Travelers 2002 Annual Report Download - page 94

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 94 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

March 5, 2003 marked the 150th anniversary of The St.
Paul. On that date in 1853, Minnesota Territorial Governor
Alexander Ramsey signed a letter to the legislative assem-
bly which stated, “I have this day examined and approved…
An act to incorporate the Saint Paul Fire and Marine
Insurance Company.”
The history of a company that has grown from a small
enterprise on the American frontier to a major U.S. corpora-
tion is more than simply a series of events, facts, figures
and developments. It is a series of stories of individuals.
Many of them overcame adversity. Others set their own
goals and challenges. All of them acted on the basis of
commonly shared values and principles.
The integrity that pervades the
history of The St. Paul is illustrated
in four such stories, narrated and
recorded in video format, which
can be accessed at the company’s
web site, www.stpaul.com.
Early Beginnings
In 1853, Saint Paul could not yet
call itself a city. It survived, instead,
as a hamlet of several thousand
people along the banks of the far-
northern reaches of the Mississippi
River, the major transportation route
to the region.
In this isolated community, virtually
all buildings were constructed of
wood. Fires occurred often, and
although some owners had insurance
policies written by insurers in the east-
ern United States, difficulties in trans-
portation and communication made
claim settlements with those compa-
nies painfully slow.
Alexander Wilkin, secretary of the territory, first proposed
the idea of an insurance company to his Saint Paul neigh-
bors. Seventeen city fathers – a “who’s who” of civic leaders
– served as the company’s incorporators, and elected
Wilkin as the company’s first president.
92
150 years of
integrity
Alexander Wilkin,
secretary of the
Minnesota Territory, is
believed to have first
proposed the idea of
an insurance compa-
ny. He was named the
company’s first presi-
dent when it was
incorporated in 1853.
Above: The oldest policy on file at the company was issued
May 20, 1865 and provided $500 coverage against fire loss for
$5 annual premium.