AIG has been in the news a lot recently. If you have an American General (part of AIG) policy, should you be concerned? For answers, read on.
If you hold a life insurance policy from American General (an AIG subsidiary) and you’ve been paying attention to the news, it’s completely understandable as to why you might be feeling a bit anxious. Certainly the mortgage crisis has affected several large financial institutions and if you’re an American General life insurance policy holder, you are rightfully concerned. As an AccuQuote customer and an American General life insurance policy holder, the choice is always yours to switch life insurance carriers. Our goal is to help you make an informed decision.
With that said, I want to provide you with the following information, which I believe will help guide you in your decision making process:
- American General is a wholly owned subsidiary of AIG. American General is strong, profitable and growing
- Insurance continues to be one of the largest sources of revenue for AIG.
- The insurance industry is highly regulated – So much that all life insurance companies doing business in the US must keep cash reserves for any/all life insurance they issue. These cash reserves are primarily invested in high quality investment grade fixed income securities which are extremely stable. This practice ensures the contractual obligation for the life insurance company to pay death benefits for term policies that are in force.
- If there is concern about the ability of ANY insurance company to pay claims, every State insurance commissioner has the authority to essentially merge the assets of any troubled insurer through a takeover by more solvent insurers. This method has been used successfully and repeatedly to prevent the default of even one payment of a death claim in over a hundred years in the United States and to make sure that every in-force policy is honored based on the original terms and conditions. No death beneficiary in the history of the U.S. life insurance market has ever been denied or shorted on a legitimate death claim payout
AccuQuote will in fact continue to sell American General as they are still rated A or better by A.M. Best. We believe they are in solid shape and will continue to be a leader in the term life market despite the difficulties their parent company is experiencing. However, again, the choice is always yours. We do not push one company over another. Therefore, if you are concerned regarding an existing policy or one you recently applied for at American General, we would be more than happy to assist you in choosing an alternative company. Simply feel free to contact us at 800-442-9899 regarding any questions or concerns you may have.
