Travelers 2009 Annual Report Download - page 5

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appropriately compensated for the risks that we assume.
We will not deploy capital in either our insurance or
investment operation if the expected risk-adjusted return
is not consistent with our strategy. Some critics might call
this “conservative,” but we firmly believe it is appropriate.
To do otherwise would be foolish.
This discipline, along with effective risk oversight
by our management risk committee and our board
committees, including our dedicated board risk
committee, have been key to our success and have
enabled us to avoid the crises faced by many other
financial services companies over the recent past.
When we believe we cannot invest shareholders’ capital
consistent with our return objectives, we will return
excess capital to our shareholders through our share
repurchase program and dividends.
Inspiring confidence through transparency.• Disclosure is a
matter of self-interest. In addition to being fundamental for
earning the confidence of various important constituencies,
including customers, the investment community and
regulators, it is a valuable tool to help impose discipline
on management’s approach to risk. Our commitment to
transparency forces all of us to think hard about the risks
we face every day and the programs we have in place to
manage those risks.
Relying on our more than 30,000 employees.• We are very
fortunate to have a leadership team with an incredible
depth and breadth of experience. We also strive to
attract, retain and motivate the best employees in the
business at all levels throughout the company. As a
result, we have continuity and expertise, with company
tenure of our underwriters averaging almost 13 years,
risk control consultants averaging more than 14 years,
and actuaries and claim unit managers averaging almost
a decade.
This means that as an institution we have retained, and
continue to learn from, our lessons — good and bad — from
the past. As a result, we have a strong experience base
upon which to judge current events and make decisions.
Serving business partners and customers.• We realize that
every day we must earn the loyalty of our agents and
brokers and our customers, who in turn will spread the
word about the quality products and service they have
received from Travelers. Therefore, we seek continuous
improvement in all of our interactions with them.
Traditionally, we have offered exceptional value to
customers through our products and services. We
are known for our risk control expertise, our industry
specialization and our claim service, all of which our
customers cite as differentiators, and we have many
more competitive advantages business by business. As
we look broadly across Travelers, we have been able to
make strides in better aligning our service offerings with
the evolving needs and expectations of customers.
For example, we developed TravelersExpressSM, our
innovative quote-to-issue technology to help agents
process small commercial business more quickly, a
key advantage for them. Also, as we recognize that
no two businesses are the same, we created Travelers
IndustryEdge
®
, a blend of specialized expertise,
industry-specific products and dedicated risk control
and claim services. IndustryEdge helps manage the
complex and evolving risks unique to the many
industries we serve.
What does Travelers’ success mean
for our stakeholders in 2010?
By continuing to adhere to the principles that have been
at the core of our success, we have great confidence in our
outlook and believe we will continue to provide leading
returns to our shareholders, best-in-class service for our