American General (AIG) - Life Insurance Ratings

Best Life Insurance Companies 2020: How AIG Life Insurance Measures Up

AIG delivered solid scores in this year’s Best Life Insurance Companies survey with an overall score of 83.90 and 12th place. AIG’s highest ranking was 10th for ease of website and apps. Other rankings include 11th for customer service and 12th for value for price. Eighty-one percent of the surveyed policyholders said they would recommend AIG to family and friends for life insurance.

Gauging an insurance company

Before buying with a company it is wise to check on a company's financial strength and complaint record. The A.M. Best rating listed above gives you an idea of American General's financial strength to pay claims. A complaint ratio can be found on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) site. The median complaint ratio from the NAIC is always 1.00. This means half of the insurers have a complaint ratio of under 1.00 and half have a ratio above. Basically, numbers lower than 1.00 are better with fewer complaints than the median and a number higher than 1.00 has more complaints than the median. For life insurance, American General (NAIC# 60488) had a complaint ratio of 1.61 for individual life and 15.31 for group life for 2018. 2019 complaint numbers will be available in 2020.

Company Background

Nearly one hundred years of progress

AIG’s roots began in 1919 when an American named Cornelius Vander Starr created an insurance agency in Shanghai, China. Nelle Vander Starr became the first female executive after joining the operations in Shanghai. The company opened its first U.S. office in 1926, and continued to grow its American operations. C.V. Starr and his company were actively committed to taking care of military families during WWII, helping to relay Red Cross correspondence and opening new offices abroad to provide for U.S. military.

AIG provides life insurance through its company, American General, which it acquired in 2001.

American General Insurance Company was launched on May 8, 1926 in Houston, Texas and was one of the first multi-line insurance companies in the nation. In 1945, American General completed the first of its own strategic acquisitions, Seaboard Life Insurance Company, making American General the only company in the southern United States to underwrite fire, life, automobile and casualty insurance. 

The ability to keep pace with the rapid changes of today’s world is a point of pride for the insurer. Today, AIG is one of the first insurers to receive FAA approval to use drones to conduct inspections for risk assessment – also pioneering unmanned aircraft insurance.

Consider AIG for alternative life insurance plans

AIG offers four versions of a unique product called “Quality of Life” Insurance. The goal of these arrangements is to provide more flexibility and access accumulated benefits or interest – dubbed “living benefits.” These benefits can help with chronic, critical and even terminal illnesses or conditions. Individuals or families that might benefit from the flexibility of these accounts might consider AIG.

Contact information

Corporate headquarters

AIG

80 Pine Street

New York, New York 10005

Customer service: 1-888 543-3371

Life insurance customers: 1-800-888-2452

American General Life Insurance Company
P.O. Box 4373
Houston, Texas 77210