How AIG is an ally to brokers and clients

When AIG’s Don Bailey meets with insurance brokers, one of the first questions he asks is: “If the client can take on more risk, what could they achieve?”

As Global Head of Distribution and Field Operations, Don is aware that most clients are focused on driving more profitable growth for their organizations.

Therefore, he believes it’s AIG’s job to partner with brokers with the goal of helping clients position their business for growth for years to come. Whether that involves helping clients manage risks associated with expanding operations across multiple countries with disparate regulations or helping them navigate supply chain risks, AIG’s underwriters play a central role in providing brokers with bespoke insights aimed at helping them succeed.

“AIG’s partnership with brokers is more important than ever,” says Don, who started his insurance career as a directors and officers liability insurance underwriter specialized in the banking sector.

When Don thinks about today’s risk environment, he refers to a phrase born out of the 1980s – VUCA, which stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. The acronym, he notes, properly describes what many organizations are trying to address now.

“The good news is there’s a path forward,” Don adds.

“The risk environment today places a huge value on the ability for brokers and clients to partner with AIG to help sort through that uncertainty that allows them not only to survive in business but to thrive.”

Working with AIG’s broker partners to achieve underwriting excellence

To be sure, AIG remains strategic on the categories of risks it’s willing to cover.

One of Don’s business priorities is to be very clear with broker partners about the types of risks the insurance organization can profitably underwrite. Then it comes down to proactively working with brokers interested in coverage for those specific risks and to deliver actionable solutions that help clients think strategically about the future of their business.

“We’re not an organization that wants to write everything for everybody, everywhere,” Don underscores.

“Our clients need to have an understanding, and our brokers as well, of exactly where AIG does business. And when we do that consistently, we create a much more efficient arrangement for AIG and our trading partners and our clients.”

Outside of underwriting the right risks, one of the biggest ways AIG serves as an ally to brokers and clients is helping them to better manage the claims process. Don notes that brokers want efficacy – particularly when they file a claim on behalf of a client. This comes as distribution partners in recent years have become more proactive in helping clients resolve claims by building out capabilities that guide clients through the process.

Partnering with brokers to help resolve clients’ claims more quickly and efficiently

By combining resources and knowledge, Don believes both the insurance carrier and broker can help achieve the common goal of resolving a client’s claims more expeditiously and effectively.

“When the broker and the underwriter partner on behalf of the client, we add a lot of value to the client,” Don says.

AIG has continued taking important steps to enhance the claims experience. For example, the organization is working to make it easier for brokers and clients to access key information about their claims through AIG’s newly-designed myAIG portal. By making claims data available through the portal alongside other pertinent information, AIG aims to help brokers and clients be better informed and prepared to manage risks.

“AIG has done a tremendous job of building out our claims organization, building our claims skillset, and creating a true value proposition that I believe has differentiated us in the marketplace when it comes to claims efficacy,” Don says.

In addition, what makes AIG stand out to broker partners is its global footprint, which enables the insurance organization to support businesses and individuals in approximately 70 countries and jurisdictions around the world. Regardless of where AIG’s broker partners are based, Don adds, they’re increasingly looking for data points to help broaden clients’ understanding of claims and other risk topics shaping their organizations.

“AIG is dedicated to helping our broker partners and clients realize their potential, and we have world-class people and resources to take them there.”