Travelers 2013 Annual Report Download - page 4

 TRAVELERS
A decade of success
It has been ten years since the insurance company you know today was
formed by the merger of Travelers Property Casualty Corp and The St Paul
Companies Inc Over the last decade we have supported our customers
and agents during a period in which the United States experienced some of
the costliest natural catastrophes on record as well as a deep recession
precipitated by the global fi nancial crisis
During this time our focus on delivering toptier operating return on equity
by generating appropriate returns on our products has created signifi cant
shareholder value From the beginning of  the fi rst full year after the
merger through the end of  we have delivered an average annual operating
return on equity of  percent returned more than  billion in capital to
our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases and grown book
value per share at a compound annual growth rate of  percent Total return
to shareholders over that period including dividends reinvested exceeded
 percent
We will continue to take the steps that we believe will help us improve returns
consistent with our longheld objective of producing midteens operating return
on equity over time the lens through which we view virtually every decision
we make
Our strategy to improve profi tability
Our success in  has its roots in initiatives we began to implement in 
when we made it our goal to increase the profi tability of our products through
thoughtful appropriate rate gains and improved terms and conditions
The returns on many of our products had deteriorated over time due to
generally declining pricing higher losses arising from more volatile weather
patterns and the impact of historically low interest rates We leveraged our
industryleading data and analytics to improve the price and the terms and
conditions of our products on a granular accountbyaccount or classbyclass
basis and importantly we did so with the express intention of not disrupting
our agents brokers or customers
Strengthening
our presence
in Canada
On Nov   we completed
our acquisition of The Dominion of
Canada General Insurance Company
signifi cantly strengthening our
presence in Canada
Travelers and Dominion are a strong
strategic fi t with complementary
businesses
– Dominion’s extensive distribution
network and established customer
base provide an exceptional platform
for expanding the commercial lines
business in Canada
– Combining Travelers Canada’s
existing surety management
liability and commercial middle
market portfolios with Dominion’s
small commercial and personal
products creates an organization
with signifi cant product breadth
and a balanced mix of businesses
– The integrated organization will
leverage enterprise competitive
advantages including underwriting
expertise sophisticated data and
analytics and leading claim and risk
control capabilities
“…our focus on delivering top-tier operating
return on equity by generating appropriate
returns on our products has created signifi cant
shareholder value.”