Fireman's Fund Insurance Company was an

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

company based in

Petaluma, California Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

which provided personal, commercial property, and casualty insurance products in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The company was a principal U.S. subsidiary of

Allianz Allianz SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...

, a global financial services company. 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, excess liability, auto, farm, and ranch coverage.

History

Fireman's Fund Insurance Company was founded in 1863 in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Its name reflected its founding mission in which 10 percent of profits were paid to the widows and orphans of fallen firefighters. 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

. Since its inception, Fireman's Fund had insured some of America's 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 in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

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 Charles Lindbergh flew on May 20–21, 1927, on the Charles Lindbergh#New York–Paris flight ...

. Fireman's Fund was previously the largest insurer and

underwriter Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liability ...

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 A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

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 John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood films. Candy first rose to national prominence in the 1970s as a member of the Tor ...

died during production of the 1994 film ''

Wagons East ''Wagons East'' (sometimes styled as ''Wagons East!'') is a 1994 American Western adventure comedy film directed by Peter Markle, written by Matthew Carlson, and starring John Candy, Richard Lewis, John C. McGinley, Ellen Greene, Robert Picard ...

''. 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 An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

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 The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

– 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 Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury ...

. 1906 —

San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensit ...

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 and 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 ...

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

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

acquired Fireman's Fund. Early 1980s — Outgrew its space in San Francisco and moved the headquarters north to

Novato, California Novato (Spanish language, Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, situated in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

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 SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...

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

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. 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 Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, situated in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was origi ...

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 Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

''.

Business model

Fireman's Fund worked with independent agents and brokers and was composed of two (2) primary business units: commercial insurance (includes

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

) 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 Allianz Global Investors (commonly called AllianzGI or AGI), is a global investment management firm with offices in over 20 locations worldwide. It is owned by the global financial services group Allianz. Employing nearly 3,000, it manages over ...

Pacific Investment Management Company Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (PIMCO) is an American investment management firm. While it has a specific focus on active fixed income management worldwide, it manages investments in many asset classes, including fixed income, equities ...

* 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