Aig: Committed to resilience

The AIG Philippines team recently celebrated its 85-year legacy of providing insurance solutions to the Filipino community in an anniversary event held at the Rigodon Ballroom of The Peninsula Manila Hotel.

“For 85 years, AIG has been a partner in growth for the Philippines and has pursued our mission in a variety of market segments and industries. AIG has supported our clients through wars, earthquakes, typhoons, and periods of financial uncertainty. We have been a proud partner in the Philippines story,” said Mark Lwin, the president and CEO.

The company began its operations in Manila in 1932 as the American International Underwriters for the Philippines Inc., with an authorized capital stock of P1 million. The company steadily expanded and prospered until the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941. Four years later, it opened its doors once more and resumed its position of leadership in non-life insurance.

When Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991, AIG’s local claims operations quickly moved into action. Despite the difficult conditions and the complex nature of the claims handling process, coping with disasters was nothing new to AIG which has aided in the country’s recovery.

In addition to its core mission of providing commercial insurance solutions and educating clients, AIG Philippines also has supported underserved communities through its corporate social responsibility program.

In the aftermath of the Super Typhoon Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake in 2013, AIG started an employee matching grant program, and was able to raise $360,000 in funds to support Habitat for Humanity Philippines. Today, 63 disaster-resilient houses stand in Barangay Margen in Ormoc and were handed over to families who were once displaced by Typhoon Haiyan.

In the interest of full disclosure, this columnist has been associated with AIG for almost two decades as its chairman. I can confirm that AIG’s role as an insurance company is not just to provide a financial foundation for our clients’ future. What brings us to work every day is our passion for the larger mission, which is to help build safer, more resilient communities in the Philippines.

As of last year, AIG Philippines was ranked 6th out of 70 licensed non-life insurance companies in the country in terms of net worth. For a focused, commercial insurer working exclusively with business insurance, this is a significant standing.

In 2013, it launched an award-winning CyberEdge® insurance solution in the Philippines, well before the reality of ransomeware or the awareness of the Data Privacy Act of 2012.

CyberEdge even includes features such as pro-active forensic services, access to a panel of supporting firms in the event of a breach, and options to cover network interruption and other threats. This is one example of how AIG is looking to the future, investing in education and awareness, and helping clients prepare for the emerging risk trends and, ultimately, provide a solid foundation for their business operations.

In addition to preparing for specific risks, AIG also is focused on particular industries and their unique needs. The Insurer has practice groups focused on supporting the top growing industries in the country which include: Hospitality and leisure; Business Process Outsourcing (BPO); construction and logistics; and financial institutions.

For the BPO industry, for example, AIG provides innovative solutions such as professional liability, cyber protection with coverage for reputational and notification costs, business interruption tailored to the unique requirement of moving people, or work, during a disaster, higher limits for Philippine-specific perils, and network interruption. This is one of multiple examples on how AIG covers both traditional and emerging risks for each focused industry practice.

AIG’s industry practice groups are bolstered by the company’s direct participation in several of these industries, and where AIG has been a pioneer in developing high-end, knowledge services from the Philippines. AIG has over 4,000 employees in the Philippines providing IT and operations services to its global businesses. AIG’s IT shared services company celebrates its 20th anniversary and its operations shared services company celebrates its 15th anniversary this year.

As a provider of insurance solutions to the Filipino community through a variety of industries, brands, and companies, AIG takes pride in being a partner for national growth. With the capacity to insure property risk up to $2.5 billion, AIG’s financial strength is second to none in the domestic market, enabling it to provide comprehensive insurance coverage for the largest, and most complex risks of today’s economy.

AIG is committed to prosper with the nation in the next 85 years.