AIG to open office in Beijing

American International Group Inc.'s Chinese operation has received permission to open a branch office in Beijing.

Shanghai-based AIG General Insurance Co. China Ltd. said in a statement that it has received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission to establish an office in Beijing as part of plans to expand its geographic footprint in China. The division also has branches in Guangdong and Shenzhen. AIG General was incorporated as a wholly owned foreign enterprise in September 2007. AIG in 1992 became the first foreign insurer to receive a license to operate a general and life insurance business in China.

$30 billion to AIG

The U.S. Treasury Department has committed to accouterment American International Group Inc. with as abundant as $29.84 billion in added funds over the abutting bristles years, according to the insurer’s filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which confirms an acceding accomplished in March.

The accessible bulk "will be decreased by the accumulated bulk of banking abetment that the Treasury Department provides to AIG," according to the filing.

The official charge that AIG appear Monday was allotment of an April 17 Securities Acquirement Acceding with the Treasury Department beneath which it bought 300,000 shares of adopted banal with a par amount of $5 per allotment from AIG as able-bodied as warrants to shop for up to 3,000 shares of accepted banal with a par amount of $2.50 per share, according to the filing.

The acquirement acceding restricts AIG's adeptness to repurchase basic banal and requires the insurer "to abide to advance behavior attached accumulated expenses, lobbying activities and controlling compensation," the filing said.

An AIG agent could not be accomplished for comment.

AIG to sell personal auto unit

American International Group Inc. has agreed to advertise its 21st Century Allowance Group claimed auto allowance assemblage to Zurich Financial Services Group's Farmers Group Inc. subsidiary, the companies said Thursday.

Under the acceding of the agreement, Farmers is to pay AIG $1.9 billion in banknote and basic addendum for Wilmington, Del.-based 21st Century, which comprises AIG's U.S. claimed auto business. Farmers additionally will accept 21st Century's $100 actor in outstanding debt.

The transaction, which does not accommodate AIG's Private Client Group that provides allowance to high-net-worth individuals, is accountable to authoritative approval.

"We are actual admiring to ability acceding on a $2 billion transaction, abnormally in this bazaar environment," Edward Liddy, AIG's administrator and arch controlling officer, said in a statement. "In addition, we are affective advanced with discussions for several added transactions, and we abide to appraise how best to assure the connected backbone and success of all of AIG's businesses."

"This will badly transform the allowance mural by accession Farmers as the arch multiline, multichannel insurer in the United States," Robert Woudstra, CEO of Los Angeles-based Farmers Group, said in the statement.

AIG CEO to quit over Goldman stake

A U.S. agent Thursday bidding affair about a pale in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. captivated by Edward Liddy, arch controlling administrator of bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc., and apprenticed him to quit.

Mr. Liddy owns shares and belted banal units in Goldman that could be account added than $3 million, according to filings at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Goldman, a above allowance and cyberbanking firm, got a ample allotment of $90 billion in counterparty payments fabricated by AIG, a almsman of $180 billion in aborigine aid back aftermost year.

"I am acutely anxious by contempo media letters that AIG CEO Edward Liddy owns added than $3 actor of banal in Goldman Sachs, which topped the account of companies that accustomed billions of dollars in counterparty payments from AIG," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., in a statement.

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"For months, I accept been calling on Mr. Liddy to abandon from his position at the captain of AIG, and in ablaze of the fresh advice about his banal backing at Goldman, I renew that anxiety today," Rep. Cummings added.

Mr. Liddy's backing were aboriginal appear by The Washington Examiner.

Rep. Cummings said: "Regardless of whether or not Mr. Liddy is acting in the best absorption of AIG or of his banal in Goldman, alike the actualization of battle of absorption is a acumen for alarm."

An AIG backer said Mr. Liddy endemic Goldman Sachs shares afore he abutting the Goldman lath and that, back he joined, he chose to booty his advantage in belted stock. Mr. Liddy accommodated from the Goldman lath in September 2008.

"He will accept his belted banal in the anatomy of common, complete shares in May of 2009," she said, abacus that Mr. Liddy has never awash Goldman shares.

She said Mr. Liddy "was not complex in discussions with counterparties, including Goldman Sachs, accompanying to the acquirement of collateralized debt obligations or the abortion of accompanying acclaim absence swaps. Mr. Liddy is assuming his duties with AIG as accessible account for $1 per year."

The centralized babysitter for the Treasury Department's banking accomplishment affairs is analytical billions of dollars in counterparty payments from AIG to above banks.

AIG appear on March 15 it had paid added than $90 billion to Goldman and added banks, abounding based in Europe.

AIG Crisis Could Affect Annuities

Gavin Magor abutting TheStreet.com Ratings in 2008, and is the chief analyst amenable for allotment banking backbone ratings to bloom insurers and acknowledging added bloom care-related customer products, including Medicare supplement insurance, abiding affliction allowance and ancient affliction information. He conducts industry assay in these areas. He has added than 20 years' all-embracing acquaintance in acclaim accident management, bartering lending and analysis, alive in the U.K., Sweden, Mexico, Brazil and the U.S. He holds a master's bulk in business administering from The Open University in the U.K.

TSC Ratings provides absolute stock, ETF and alternate armamentarium ratings and annotation based on award-winning, proprietary tools. Its "safety first" access to advance aims to abate accident while gluttonous solid outperformance on a absolute acknowledgment basis.

As American All-embracing Group (AIG:NYSE) fights to axis billions of dollars in losses and survive the affliction bread-and-butter abatement back the Great Depression, investors should anticipate adamantine afore affairs the allowance company's annuities.

The government, examination AIG as too important to fail, has committed added than $200 billion to prop up the ailing company, which absent a almanac $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter. AIG has formed adamantine to assure afraid consumers, reminding them that its allowance subsidiaries are "well capitalized." The National Association of Allowance Commissioners alike offers a ability folio on its Web armpit to let consumers apperceive that AIG annuities are safe, alike if the aggregation becomes insolvent.

AIG annuities, allowance behavior that serve as advance vehicles, ability assume like a safe abode to bundle money until retirement, but the aggregation is decumbent to alternation this year and investors ability appetite to accede added options. While its allowance units are capitalized now, they could face problems after this year if exceptional acquirement continues to slow.

On the face of it, AIG seems like a solid company. It had added than 6 actor accomplishment affairs at anniversary accretion $131.7 billion, and action affluence of $184.6 billion to abutment them. It took in $53 billion in premiums in 2008, abiding 16% in pre-tax operating accumulation compared with the 13% boilerplate accident of its peers.

AIG kept costs beneath ascendancy and paid commissions that were 30% lower than average. Among its band holdings, 5.9% were clutter status, compared with to 6.4% for the industry.

Annuity sales rose during the aboriginal bisected of 2008. That bound afflicted during the additional half, back abounding policyholders cashed in their affairs fearing the aggregation ability collapse. AIG concluded the year with a 2.7% abandonment rate, up 42% from 2007 and added than bifold the 1.1% boilerplate for the market.

AIG maintains its basic and surplus positions by accession premiums. If the aggregation loses added policyholders or fails to allure fresh investors, it could face problems. This year has been so airy that AIG apparently absent added policyholders.

AIG's activity allowance units took in $53 billion in premiums and absent $24 billion. The losses far beat the group's $15 billion in net basic and surplus. In contrast, Hartford Banking Services(HIG:NYSE) absent $4.5 billion and kept $6 billion in capital, and MetLife (MET:NYSE) absent $632 actor and took in $18 billion.

The Treasury Department said aftermost anniversary it would extend bailout funds to activity allowance companies. The government stands abaft AIG, but it ability accede affairs its units to accumulate the aggregation activity and assure policyholders. However, the government ability attempt to acquisition an buyer who doesn't appetite to change policyholders' arrangement terms. At the least, barter ability accept to assignment with a fresh company.

It's important to shop for annuities alone from financially complete companies. If the aggregation fails while you're advantageous into your annuity, you will accept the bulk of the account. However, if the close becomes bankrupt while you're accession assets from your policy, you'll accept alone what's covered by agreement associations, an bulk that varies by state.

TheStreet.com Ratings, afresh cited for Best Banal Selection from October 2007 through February 2009 , is an absolute assay provider that combines axiological and abstruse assay to action investors amazing bulk in airy times.