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Chartis to switch back to AIG name

Name Change: The Chartis Building will soon be changed back to AIG (Photo by Akil Simmons)

The Chartis sign on Richmond Road will soon say AIG once again.The Bermuda-based property and casualty unit of American International Group will reportedly revert to the AIG name this fall in a move to recognise the company’s turnaround.Speculation about the name change has been rife since John Doyle, CEO of global commercial insurance for Chartis’ property-casualty unit was quoted in May as saying that there were no lingering reputation issues for the P&C business and that international operations were “begging” to be rebranded as AIG.In 2009, the bailed-out insurer rebranded its property and casualty unit as Chartis and even considered making it a separately traded, publicly held company. The P&C unit was, at the time, looking to distance itself from its parent company after AIG became caught up in losses from investments in credit default swaps and in received $182 billion in government loans and credits to avoid collapse.The company has all but shunned its own name for the last few years. The company even went so far as to make employee ID badges that did not identify the company by name — a measure AIG CEO, Bob Benmosche said was to protect employee safety.But with recent advertising tests showing higher response rates and lower customer acquisition costs for AIG-branded products, the company said it was time for a change."The increasingly positive sentiment toward AIG is a powerful asset," Benmosche said in a memo to staff, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.Mr Benmosche declared about a year ago that the corporation’s crisis was over and that it was independent of government support.AIG has taken great steps to reduce the government’s stake in the company. In early June, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) announced that AIG had paid off two major loans that enabled it to avoid collapse — a loan AIG says the FRBNY is likely to make a $6 billion profit on. And in May, the US Treasury Department announced it was lowering its stake in AIG from 70 to 61 percent.The name switch back will reportedly involve both Chartis’ domestic and international operations. Chartis Bermuda property and casualty will be known simply as AIG. Matrix Direct term life insurance will go by AIG Direct and SunAmerica life businesses will be known as AIG Life and Retirement. Other AIG entities will keep their names but add an AIG tag to their logos.