Expedia Picks AIG to Sell Travel Insurance on its Websites--Update
March 02 2018 - 4:10PM
Dow Jones News
By Leslie Scism
American International Group Inc. said it has been selected to
sell travel insurance to customers of Expedia Inc.'s websites, part
of AIG's larger effort to earn more revenue from consumers.
Expedia's Brand Expedia Group, one of the world's biggest
travel-site operators by bookings, said the pact would make AIG's
Travel Guard offerings available to people booking flights, hotels,
cars, cruises and other travel on its sites. Those include
Expedia.com, CheapTickets, Orbitz and Travelocity. Financial terms
weren't disclosed.
Expedia said it would expand the AIG offerings to its global
websites following the U.S. launch. In the U.S., AIG is replacing
Transamerica, a unit of Dutch insurer Aegon NV. Internationally,
Expedia now uses German insurer Allianz SE, Expedia said.
A Transamerica spokeswoman said the insurer has stopped selling
travel insurance "as part of a previously announced strategic
decision." Allianz couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Aon PLC's Affinity Travel Practice will continue to provide
advisory services to Expedia and handle claim services in the U.S.,
Expedia said. Aon has worked on the travel program for 15
years.
AIG Chief Executive Brian Duperreault is seeking ways to expand
the global insurance conglomerate rather than return excess cash to
shareholders in the form of stock buybacks. The Expedia pact
follows AIG's January agreement to acquire insurer Validus Holdings
Ltd. for $5.56 billion.
After that deal, Mr. Duperreault said he would continue to hunt
for acquisitions because there is "white space" that can be filled
in across the global operations. In particular, he has mentioned
life insurance internationally and sales of policies to small and
midsize U.S. businesses.
AIG and other insurers of businesses have been struggling to
raise premium rates on many property and casualty policies sold to
business clients over the past several years. The price squeeze has
lessened somewhat in recent months in the wake of more than $100
billion in insured damage industrywide from hurricanes and fires in
2017. But the resulting premium-rate increases aren't broad-based,
and they haven't been as strong as initially expected, analysts
say.
AIG is hardly a newcomer in selling to consumers. It is one of
the U.S.'s biggest providers of homeowners coverage to wealthy
households and is prominent in sales of life insurance and
annuities to individuals.
From 2009 through 2012, AIG divested tens of billions of dollars
of businesses and assets to repay its nearly $185 billion bailout
during the financial crisis.
Write to Leslie Scism at leslie.scism@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 02, 2018 15:55 ET (20:55 GMT)
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