Day: April 5, 2009

SLABBED Daily – April 5

A must for your Sunday reading is Steve’s excellent post on the history of AIG .  It lends context to the remarkable story Sop told in AIG and CV Starr: The spies who shagged us and Russell’s insightful  Where Insurance finally meets the big bailout. AIG a massive ponzi scheme?

Next, a thank you to Y’all Politics for picking up It’s all just a game to State Farm – Response in Rigsby qui tam tips hand.

Tis the season for Peeps – which leads to a peep at the Peeps’ Risk Analysis before taking a peep at Sunday stories.

In an editorial today, Clarion Ledger Executive Editor Ronnie Agnew blasts Judge Swan Yearger’s decision to close a hearing in Eaton v Frisby.

How can the public have confidence in the judicial system when Continue reading “SLABBED Daily – April 5”

AIG – a Starr in the crown

AIG began life as the humble brainchild of Cornelius Vander Starr who in 1919 formed a simple two clerk insurance agency in Shanghai, China. He named his company the American Asiatic Underwriters.

Though the years the corporate name would evolve and eventually become American International Group or AIG. Starr’s company, from its inception, was unique because it was founded in China by a young (27 year old) American. The underwriters of the day were European with British firms as the dominate player.

When other American-owned companies began establishing a presence in China, Starr saw an opportunity in the propensity of companies to “follow the flag” of their native country in their selection of insurance.

Starr’s strengths were his boldness and keen insight into the changing social dynamics that would lead to less risky insurance products. For example, Continue reading “AIG – a Starr in the crown”