I am a former AIG employee and I for one had a great experience. As a woman I found no glass ceiling, I found exciting challenges and a willingness to try the unthinkable. I was led to believe that anything was possible wtih creative thinking and solid underwriting. I respect the Old Man. He gave many of us a great start in our careers.
I too am a former employee and spent 7 years there. The first 5 were a lot of fun, but when Evan took over, it became less fun.
If Greenberg had not been run off, I really don’t think this would have happened. He is a smart man and always had a grasp on what AIG was doing. He came to my office once and in a meeting rattled off facts and figures with absolutely no notes.
It was challenging to work there and I learned a lot.
I worked for two of their companies, in the Manhattan branche of Commerce and Industry when it was a market for superior property accounts, and in the home office of American Home, when it wrote what actually was substandard property. I supervised their branches in the NE. Actually my job wasn’t to review and approve the branch underwriting, turns out there wan’t any. They wrote anything and everything at whatever price it took to get it. My job was to make sure that the reinsurance was set up so American Home took the absolute minimum risk allowed by the treaties, and the max. amount ceded to the treaties. Everyone was terrified of having a loss and Hank finding out that it had been possible to cede more to the reinsurers.
No one in the branches had a clue how to issue a policy. I felt a tightly put togethe3r policy was important so wrote long memos to the branches on each policy, telling them what endorsements or forms to add or delete to make a sound contract.
Although AIG was a strong supporter of the College of Insurance, and I taught lunch and learn there, my manager was extremely unhappy when he found that I had to take an hour and 20 minutes for lunch, even though I always worked far more than 40 hours a week.
We in middle underwriting management always wondered how the companies made profits year in and year out, even when the industry would be bleeding red ink. The only thing we could figure was they were living off the reinsurance commissions. Little did we know Hank had a deal with Gen Re to make it look as if their liabilities had been transferred so he didn’t have to show them. Well, the regulators finally, after many years, got him and the Gen Re executives, for that little (illegal) ploy.
Fear permeated the entire 70 Pine Street operation, and it was a very unpleasant place to work.
I found that fear permeated both companies. Everyone was terrified of Hank getting mad at them. No one knew how to underwrite, C & I’s HPR homeoffice product manager knew nothing about property insurance, yet he had to approve every quote.
I am a current employee, and hope to remain one for a very long time. I enjoy the work I do here. I am part of the support staff and feel my work is valuable. Don’t make me collateral damage
As a former indy agent who sold AIG products I can say that it was & is the most difficult company to do business with. It’s very fragmented & no one knows what any other part of the company does. Our marketing reps spent all their time just trying to get us to the right place for what we needed. Company changes would occur & the rep would not be notified and we could not figure out where a renewal would come from.
When you got to the right place they would write it but good luck finding help if you needed it. Ex AIG people I’ve talked to have said it was one of the most difficult places to work they have seen.
AIG’s hold and control within the industry led to its downfall. Unchecked power and influence leads to arrogance, and AIG had a pot-full of it. As a former independent agent for AIG, I have never seen a company with less concern for the people they were supposed to serve. On the other hand, I may have simply been mistaken that AIG was to care for its customers at least as much as it cared for its stockholders – My bad. Example: Rather than sell off a regional insurer that it owned, it “dumped” the whole company on the marketplace, cancelling thousands of policies and leaving thousands of policyholders with no place to go when the market had no capacity to take them. It did it for one reason only – because it could. No THAT is a nice company..
visiting another company. Finished my visit and went upstairs to pop in to see my AIG underwriter who was working a nice 100,000 ++ risk for me. Could not get past the receptionist and security guard at the front door. No unannounced drop by visitors were allowed admittance — only those who had made an appointment prior to the visit.
AIG drove my sister to a nervous breakdown a few years ago.
I feel sorry for the people at AIG who are not muckity mucks.
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I am a former AIG employee and I for one had a great experience. As a woman I found no glass ceiling, I found exciting challenges and a willingness to try the unthinkable. I was led to believe that anything was possible wtih creative thinking and solid underwriting. I respect the Old Man. He gave many of us a great start in our careers.
I too am a former employee and spent 7 years there. The first 5 were a lot of fun, but when Evan took over, it became less fun.
If Greenberg had not been run off, I really don’t think this would have happened. He is a smart man and always had a grasp on what AIG was doing. He came to my office once and in a meeting rattled off facts and figures with absolutely no notes.
It was challenging to work there and I learned a lot.
So can we blame this whole debacle on Client #9?
I worked for two of their companies, in the Manhattan branche of Commerce and Industry when it was a market for superior property accounts, and in the home office of American Home, when it wrote what actually was substandard property. I supervised their branches in the NE. Actually my job wasn’t to review and approve the branch underwriting, turns out there wan’t any. They wrote anything and everything at whatever price it took to get it. My job was to make sure that the reinsurance was set up so American Home took the absolute minimum risk allowed by the treaties, and the max. amount ceded to the treaties. Everyone was terrified of having a loss and Hank finding out that it had been possible to cede more to the reinsurers.
No one in the branches had a clue how to issue a policy. I felt a tightly put togethe3r policy was important so wrote long memos to the branches on each policy, telling them what endorsements or forms to add or delete to make a sound contract.
Although AIG was a strong supporter of the College of Insurance, and I taught lunch and learn there, my manager was extremely unhappy when he found that I had to take an hour and 20 minutes for lunch, even though I always worked far more than 40 hours a week.
We in middle underwriting management always wondered how the companies made profits year in and year out, even when the industry would be bleeding red ink. The only thing we could figure was they were living off the reinsurance commissions. Little did we know Hank had a deal with Gen Re to make it look as if their liabilities had been transferred so he didn’t have to show them. Well, the regulators finally, after many years, got him and the Gen Re executives, for that little (illegal) ploy.
Fear permeated the entire 70 Pine Street operation, and it was a very unpleasant place to work.
I found that fear permeated both companies. Everyone was terrified of Hank getting mad at them. No one knew how to underwrite, C & I’s HPR homeoffice product manager knew nothing about property insurance, yet he had to approve every quote.
I am a current employee, and hope to remain one for a very long time. I enjoy the work I do here. I am part of the support staff and feel my work is valuable. Don’t make me collateral damage
As a support person your are clueless as to what really goes on at AIG.
AIGRM was by far the most stressful place of business of any other Company I worked for. The mantra is bind new business & take no risk.
I agree with temblor, many u/w are straight out of college and don’t know what underwriting is all about.
Just bind, baby, bind.
As a former indy agent who sold AIG products I can say that it was & is the most difficult company to do business with. It’s very fragmented & no one knows what any other part of the company does. Our marketing reps spent all their time just trying to get us to the right place for what we needed. Company changes would occur & the rep would not be notified and we could not figure out where a renewal would come from.
When you got to the right place they would write it but good luck finding help if you needed it. Ex AIG people I’ve talked to have said it was one of the most difficult places to work they have seen.
I worked for AIAC back in 1990. Working there gave most of the employees ulcers and stress claims.
I am glad to hear that some people like to work at AIG.
But, unfortunately, I have to agree with the folks that state that AIG (then AIAC) was a very difficult place to work.
AIG’s hold and control within the industry led to its downfall. Unchecked power and influence leads to arrogance, and AIG had a pot-full of it. As a former independent agent for AIG, I have never seen a company with less concern for the people they were supposed to serve. On the other hand, I may have simply been mistaken that AIG was to care for its customers at least as much as it cared for its stockholders – My bad. Example: Rather than sell off a regional insurer that it owned, it “dumped” the whole company on the marketplace, cancelling thousands of policies and leaving thousands of policyholders with no place to go when the market had no capacity to take them. It did it for one reason only – because it could. No THAT is a nice company..
visiting another company. Finished my visit and went upstairs to pop in to see my AIG underwriter who was working a nice 100,000 ++ risk for me. Could not get past the receptionist and security guard at the front door. No unannounced drop by visitors were allowed admittance — only those who had made an appointment prior to the visit.
AIG drove my sister to a nervous breakdown a few years ago.
I feel sorry for the people at AIG who are not muckity mucks.