American International Group said it posted a loss in the fourth quarter as the insurer absorbed billions in losses related to payouts on damage caused by Superstorm Sandy and the sale of its airplane leasing unit.The New York-based company said yesterday it lost $4 billion, or $2.68 per share, in the three months ended December 31.That compares with net income of $21.5 billion, or $11.31 per share, in the prior-year quarter, when AIG benefited from a hefty tax-related accounting gains in the fourth quarter as the insurer absorbed billions in losses related to payouts on damage caused by Superstorm Sandy and the sale of its airplane leasing unit.AIG, which repaid a US bailout last year said operating profit, which excludes some investment results, was 20 cents a share, beating the average estimate for a loss of 8 cents in a Bloomberg survey of 17 analysts.The property-casualty unit led by Peter Hancock, posted a fourth-quarter pretax loss of $983 million, compared with a profit of $817 million a year earlier, as the company faced claims from Sandy. The business that was known as Chartis spent $1.25 on claims and expenses for every premium dollar it collected, compared with spending $1.07 a year earlier.Chief executive officer Robert Benmosche, 68, has struck deals to sell units including non-US life insurers to simplify the company and help repay the government. He reached an agreement in December to sell at least 80 percent of the International Lease Finance Corp plane business to a group of Chinese investors.AIG had surged 36 percent in the past 12 months in regular trading as the US sold its stake in the company.“When history is written, we will look back and see that by the end of 2012, a new era for AIG had begun,” Benmosche said in the statement.Operating profit at the life unit climbed to $1.09 billion from $912 million a year earlier as investment income rose about 15 percent. The insurer benefited from results in so-called alternative investments, which include private-equity and hedge fund holdings.Full-year profit was $3.44 billion, compared with $20.6 billion a year earlier.Sandy struck the US Northeast in October and cut profit at insurers including Travelers Cos., Chubb and Allstate Corp. Travelers, the lone insurer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, reported $689 million of catastrophe costs in the fourth quarter, led by Sandy.