AIG 2007 Annual Report Download - page 60

American International Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries
multinational clients and foreign corporations doing business in
General Insurance Operations
the U.S.
AIG’s General Insurance subsidiaries write substantially all lines of
commercial property and casualty insurance and various personal Reinsurance
lines both domestically and abroad. Domestic General Insurance
The subsidiaries of Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. (Transatlantic) offer
operations are comprised of the Domestic Brokerage Group
reinsurance on both a treaty and facultative basis to insurers in the
(DBG), Reinsurance, Personal Lines and Mortgage Guaranty.
United States and abroad. Transatlantic structures programs for a full
AIG is diversified both in terms of classes of business and
range of property and casualty products with an emphasis on
geographic locations. In General Insurance, workers compensation
specialty risk. Transatlantic is a public company owned 59.0 percent
business is the largest class of business written and represented
by AIG and therefore is included in AIG’s consolidated financial
approximately 15 percent of net premiums written for the year ended
statements.
December 31, 2007. During 2007, 10 percent and 7 percent of the
direct General Insurance premiums written (gross premiums less Personal Lines
return premiums and cancellations, excluding reinsurance assumed
and before deducting reinsurance ceded) were written in California AIG’s Personal Lines operations provide automobile insurance
and New York, respectively. No other state or foreign country through aigdirect.com, the newly formed operation resulting from
accounted for more than five percent of such premiums. the 2007 combination of AIG Direct and 21st Century Insurance
The majority of AIG’s General Insurance business is in the Group (21st Century) operations, and the Agency Auto Division, as
casualty classes, which tend to involve longer periods of time for well as a broad range of coverages for high net worth individuals
the reporting and settling of claims. This may increase the risk through the AIG Private Client Group.
and uncertainty with respect to AIG’s loss reserve development.
Mortgage Guaranty
DBG
The main business of the subsidiaries of United Guaranty
AIG’s primary Domestic General Insurance division is DBG. DBG’s Corporation (UGC) is the issuance of residential mortgage guar-
business in the United States and Canada is conducted through anty insurance, both domestically and internationally, that covers
American Home, National Union, Lexington, HSB and certain other the first loss for credit defaults on high loan-to-value conventional
General Insurance company subsidiaries of AIG. During 2007, first-lien mortgages for the purchase or refinance of one to four
DBG accounted for 51 percent of AIG’s General Insurance net family residences. UGC subsidiaries also write second-lien and
premiums written. private student loan guaranty insurance.
DBG writes substantially all classes of business insurance,
accepting such business mainly from insurance brokers. This Foreign General Insurance
provides DBG the opportunity to select specialized markets and
retain underwriting control. Any licensed broker is able to submit AIG’s Foreign General Insurance group accepts risks primarily
business to DBG without the traditional agent-company contractual underwritten through American International Underwriters (AIU), a
relationship, but such broker usually has no authority to commit marketing unit consisting of wholly owned agencies and insurance
DBG to accept a risk. companies. The Foreign General Insurance group also includes
In addition to writing substantially all classes of business business written by AIG’s foreign-based insurance subsidiaries. The
insurance, including large commercial or industrial property insur- Foreign General Insurance group uses various marketing methods
ance, excess liability, inland marine, environmental, workers and multiple distribution channels to write both commercial and
compensation and excess and umbrella coverages, DBG offers consumer lines insurance with certain refinements for local laws,
many specialized forms of insurance such as aviation, accident customs and needs. AIU operates in Asia, the Pacific Rim, Europe,
and health, equipment breakdown, directors and officers liability the U.K., Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. During 2007,
(D&O), difference-in-conditions, kidnap-ransom, export credit and the Foreign General Insurance group accounted for 28 percent of
political risk, and various types of professional errors and AIG’s General Insurance net premiums written.
omissions coverages. Also included in DBG are the operations of
AIG Risk Management, which provides insurance and risk manage- Discussion and Analysis of Consolidated Net
ment programs for large corporate customers and is a leading Losses and Loss Expense Reserve Development
provider of customized structured insurance products, and AIG The reserve for net losses and loss expenses represents the
Environmental, which focuses specifically on providing specialty accumulation of estimates for reported losses (case basis
products to clients with environmental exposures. Lexington writes reserves) and provisions for losses incurred but not reported
surplus lines for risks on which conventional insurance companies (IBNR), both reduced by applicable reinsurance recoverable and
do not readily provide insurance coverage, either because of the discount for future investment income, where permitted. Net
complexity or because the coverage does not lend itself to losses and loss expenses are charged to income as incurred.
conventional contracts. The AIG Worldsource Division introduces Loss reserves established with respect to foreign business are
and coordinates AIG’s products and services to U.S.-based set and monitored in terms of the currency in which payment is
expected to be made. Therefore, no assumption is included for
6AIG 2007 Form 10-K