Allianz
Core and focus is on the insurance business. With €100 billion of revenue during 2004 Allianz is by far the biggest insurance company in Germany and one of the largest in the world.
Allianz is also the principal sponsor of the Swiss Open tennis tournament.
Contents
1 History
2 League table
3 Management
4 Allianz Australia
4.1 Products and Services
4.2 Key Facts
4.3 Specialist Brands and Services
4.4 History
4.5 Advertising
5 Belgium
6 United Kingdom
History
Allianz AG was founded in Berlin in 1890 and shifted its headquarters to Munich in 1949 . The first step to become an international company started with the opening of a branch office in London in the late 19th century. After World War II , global business activities were gradually resumed. Allianz opened an office in Paris in the late 1950s, and a management office for Italy in the 1960s. These expansions were followed in the 1970s by the establishment of business in Great Britain , the Netherlands , Spain , Brazil and the United States . In 1986 , Allianz acquired Cornhill Insurance PLC, London, and the purchase of a stake in Riunione Adriatica di Sicurità (RAS), Milan , strengthened its presence in Western and Southern Europe in the 1980s. Recently, in February 08, 2006, RAS Shareholders approved the mergers with Allianz. In 1990, Allianz started an expansion into eight Eastern European countries with establishing a presence in Hungary . In the same decade, Allianz also acquired Fireman’s Fund , an insurer in the United States, which was followed by the purchase of Assurances Generales de France (AGF), Paris. These acquisitions were followed by the expansion into Asia with several joint ventures and acquisitions in China and South Korea . Around this time Allianz expanded its asset management business as well by purchasing for example asset management companies in California .
In 2001, Allianz acquired Dresdner Bank , a large German bank. Allianz Group and Dresdner Bank combined their asset management activities by forming Allianz Dresdner Asset Management . In 2002 Michael Diekmann succeeded Henning Schulte-Noelle as CEO of Allianz AG. The Allianz Group was reincorporated under a European Company Statute and, as a result of the cross-border merger with RAS, Allianz converted into a European Company (SE - Societas Europaea) in October 13, 2006.
Allianz is now present in more than 70 countries with over 177,000 employees. At the top of the international group is the holding company, Allianz SE, with its head office in Munich. Allianz Group provides its more than 60 million customers worldwide with a comprehensive range of services in the areas of• property and casualty insurance,• life and health insurance,• asset management and banking.
Links with the Nazis & Third ReichGerald Feldman's book Allianz and the German Insurance Business is a look at the links between the Nazi party and big business in 1930s Germany concentrating on Allianz's relationship. According to Holocaust historians and legal experts, such as Professors Michael Bazyler and Gerald Feldman from the United States, Allianz insured the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau as well as other death camps.
Previous Board member Kurt Schmitt was a German economic leader and the Reich Economy Minister from June 1933 until January 1935.
Eduard Hilgard , a general director of Allianz AG and head of the Reich Association for Private Insurance during the entire National Socialist regime.
Allianz's leadership, represented by directors Kurt Schmitt and Eduard Hilgard, led a policy of drawing nearer to the Nazis, even before they seized power. Already in October 1930, ties were forged with Hermann Göring . These contacts were realized through company dinners and by providing private financial loans. Heinrich Brüning and Franz von Papen tried without success to get Schmitt a ministerial office.
League table
'World's Largest Annuity Company'. Allianz in the revenue league table
Allianz: $130 billion (2004)
AXA : $122.72B USD (2004)
AIG : $108.91B USD (2004)
Assicurazioni Generali : $107.45B USD (2006)
Management
CEOs to date:
2003 -- : Michael Diekmann
1991 -- 2003: Henning Schulte-Noelle
Allianz Australia
Allianz operate a general insurance business in Australia through Allianz Australia Insurance Limited (ABN 15 000 122 850, AFS Licence No. 234708).
Products and Services
- Personal coverage such as home & contents, motor, CTP, boat, travel (and since 2007) Life coverage such as Consumer Credit,Lifestyle Protection and Term Life- Industrial and Commercial coverage e.g. farms, businesses, transport, trades and services- Corporate coverage e.g. marine, construction, liability, professional indemnity, property, transport and machinery- Public and Products Liability- Workers’ Compensation- Loss Control and Risk Management strategies
Key Facts
- Operates throughout Australia and New Zealand- Employs approximately 3,000 staff- Has a combined premium income of over A$2.4 billion- Has investment assets of approximately A$5.3 billion (at 31/12/05)
The main subsidiary, Allianz Australia Insurance Limited (ABN 15 000 122 850):- Has over 2 million policyholders- Is Australia's fifth largest general insurance provider- Provides some form of insurance cover for more than half of Australia's top 50 BRW-listing companies (2004)- Is one of the leading private Workers' Compensation insurers in AustraliaProvides Workers' Compensation cover for approximately one in five Australian employees
Specialist Brands and Services
Club Marine - Australia's leading distributor of pleasure craft insuranceHunter Premium Funding - The leading Premium Funding company in Australia and New Zealand, providing"Easy Cash Flow Solutions" for today's business community
History
Allianz Australia's predecessor MMI began as the Manufacturers Mutual Accident Insurance Association Limited in 1914, targeting the Workers Compensation market. It was renamed as Manufacturers Mutual Insurance, abbrieviated MMI in 1920. It was well known for its subsidiary lines DirectDial Financial Services Limited, SafetyNet Pty Ltd and Combrook Pty Ltd. DirectDial and SafetyNet were later integrated into their mainline businesses, however Combrook could not be integrated as Workers Compensation legislation prohibits insurance companies from also being the rehabilitation provider due to conflict of interest. It was rebranded as Recovre in 2002 and sold off to Hawkesbury Private Equity in 2006. It acquired the Australian operation of Allianz in 1986 and was taken over by Allianz in 1998, before changing its name to Allianz Australia in 2000. In 2001, Allianz Australia took over HIH Insurance and its subsidiaries including FAI Insurance following the HIH collapse. In 2006, Allianz also began to sell life insurance products.
Advertising
Like its competitors, Allianz Australia has its own ads to promote the benefits of switching to Allianz using slogans like"Insurance solutions from A to Z", "Insurance solutions from Allianz" and "Switch and join over 2 million Australians". They were first introduced in 2005, then branded as "Allianz Cover Story". Allianz Business Insurance also runs similar ads, though with different lines and background music. Previously Allianz Australia used the same slogan as its international counterparts called "The Power on Your Side".
Belgium
Allianz operates through AGF Belgium Allianz Group
United Kingdom
Allianz owns British insurance company Cornhill Insurance plc, subsequently renamed Allianz Cornhill Insurance plc. This then simply became Allianz Insurance plc on 30 April 2007 to directly reflect its continental parentage.
Also owns Kleinwort Benson which it inherited when it bought Dresdner Bank . The investment bank has subsequently been merged with the corporate bank of Dresdner Bank and rebranded as Dresdner Kleinwort .
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