AIG's founding in Shanghai in 1919 and its long ascent to the largest insurer in the world by the mid-2000s is one story. The 2008 collapse and $182B government backstop is another. The current chapter — a leaner, focused P&C carrier returning capital — is a third.
The last five years of restructuring stripped out Life & Retirement (now Corebridge), rationalized the international footprint, and rebuilt underwriting discipline in the commercial book. The $8.1B of buybacks and dividends is the visible result.
The forward question is whether AIG can now grow again without giving back the discipline. Commercial market conditions are softening in several lines; that is the test of the new AIG, and it is coming.
Founder of Owning Risk. Independent research on the business of insurance and the flow of risk capital.