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The story of American General began
in 1925 when the Texas Commission of Appeals made a
historic ruling that enabled insurance companies to
underwrite both property and casualty insurance. Our
founder, Gus S. Wortham, had operated a successful
insurance agency in Houston in 1915 and had a vision
for such a company. With the backing of his father
and several prominent business associates, he
launched the American General Insurance Company on
May 8, 1926, one of the first multi-line insurance
companies in the nation. Three years later, American
General declared its first dividend.
In 1945, American General completed
the first of its own strategic acquisitions,
Seaboard Life Insurance Company, making American
General the only company in the southern United
States to underwrite fire, life, automobile and
casualty insurance. Another acquisition in 1953 in
Omaha marked American General's first expansion
outside Texas. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s,
companies in Maryland, New York and Tennessee
followed. By 1968, American General had reached $1
billion in total assets and began trading on the New
York Stock Exchange.
In the late 1970s, American General
acquired The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company
(VALIC), which marked American General's expansion
into the retirement savings market. VALIC's
co-founders spearheaded the introduction of variable
annuities, a visionary strategy that has resulted in
a trillion-dollar industry today.
In 1982, American General initiated
its consumer finance operations, which have
subsequently grown into one of the company's key
business segments. Later that year, American General
completed the largest acquisition in the history of
the life insurance industry at that time, with the
$1.5 billion purchase of The National Life and
Accident Insurance Company, which is now American
General Life Insurance Company. This transformed
American General into a focused financial services
organization emphasizing retirement services, life
insurance and consumer finance.
The financial services industry
underwent dramatic regulatory changes, heightened
competition and consolidation in the 1990s. In 1994,
American General acquired 40 percent of Western
National Corporation, the nation's leading provider
of retirement annuities sold through financial
institutions. In 1995, American General completed
the $1.2 billion acquisition of The Franklin Life
Insurance Company, adding the Springfield,
Illinois-based insurer to its network. Another
important milestone occurred in 1997 with the $1.8
billion acquisition of New York-based United States
Life Corporation. And when the remainder of Western
National was acquired in 1998, American General
became the third-largest writer of individual
annuities in the nation.
On August 29, 2001, American
International Group, Inc. (AIG) acquired American
General. AIG is the world's leading U.S.-based
international insurance and financial services
organization, the largest underwriter of commercial
and industrial insurance in the United States and
member companies are among the top-ranked U.S. life
insurers. Its member companies write a wide range of
general insurance and life insurance products for
commercial, institutional and individual customers
through a variety of distribution channels in
approximately 130 countries and jurisdictions
throughout the world. AIG's global businesses also
include financial services, retirement savings and
asset management. AIG's financial services
businesses include aircraft leasing, financial
products, trading and market making and consumer
finance. AIG has one of the largest retirement
savings businesses in the United States and is a
leader in asset management for the individual and
institutional markets with specialized investment
management capabilities in equities, fixed income,
alternative investments and real estate. American
General's multi-channel distribution network and
solid market positions make an ideal strategic fit
with AIG's product diversity and global resources.
Today, AIG American General is poised for robust
growth in the 21st century.
“American
General Website”
Ratings:
A.M. Best Company
A++ Superior (highest)
Fitch Ratings AA+
Very Strong (second highest)
Moody’s Investors Service Aa1 Excellent
(second highest)
Standard & Poor’s AA+ Very
Strong (second highest)
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