AIG business insurance

Overview

AIG is ranked No. 7 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $14.45 billion, based on NAIC market share data, about 2.98% of the national commercial market. The mix shows what kind of insurer it is. AIG is the country's largest writer of ocean marine, second in aircraft and products liability, fourth in boiler and machinery and fidelity bonds, and fifth in other liability, the line that holds general liability, excess casualty, D&O and other financial lines. It also ranks sixth in inland marine, seventh in fire, eighth in allied lines and excess workers' comp, and ninth in commercial auto.

The NAIC files the group as American International Group. Its U.S. paper includes National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., the lead casualty and financial lines company; American Home Assurance; Lexington Insurance, AIG's surplus lines company; AIG Property Casualty Company; Illinois National; Commerce and Industry; Granite State; New Hampshire Insurance; and Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania. Western World, Stratford and Tudor are wholesale-only E&S companies. Glatfelter Insurance Company backs Glatfelter Insurance Group's programs for public entities and nonprofits. Talbot, AIG's Lloyd's operation, and the international companies sit outside the U.S. figures.

The parent, American International Group, Inc., is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and headquartered in New York. After selling its last Corebridge Financial shares in May 2026, it describes itself as a global general insurance company. It sells through brokers, not direct.

History

AIG traces its roots to 1919, when Cornelius Vander Starr opened American Asiatic Underwriters, an insurance agency, in a two-room office in Shanghai. The first U.S. office, American International Underwriters, opened in New York in 1926, and the main offices moved from Shanghai to New York in 1939. The 1952 purchase of Globe and Rutgers brought in the American Home brand. American International Group, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 1967, its stock began trading publicly in 1969, and it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1984. AIG says it launched one of the industry's first cyber insurance programs in 1999.

The 2008 financial crisis nearly destroyed the company. The U.S. government provided support in 2008, and AIG repaid it in 2012. In its 2025 annual report the company said it lost roughly $34 billion on underwriting from 2008 to 2020. Peter Zaffino became CEO in 2021 and chairman in 2022. He led a multi-year cleanup: stricter underwriting, heavier reinsurance buying and a series of sales.

• 2018: acquired Validus Holdings, a reinsurer and specialty insurer.
• 2022: Corebridge Financial, the life and retirement business, began trading as a separate public company. AIG deconsolidated it on June 9, 2024 and sold its remaining stake on May 7, 2026.
• 2023: sold Crop Risk Services to American Financial Group on July 3 and Validus Re to RenaissanceRe on November 1.
• 2024: sold its individual travel insurance business to Zurich on December 2.
• Late 2025: agreed on October 27, 2025 to buy the renewal rights to Everest's global retail commercial insurance portfolios for $301 million. AIG also formed Lloyd's Syndicate 2479 with Amwins and Blackstone.
• February 2026: completed a 35% stake in Convex, a specialty insurer, and a 9.9% stake in its majority owner, Onex, and began a whole-account quota share with Convex from January 1, 2026.

Eric Andersen, a former president of Aon, joined in February 2026 and became President and CEO on June 1, 2026. AIG's website lists John G. Rice as chair of the board as of October 2026.

Business insurance products

AIG's commercial menu is built for buyers with brokers and risk managers:

• Casualty: general liability, excess casualty, commercial auto liability, workers' compensation, environmental, crisis management, and structured risk-sharing programs for large and multinational companies.
• Financial lines: directors and officers, employment practices, fiduciary, fidelity, cyber, errors and omissions, kidnap and ransom, and M&A coverages such as representations and warranties and tax liability insurance.
• Property and specialty: commercial and industrial property with business interruption, marine, energy, aviation and aerospace, political risk and trade credit.
• Fronting and captives: AIG says it has offered fronting and captive services for 50 years, issuing the policy while a client's captive or a reinsurer takes the risk.
• Programs: specialized programs in over 100 niche markets, sold through program administrators.
• E&S: Lexington writes excess and surplus lines property and casualty for small, middle-market and large accounts. Western World writes contract-binding E&S general liability, property and garage coverage for small and midsize businesses in 41 states.

A business owner shopping for a $1 million general liability policy and a business owner's policy will not find a small business quote page on aig.com. AIG reaches small accounts mostly through Western World's binding authority, Lexington and program partners.

Who it insures

AIG's core U.S. clients are middle-market companies, large corporations and multinationals. North America Commercial wrote $8.76 billion of net premiums in 2025, with clients ranging from small and medium-sized businesses to multinational companies. AIG publicly targets financial institutions, energy, aerospace and data centers, and any account that needs high limits, layered excess casualty or a coordinated global program. Glatfelter adds a niche book of first responders, schools, municipalities and houses of worship, relevant for Nonprofit insurance and Church insurance.

The appetite shifts with price. In the second quarter of 2026, Lexington's premiums fell, driven by property, while Retail Casualty and Financial Lines grew.

How to buy

AIG sells only through intermediaries. Retail brokers and agents place National Union, American Home and the other admitted companies. Lexington and Western World take business only from wholesale brokers; see wholesale brokers and surplus lines placement: how hard risks get insured. There is no online quoting for business owners. Brokers and risk managers reach North America Business Lines at 877-867-3783 (TO-SERVE), weekdays 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET.

For larger clients AIG offers IntelliRisk, a claims and risk management information service. Wholesale binding agents use the Western World Integrated Platform to underwrite, rate, quote, bind and issue policies online.

Claims

Business claims can be reported online through AIG's claims portal, which covers aerospace, commercial auto, general liability, property and workers' comp, or by phone at 800-242-2418. Workers' comp first reports can also be phoned in at 855-902-5730, and the online system for comp routes to the GBGoFirstConnect platform; some comp forms also go to Gallagher Bassett, a third-party administrator. Clients enrolled in AIG's Productivity Edge program report through a nurse triage line. AIG says in-house claims specialists focus on high-severity comp and U.S. Longshore and Harbor claims. For large accounts, IntelliRisk provides loss data and reporting.

Financial strength and ratings

According to AIG's 2025 Form 10-K, filed in February 2026, National Union, Lexington and American Home are rated A (Excellent) by AM Best, AA- by S&P, AA- by Fitch and A1 by Moody's. All four agencies acted in 2025. S&P upgraded the insurance subsidiaries to AA- from A+ in May 2025. Moody's upgraded them to A1 from A2 in June 2025. Fitch upgraded them to AA- from A+ in November 2025. AM Best affirmed its A rating in November 2025 and revised the outlook to positive. Check the current AM Best rating before relying on it, because a positive outlook can lead to an upgrade. Even so, AIG's AM Best rating is still a notch below the A+ or A++ held by several large competitors.

The turnaround is visible in the numbers. For 2025 AIG reported $2.3 billion of underwriting income, its first year above $2 billion since 2008, with a 90.1 combined ratio and net income of $3.1 billion. In the second quarter of 2026, General Insurance net premiums written rose 9% to $7.5 billion at an 89.0 combined ratio, and North America Commercial ran an 84.0 combined ratio.

Strengths and weaknesses

AIG is the market a broker calls for a $25 million excess tower, a public company D&O program, a cargo or aviation risk, or a 30-country insurance program. It is not built for a five-person contractor buying a BOP. Its underwriting has been much steadier since 2021, but the company spent most of the period from 2008 to 2020 losing money on underwriting, and it changed CEOs in June 2026.

• Strengths: National top-five positions in ocean marine, aircraft, products liability, boiler and machinery, fidelity and other liability. A network covering about 190 countries and jurisdictions for multinational programs. Lexington and Western World give E&S capacity from small binding-authority accounts up to large property and casualty. S&P, Fitch and Moody's all upgraded the insurance subsidiaries in 2025.
• Weaknesses: No direct or online small business buying; everything goes through a broker. The AM Best rating of A (Excellent) trails the A+ and A++ of some peers. After years of volatile results, appetite and terms can tighten quickly in lines where pricing softens, as with Lexington property in 2026. Leadership is new: Eric Andersen became CEO on June 1, 2026.

How to contact AIG