Fireman's Fund Insurance Company was an insurance company based in Petaluma, California which provided personal and commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company was a principal U.S. subsidiary of

Allianz Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...

, a global financial services company, the 20th largest corporation in the world based on the revenue ( Fortune Global 500, August 2010). Allianz employs nearly 155,000 people worldwide. Fireman's Fund offered a ranging portfolio of coverage, including personal auto, homeowners, excess, and collections insurance for high-net-worth clients. Commercial insurance products included entertainment, business office policies, workers compensation, general, professional, and excess liability, auto, and farm and ranch coverage etc..

History

Fireman's Fund Insurance Company was founded in 1863 in San Francisco. Its name reflects its founding mission in which 10 percent of profits were paid to the widows and orphans of fallen firefighters. In recent years, the company had continued a similar social mission through its Heritage Program, in which it provided millions of dollars each year in grants for equipment, training, and educational programs to local fire departments across the United States. Since its inception, Fireman's Fund had insured some of America's notable landmarks and inventions, including the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...

and the

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlant ...

. Fireman's Fund was the largest insurer and underwriter in the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

film industry, insuring motion picture productions since the silent film era. The company also underwrote reality television shows, concerts, and special events. Its largest film insurance payout was a $15 million claim after star John Candy died during production of the 1994 film ''

Wagons East A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

''. In September 2014 it was announced in the German press that Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), Allianz Group's specialty corporate insurer, would fully integrate Fireman's Fund's commercial property/casualty insurance business beginning on January 1, 2015. In a move following the announcement of the integration, ACE agreed to acquire Fireman's Fund Insurance Co.’s personal lines business for a total of $365 million. The deal closed in the second quarter of 2015.

Timeline

1863 — Ship captain William Holdredge founded Fireman's Fund Insurance Company in San Francisco. Its first policy was one-half interest in 1,000 kegs of Boston syrup. The

premium Premium may refer to: Marketing * Premium (marketing), a promotional item that can be received for a small fee when redeeming proofs of purchase that come with or on retail products * Premium segment, high-price brands or services in marketing, ...

was $12 cash in advance. 1871 — The company paid all of its claims from the Great Chicago Fire – about a half million dollars' worth – within 60 days, nearly wiping out all of the company's capital. 1905 — The company had roughly 6,000 independent agents. 1906 — Fireman's Fund was the first company to provide nationwide auto insurance. 1906 — San Francisco earthquake destroyed Fireman's Fund's headquarters and all records, but it was able to pay all policyholder claims with a combination of cash and stock. Claims were taken “on their word” as all insurance documents were destroyed. 1920s — Insured the first movies with sound. Since then, the company has insured movies ranging from ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an a ...

'' to ''The Lord of the Rings ''trilogy and is currently the largest insurer of Hollywood films. 1927 — Insured Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis. 1936 — The company grew to 1,500 employees and about 10,000 independent agents. 1953 — Moved its headquarters to a modern facility in San Francisco's

Laurel Heights Laurel Heights is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, San Francisco, California. It is located to the south of the Presidio of San Francisco and east of the Richmond District, San Francisco, California, Richmond District. It is bordered ...

neighborhood. 1957 — Premium income topped $300 million. 1968 —

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

acquired Fireman's Fund. Early 1980s — Outgrew its space in San Francisco and moved the headquarters north to Novato, California 1984 — Insured the ABC telecast of the 1984 Olympics. 1985 — Fireman's Fund was sold off by American Express and became an independent company. 1991 —

Allianz AG Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...

acquired Fireman's Fund. 2001 — All of the company's 109 New York employees located in the south tower of the World Trade Center survived

the terrorist attack The HBO television sitcom ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' premiered with an hour-long special on October 17, 1999. It was followed by a ten-episode first season that began airing on October 15, 2000. The series was created by Larry David, who stars as ...

. 2004 — Fireman's Fund launched the Heritage Program, a recommitment of its founding philanthropic mission to support the fire service. Grants are given to local fire departments to help purchase new equipment, tools and training. 2006 — Created the first green insurance products in the United States. 2014 — Announced that Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty would fully integrate the commercial Property/Casualty business of Fireman's Fund beginning in January 2015. 2015 — ACE Limited, a Swiss insurance company, agrees to purchase Fireman's Fund personal lines business for $365 million. 2016 — ACE combined with and adopted the Chubb name in January 2016 after the acquisition was completed. 2019 — Fireman's Fund moves out of its Novato complex, leaving for a smaller complex in Petaluma. The building lies abandoned, but proposals have been made to turn the complex into housing. 2020 — Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company was sued by Lionsgate for $1.62 million following the death of a cast member and a fire that destroyed a Hungarian studio during the shooting of its 2018 film "Robin Hood".

Business model

Fireman's Fund worked with independent agents and brokers and was composed of two (2) primary business units: commercial insurance (includes agribusiness) and personal insurance. Commercial Insurance offered businesses and organizations risk management by providing admitted and non-admitted solutions, customized products for a variety of industries and program business for small to mid-sized affinity programs. Personal insurance for high-net-worth and affluent customers included home, auto, valuables, excess liability, art, wine, and jewelry collections, yacht, and watercraft. Fireman's Fund provided Farm and Ranch insurance for American farmers since 1876 – owner occupied family farms and larger scale agricultural operations for ranchers, farmers, and dairy owners. Fireman's Fund was the first insurer in the United States to offer green insurance coverage for both personal and commercial lines, starting in 2006.

U.S.-based sister organizations

* Allianz Global Investors * Pacific Investment Management Company * Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America * Allianz Global Assistance

References

* "Fortune Global 500 List - 2009". CNN.
A.M. Best rating
– www.ambest.com/ratings
Standard and Poor’s rating
– www.standardandpoors.com/ratings/en/us/
Moody’s rating
– www.moodys.com

History

Timeline

Business model

U.S.-based sister organizations

See also

References

External links