Helping to Protect Our Policyholders' Assets

The evolution of our loss control content, from an 1880s fire prevention booklet to a 1990s safety poster to today’s Plan & Protect hub on GAIG.com

Our primary goal is to help individuals and businesses protect their assets. From an exclusive focus on fire prevention to a “safety hub” of extensive loss control resources, we've come a long way in educating agents and policyholders about managing and reducing risk. Enjoy this look back at the evolution of our loss control services and marketing material during the past 150 years.

Our early loss control focused almost exclusively on fire prevention. This small booklet is one of the first loss prevention artifacts in our company's archive. Dating back to the 1880s, it details the location of every fire alarm signal in New York City. These alarms were typically on street corners and were used to notify the nearest fire department of the location of a fire.

The Great American Engineering Department produced these data guides at the turn of the 20th century. These illustrated manuals provided guidance on how insureds could reduce fire hazard. The technology and risks in this period look very different, but the company was still offering excellent advice.

In the 1920s and '30s, the company published a variety of small loss control guides. Some focused on specific industries, including this piece published by the Farm Department in Chicago and distributed by an agent in Kansas.

In 1963, Great American hired Thomas H. Appert as its first Director of Loss Prevention & Audit Services. Mr. Appert is credited with growing the loss prevention team within the company. One of his most visible pieces of material was a 1970 poster, advising women to lift their long coats so they would not get snagged in escalators. He advertised the availability of the poster in trade journals and received orders from across the country, including from both the U.S. Department of Interior and the National Safety Council.

Throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, our Loss Control team produced a series of data guides to help counsel insureds on risk management techniques.

In 1996, Great American’s Loss Prevention team introduced their SafetyWorks program, which was more of a behavioral approach to loss control. The concept was to create a safety culture through management commitment and employee accountability. We went on to offer programs like ErgoWorks, the Drug-Free Workplace Program and the Slip and Fall Elimination (S.A.F.E.) program.

Always looking for ways to facilitate our insureds access to loss control information, Great American introduced a Loss Prevention Hotline during our 125th anniversary celebration in 1997.

Loss control looks different today. The Plan and Protect hub offers an extensive library of resources covering actual and potential hazards organized by industry segments. The hub shares valuable information from Great American's risk management experts while providing an enhanced digital experience for visitors.

Interested in seeing how Great American grew into the company it is today? Visit our Company Story to see why our yesterdays tell an important story about our tomorrow.