Deafening silence. AIG reported sad news earlier this year in the announcement of the passing of former President and CEO Bob Benmosche. He died on February 27, having undergone treatment for lung cancer since 2010. Robert S. Miller, chairman of the AIG board of directors, described Benmosche: “Bob was one of the most inspirational and successful leaders in corporate America by any measure. We will never forget that under Bob’s extraordinary leadership, the people of AIG repaid America in full plus a profit of nearly $23 billion.”
Some few of you may remember a little financial hiccup in 2008, and a firestorm of negative press about a company receiving $182 billion in taxpayer assistance. I remember seemingly countless skewed television reports about the “insurance giant” receiving a “bailout” at the expense of hardworking taxpayers. I remember network press coverage of media-fueled protests outside of the AIG New York office. There were even press expressed concerns about employee safety. Not even at the height of Obamacare flame fanning was the “us against them” manipulation of public opinion against the insurance industry as strident and insidious.
When Bob Benmosche held the first of a series of town hall meetings in Houston with AIG employees, he said, “The fact is, you are AIG, and it’s time we stopped being embarrassed by it. It’s time people stop talking about you as the problem, because you are the solution.” Rod Rishel, head of U.S. Life Insurance, recounts: “I remember the day Bob came to Houston in August of 2009, and to this day I can still say I have never witnessed anything like that. After he spoke at the meeting, I could literally feel the positive energy in the air. It’s hard to fathom that one person could have that kind of impact on so many people. I also knew in that moment that one day AIG would thrive again. And just look where we are now.”
Benmosche developed his drive in life early. Losing his father at an early age (without life insurance), he drove a Coca Cola truck for seven years to put himself through both prep school and college. He served his country as a lieutenant in the United States Army from 1966 to 1968. His bona fides for the AIG responsibility were well established. Serving as executive vice president of Paine Webber, he directed the merger of Kidder Peabody into that company. As chairman, president and CEO of MetLife, he led the transition of that company from a mutual to a public company in 2000. He also served in various capacities with Chase Manhattan Bank.
AIG Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer, life insurance, John Deremo, adds these insights: “Bob was a staunch believer in diversity. He was very committed to promoting diversity, not only throughout our employee ranks, but also throughout our broker and advisor ranks, and was particularly enthusiastic about increasing our presence in underserved multicultural markets.” Deremo adds, “Bob was always adamant that the decline in insurance ownership was in direct proportion to the declining number of agents. He strongly felt that to rebuild insurance sales we had to dramatically increase the number of our brokers. He would point out that agents work to provide essential advice to people for the most meaningful moments in their lives. And there is not a computer or other type of artificial intelligence that could ever replace the value of an empathetic, well-trained broker.”
Through divesting various businesses and other restructuring activities, by the end of 2012,under Benmosche’s leadership, the people of AIG had repaid taxpayer assistance in full—early—plus a positive return of $22.7 billion. True to his nature, Bob gave the credit to AIG employees, saying in a letter, “You did this. Every single man and woman at AIG did this remarkable thing.”
Which brings me to the first two words of this column. I don’t remember effusive praise or even much recognition of this accomplishment in the mainstream media. I don’t recall panels of pundits endlessly extolling the virtues of a man or a company that made good on a promise to repay a debt of this magnitude, did so early, and kicked the government and thereby, in theory, taxpayers a profit of nearly $23 billion. Not to mention any articles or discourse about how the public’s trust in their products should not have wavered and that their policies were still subject to the same guarantees as when originally issued. I remember several disgusting attempts by settlement companies to advertise in this magazine, preying on consumer fears fueled by “incomplete” media reporting—attempts I rebuffed with enthusiasm—and yet there was no media mea culpa and little if any positive comment on AIG or their accomplishment. You could hear the crickets chirping.
The people of AIG should be proud of what they’ve done. We, as an industry, should be grateful for the vision and inspiration of Bob Benmosche, doing more than one man should have been able, to provide a great example to the American public of our industry making good on its commitment to consumers. The mainstream media could have done a great service to the American people by helping them to further trust in the benefits of and need for insurance products. They could have told them all about Bob Benmosche. He was a great man and a blessing for our entire industry, and it’s a damn shame more people don’t know it. [SPH]
