few Fortune 500 companies have
achieved. As a result of our hard work in 2002, we are positioned to enter our second 150 years more dynamic
and more competitive than ever. Accordingly, while uncertainties abound in the economy and general environment,
we continue to believe that 2003 will be a year of continued progress for The St. Paul.
Low interest rates, significant losses suffered by the insurance industry in the aftermath of September 11, 2001,
as well as industry losses across many other product lines are contributing to the expectation that insurance prices
will continue to rise in 2003. For strong, efficient companies such as The St. Paul, we expect these trends to drive
improved profit margins and increased opportunities for growth. In this environment I am confident that we are
positioned to strengthen our leadership in the insurance business.
We will continue to invest in new strategic opportunities and strive to be the preferred provider of products and serv-
ices we offer through agents and brokers. We will also continue our relentless efforts to increase efficiency through-
out this organization and to foster a performance-based culture that rewards the best people for the best results.
After my first full year leading this company, I can say with utmost confidence that we possess the skills, expertise
and drive that are essential to long-term success. We are driven by our operating principles: to run our business
efficiently, to spend shareholder money as though it’s our own, to understand and appropriately limit our risk profile,
to be driven by profit before market share, to be a company that is respected and for which employees enjoy working,
and to always be aware that our job, first and foremost, is to provide appropriate returns to our shareholders. I am
proud to lead an organization that has demonstrated its ability to adapt to change and to embrace the strategies
necessary to thrive. These are the attributes of a winning organization.
In closing, I’d like to thank four directors who have helped to steward this company for many years and who have
or will be retiring from the Board: H. Furlong Baldwin, a director since 1998 and retired chairman of Mercantile
Bankshares Corporation, retired from The St. Paul Board in May 2002. Three directors will be retiring in May: Pierson
M. Grieve, a director since 1985 and the former chairman and chief executive officer of Ecolab, Inc., a developer and
marketer of cleaning and sanitizing products, systems and services; Sir David G. John, a director since 1996 and
the non-executive chairman of both Premier Oil PLC, and British Standards Institution, a UK standards, inspections
and testing service; and Bruce MacLaury, a director since 1987 and president emeritus of The Brookings Institution,
a public policy research and education institution.
The St. Paul has greatly benefited from the counsel and advice of these distinguished executives. I want to thank them
personally for their diligent review and support of our new, and sometimes difficult, initiatives; for being available to dis-
cuss issues and provide thoughtful insights; and for making me feel particularly welcome in the St. Paul organization.
Jay S. Fishman
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
March 17, 2003