St. Paul Travelers
Encyclopedia
The Travelers Companies is the largest American insurance company by market value. It is also the second largest writer of U.S. commercial property casualty and the third largest writer of U.S. personal insurance
through independent agents. Travelers has headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota and Hartford, Connecticut
with significant operations in New York, New York. It has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
since June 8, 2009.
The company has field offices in every U.S. state, plus operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore
, China, Canada, and Brazil. In 2010, the company reported revenue
s of US $
25.1 billion and total assets of US $105.2 billion.
Travelers, through its subsidiaries and approximately 14,000 independent agents and brokers, provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals. The company offers insurance through three segments:
The main predecessor companies of The Travelers Companies, Inc. are The St. Paul Companies, Inc. and Travelers Property Casualty Corporation.
Saint Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. was founded March 5, 1853, in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving local customers who were having a difficult time getting claim payments in a timely manner from insurance companies on the east coast of the United States. It barely survived the Panic of 1857
by dramatically paring down its operations and later reorganizing itself into a stock company
(as opposed to a mutual company). It soon spread its operations across the country. In 1998 it acquired USF&G
, known formerly as United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, an insurance company based in Baltimore, Maryland, but was forced to downsize by almost half due to a competitive marketplace.
Travelers was founded in 1864 in Hartford. Along the way it had many industry firsts, including the first automobile policy, the first commercial airline policy, and the first policy for space travel.
In the 1990s, it went through a series of mergers and acquisitions. It was bought by Primerica in 1993, but the resulting company retained the Travelers name. In 1995 it became The Travelers Group. It bought Aetna
's property and casualty business in 1996.
In 1998, the Travelers Group merged with Citicorp to form Citigroup
. However, the synergies between the banking and insurance arms of the company did not work as well as planned, so Citigroup spun off Travelers Property and Casualty into a subsidiary company in 2002, although it kept the red umbrella
logo
. Three years later, Citigroup sold Travelers Life & Annuity to MetLife. In 2003, Travelers bought renewal rights for Royal & SunAlliance Personal Insurance and Commercial businesses.
In 2004, the St. Paul and Travelers Companies merged and renamed itself St. Paul Travelers, with the headquarters set in St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite many assurances from CEO Jay Fishman that the newly formed company would retain the St. Paul name, the corporate name only lasted until 2007, when the company repurchased the rights to the famous red umbrella logo from Citigroup and readopted it as its main corporate symbol, while also changing the corporate name to The Travelers Companies.
Travelers is currently 106 on the Fortune 500
. list of largest U.S. companies. On June 8, 2009, Travelers replaced its former parent Citigroup on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
contingent commissions to win business without the knowledge of clients, thus creating a conflict of interest. Additionally, the investigation examined whether Travelers had created the illusion of competition by submitting fake bids
, thus misleading clients into believing they were receiving competitive commercial premiums.
The original logo of the red umbrella started in 1870 when it appeared in a newspaper ad for the young insurance company. It was revived in the early 1960s, when it was given its signature red color by Harry W. Knettell, then the account executive for The Travelers and Vice President at the Charles Brunelle advertising agency. During the late 1960s Charles Brunelle was the largest advertising agency in Hartford, a city known as "the insurance capital of the world" due to the many insurance companies in that town. The Travelers was one of their many insurance company clients.
In 2006, a Travelers commercial titled Snowball was nominated for an Emmy. Snowball featured a man, walking down a steep San Francisco
sidewalk, who trips and knocks over a table of items at a garage sale. The man and the items roll down the street, forming a ball which gathers garbage cans, pedestrians, construction materials, motorcycles, light poles, and other items, in a manner very reminiscent of the familiar cartoon "snowball" effect or the cult video game Katamari Damacy
. The creators of the ad say it is simply based on the snowball effect
, they have never heard of the game, and that the resulting similarity was a surprise to them.
In 2007, the company secured naming rights for an annual event to be called the Travelers Championship golf tournament, formerly the Greater Hartford Open, on the PGA Tour
.
In April 2008, The Travelers purchased back the rights to the famous red umbrella, which is featured in several commercials starring Paul Freeman as well as other advertisements. In July 2008, the spot "Delivery," also starring Freeman, was nominated for an Emmy.
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
through independent agents. Travelers has headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota and Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
with significant operations in New York, New York. It has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
since June 8, 2009.
The company has field offices in every U.S. state, plus operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, China, Canada, and Brazil. In 2010, the company reported revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
s of US $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
25.1 billion and total assets of US $105.2 billion.
Travelers, through its subsidiaries and approximately 14,000 independent agents and brokers, provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals. The company offers insurance through three segments:
- Personal Insurance, which includes home, auto and other insurance products for individuals
- Business Insurance, which includes a broad array of property and casualty insurance and insurance-related services in the United States
- Financial, Professional & International Insurance, which includes surety, crime, and financial liability businesses which primarily use credit-based underwriting processes, as well as property and casualty products that are predominantly marketed on an international basis.
Management team
The Travelers Company's Management Team is composed of:- Jay S. FishmanJay S. Fishman- Life :Fishman served as the Company's Chairman and CEO since the St. Paul and Travelers Companies merged to form The Travelers Companies in April 2004. From October 2001 until the merger, Mr. Fishman had been Chairman, CEO, and President of The St. Paul Companies, Inc. Prior to October 2001, Mr...
, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer - Brian W. MacLean, President & Chief Operating Officer
- Jay S. Benet, Vice Chairman & Chief Financial Officer
- Charles Clarke, Vice Chairman
- Irwin R. Ettinger, Vice Chairman
- William H. Heyman, Vice Chairman & Chief Investment Officer
- Alan D. Schnitzer, Vice Chairman & Chief Legal Officer; Financial, Professional & International Insurance
- John J. Albano, EVP - Field Management
- Andy F. Bessette, EVP & Chief Administrative Officer
- John P. Clifford Jr., EVP - Human Resources
- William E. Cunningham Jr., EVP - Business Insurance
- Bill Hannon, EVP - Enterprise Risk Management & Business Conduct Officer
- Lisa Caputo, EVP - Marketing & Communications
- Maria Olivo, EVP & Corporate Treasurer
- Doreen Spadorcia, EVP - CEO - Claim Services & Personal Insurance
- Kenneth F. Spence III, EVP & General Counsel
- Joan Kois Woodward, EVP - Public Policy
- Patrick Kinney, President - Field Management
- Michael F. Klein, SVP - Business Insurance
- Thomas M. Kunkel, President - Bond & Financial Products
- Marc Schmittlein, President - CEO - Select Accounts & Agribusiness
- Kevin C. Smith, President - International
- Greg Toczydlowski, President - Personal Insurance
History
Saint Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. was founded March 5, 1853, in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving local customers who were having a difficult time getting claim payments in a timely manner from insurance companies on the east coast of the United States. It barely survived the Panic of 1857
Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Indeed, because of the interconnectedness of the world economy by the time of the 1850s, the financial crisis which began in the autumn of 1857 was...
by dramatically paring down its operations and later reorganizing itself into a stock company
Stock company
Stock company can refer to:*Joint stock company *Stock company - referring to a group of actors...
(as opposed to a mutual company). It soon spread its operations across the country. In 1998 it acquired USF&G
USF&G
USF&G was an American insurance company which existed from 1896 until 1998. Originally called United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, the Baltimore, Maryland-based company was organized on March 19, 1896, and commenced business on August 1, 1896...
, known formerly as United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, an insurance company based in Baltimore, Maryland, but was forced to downsize by almost half due to a competitive marketplace.
Travelers was founded in 1864 in Hartford. Along the way it had many industry firsts, including the first automobile policy, the first commercial airline policy, and the first policy for space travel.
In the 1990s, it went through a series of mergers and acquisitions. It was bought by Primerica in 1993, but the resulting company retained the Travelers name. In 1995 it became The Travelers Group. It bought Aetna
Aetna
Aetna, Inc. is an American health insurance company, providing a range of traditional and consumer directed health care insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, group life, long-term care, and disability plans, and medical management...
's property and casualty business in 1996.
In 1998, the Travelers Group merged with Citicorp to form Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
. However, the synergies between the banking and insurance arms of the company did not work as well as planned, so Citigroup spun off Travelers Property and Casualty into a subsidiary company in 2002, although it kept the red umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
. Three years later, Citigroup sold Travelers Life & Annuity to MetLife. In 2003, Travelers bought renewal rights for Royal & SunAlliance Personal Insurance and Commercial businesses.
In 2004, the St. Paul and Travelers Companies merged and renamed itself St. Paul Travelers, with the headquarters set in St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite many assurances from CEO Jay Fishman that the newly formed company would retain the St. Paul name, the corporate name only lasted until 2007, when the company repurchased the rights to the famous red umbrella logo from Citigroup and readopted it as its main corporate symbol, while also changing the corporate name to The Travelers Companies.
Travelers is currently 106 on the Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
. list of largest U.S. companies. On June 8, 2009, Travelers replaced its former parent Citigroup on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Philanthropy
Travelers provides support for charitable organizations through the Travelers Foundation and with corporate funding and in-kind services. The company's community giving is primarily focused on public education reform and improving academic and career success for underrepresented youth in Saint Paul, Minn. and Hartford, Conn. The remainder of Travelers' civic and charitable giving resources in those cities support targeted local needs in the areas of community development and the arts.Alleged anticompetitive practices
In January 2007, Travelers agreed to pay US$ 77 million to six states to settle a class action suit and end investigations into its insurance practices. The charges involved paying the insurance broker Marsh & McLennan CompaniesMarsh & McLennan Companies
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. is a US-based global professional services and insurance brokerage firm. In 2007, it had over 57,000 employees and annual revenues of $10.49 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies was ranked the 221st largest corporation in the United States by the 2009 Fortune 500...
contingent commissions to win business without the knowledge of clients, thus creating a conflict of interest. Additionally, the investigation examined whether Travelers had created the illusion of competition by submitting fake bids
Bid rigging
Bid rigging is a form of fraud in which a commercial contract is promised to one party even though for the sake of appearance several other parties also present a bid. This form of collusion is illegal in most countries...
, thus misleading clients into believing they were receiving competitive commercial premiums.
Advertising
In 2006, a Travelers commercial titled Snowball was nominated for an Emmy. Snowball featured a man, walking down a steep San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
sidewalk, who trips and knocks over a table of items at a garage sale. The man and the items roll down the street, forming a ball which gathers garbage cans, pedestrians, construction materials, motorcycles, light poles, and other items, in a manner very reminiscent of the familiar cartoon "snowball" effect or the cult video game Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy is a third-person puzzle-action video game that is published and developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first released in Japan, and then later in South Korea and North America...
. The creators of the ad say it is simply based on the snowball effect
Snowball effect
Snowball effect is a figurative term for a process that starts from an initial state of small significance and builds upon itself, becoming larger , and perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous , though it might be beneficial instead...
, they have never heard of the game, and that the resulting similarity was a surprise to them.
In 2007, the company secured naming rights for an annual event to be called the Travelers Championship golf tournament, formerly the Greater Hartford Open, on the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
.
In April 2008, The Travelers purchased back the rights to the famous red umbrella, which is featured in several commercials starring Paul Freeman as well as other advertisements. In July 2008, the spot "Delivery," also starring Freeman, was nominated for an Emmy.
Notable former employees
- Edward Budd, former Travelers Chairman & CEO
- Robert I. LippRobert I. LippRobert I. Lipp is a senior partner at Brysam Global Partners, a private equity firm. He is a former member of the board of JP Morgan Chase, and a director for Accenture and The Travelers Companies Inc....
, former Travelers CEO - Joe Plumeri, former Travelers Vice Chairman, Chairman & CEO of Willis Group HoldingsWillis Group HoldingsWillis Group Holdings is a global insurance broker headquartered in the Willis Building, London, United Kingdom. It has more than 400 offices in 120 countries, and approximately 17,000 employees...
, and owner of the Trenton ThunderTrenton ThunderThe Trenton Thunder are an American Minor League Baseball team and are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Thunder play in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League, and are the two-time defending league champions... - Sandy Weill, former Travelers Chairman & CEO