St Paul Guardian Insurance Co history

In February 1854 the company issued its first policy, a mutual policy for $800.

The St Paul sustained its first fire loss in April 1855 when a row of offices and a bakery burned to the ground, resulting in $3,000 in claims.

A period of stagnation occurred starting in 1861, during the Civil War.

By 1866 the company was writing business in Manitoba.

A shareholder-elected board voted to pay semiannual dividends, and in July 1867 the company issued its first stock dividend, of $1.50 per share.

In 1871 the Great Chicago Fire strained the company's resources.

Burbank died in 1876, and the company's secretary, Charles H. Bigelow, was elected president.

In buying the Baltimore-based USF&G, a firm founded in 1896, The St Paul propelled itself from the 13th to the eighth largest property and casualty insurer in the nation.

The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 took a heavy toll on The St Paul's new product development plans, however.

In 1911 Charles Bigelow died, and his son, Frederic Bigelow, succeeded him as president.

In 1917 The St Paul covered the loss of 260 vessels, totaling more than $4 million, most of which was repaid by Germany over 50 years.

The St Paul's leadership decided, therefore, that a liability company was needed, and in 1926 a subsidiary, St Paul Mercury Indemnity Company, was formed.

The St Paul also added aircraft insurance and surety bonds to its product line in 1929.

After serving as The St Paul's president for 27 years, Frederic Bigelow became chairman in 1938, and Charles F. Codere became The St Paul's fifth president.

In 1948 Codere became chairman, and A. B. Jackson was elected The St Paul's new president.

In 1957, with the acquisition of the Western Life Insurance Company of Helena, Montana, The St Paul broke into the life insurance market.

In 1968 The St Paul reorganized.

Two years later St Paul Investment Management Company, an investment management firm, was started, and in 1973 St Paul Life Insurance Company, whose purpose was to market life insurance through independent agents representing St Paul Fire and Marine, was formed.

In 1980 Chairman Drake refocused mainly on insurance-related businesses.

"A History of the St Paul," St Paul, Minn.: The St Paul Companies, 1988.

On May 1, 1990, Haugh retired and was replaced by The St Paul's new chairman, president, and CEO, Douglas W. Leatherdale, who continued the company's strategy for an increasing presence in the European market.

In August 1993 the St Paul Personal & Business unit was bolstered through the $420 million purchase of Economy Fire & Casualty from Kemper Corporation.

Results for 1996 were not nearly so rosy, as the company suffered its second worst catastrophe losses in history--$207 million--stemming in large part from an east coast blizzard, flooding in the west and southwest, and Hurricane Fran.

Meanwhile, John Nuveen added $13.6 billion to its assets under management through the acquisitions of Flagship Resources in January 1997 and of Rittenhouse Financial Services in July 1997.

Later in 2000 The St Paul elected to sell an unprofitable subsidiary of MMI, Unionamerica Insurance Co., a London-based unit focusing on medical-liability reinsurance.

This propelled the firm into a net loss for the year of $1.09 billion. As a result of the terrorist attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, The St Paul incurred claims totaling approximately $941 million.

In late 2005 Fishman succeeded Lipp as chairman.

In March 2006 the Wall Street Journal reported that St Paul Travelers was in the early stages of discussing a takeover of Zurich Financial Services, one of Europe's largest insurers and a firm that was also a major United States property and casualty insurer.