Travelers 2015 Annual Report Download - page 5

underwriting risks of business in natural catastrophe-prone areas and target risk areas for conventional
terrorist attacks (defined as attacks other than nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological events). The
Company relies, in part, upon these analyses to make underwriting decisions designed to manage its
exposure on catastrophe-exposed business. For example, as a result of these analyses, the Company has
limited the writing of new property and homeowners business in some markets and has selectively
taken underwriting actions on new and existing business. These underwriting actions on new and
existing business include tightened underwriting standards, selective price increases and changes to
deductibles specific to hurricane-, tornado-, wind- and hail-prone areas. See ‘‘Item 7—Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Catastrophe Modeling’’ and
‘‘—Changing Climate Conditions.’’ The Company also utilizes reinsurance to manage its aggregate
exposures to catastrophes. See ‘‘—Reinsurance.’’
BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE
The Business and International Insurance segment offers a broad array of property and casualty
insurance and insurance related services to its clients, primarily in the United States and in Canada, as
well as in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Brazil and throughout other parts of the world
as a corporate member of Lloyd’s. Business and International Insurance is organized as follows:
Domestic
•Select Accounts provides small businesses with property and casualty products, including
commercial multi-peril, commercial property, general liability, commercial auto and workers’
compensation insurance.
•Middle Market provides mid-sized businesses with property and casualty products, including
commercial multi-peril, commercial property, general liability, commercial auto and workers’
compensation insurance, as well as risk management, claims handling and other services. Middle
Market generally provides these products to mid-sized businesses through Commercial Accounts,
as well as to targeted industries through Construction, Technology, Public Sector Services and
Oil & Gas. Middle Market also provides mono-line umbrella and excess coverage insurance
through Excess Casualty and insurance coverages for foreign organizations with United States
exposures through Global Partner Services.
•National Accounts provides large companies with casualty products and services, including
workers’ compensation, general liability and automobile liability, generally utilizing loss-sensitive
products, on both a bundled and unbundled basis. National Accounts also includes the
Company’s commercial residual market business, which primarily offers workers’ compensation
products and services to the involuntary market.
•First Party provides traditional and customized property insurance programs to large and mid-
sized customers through National Property, insurance for goods in transit and movable objects, as
well as builders’ risk insurance, through Inland Marine, insurance for the marine transportation
industry and related services, as well as other businesses involved in international trade, through
Ocean Marine, and comprehensive breakdown coverages for equipment, including property and
business interruption coverages, through Boiler & Machinery.
•Specialized Distribution markets and underwrites its products to customers predominantly through
brokers, wholesale agents, program managers and specialized retail agents that manage
customers’ unique insurance requirements. Specialized Distribution provides insurance coverage
for the commercial transportation industry, as well as commercial liability and commercial
property policies for small, difficult to place specialty classes of commercial business primarily on
an excess and surplus lines basis, through Northland, and tailored property and casualty
programs on an admitted basis for customers with common risk characteristics or coverage
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