Chartis, new brand of AIG insurance
AIG General Insurance, the non-life insurance unit of the troubled American Insurance Group, is readying a renewed push into the Korean market with the launch of a new brand Chartis, its executives said yesterday.
"Since our establishment in 1954, we have been offering products and services to meet the needs of Korean consumers. Chartis will represent the same company which has served Korean customers with in-depth local expertise for the last 55 years, and will continue to carry on an unwavering commitment to the Korean market," CEO Brad Bennett of Chartis Korea told the press conference in Seoul.
The brand conversion will be a gradual process, first getting the existing policyholders to familiarize with the new name, officials said yesterday. The company hopes to complete the transition by the end of this year.
Chartis, meaning "map" in Greek, will be used as a unified brand for the company's property-casualty brands which were previously "AIG" or "AIU," varying by countries. The company undertook the rebranding to distance the unit from the problems of parent company AIG.
It is part of a plan announced in March to separate the non-life insurance businesses from AIG, after New York-based parent group lost more than $99 billion in 2008 during a global financial crisis. The division, in contrast, was profitable, earning more than $2 billion.
"Rebranding is a step that allows us to refocus on general insurance," said Jose Hernandez, head of Chartis' Far East region.
In Korea, the world's seventh-largest insurance market, Chartis sees opportunities in niche markets such as home-owners' insurance and small-business insurance, Bennett said.
The company will launch "Travel Guard," a marketing brand for overseas travel insurance, while targeting homeowners and small business owners with innovative new products, it said.
The Korea Herald
No comments:
Post a Comment