From the Executive Desk

Carrie Little
Divisional Group President

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country this year, it is astonishing to reflect upon how daily life has evolved. The temperature of the room we wake up in each morning is controlled without thought. The availability of food on grocery shelves is a certainty. Products are delivered to our door with the touch of a button. We are living in a time of greater convenience, comfort, and security than any other Americans have experienced.

While technology has played a major part, so has the development of modern financial systems, including the insurance industry. For much of human history, individuals and enterprises bore the risk (and faced financial ruin) from hazards ranging from fires to the death of livestock to a poor crop yield. Insurance emerged to help protect, or at least recover, from these hazards. In the 1700s, the Lloyd's of London market evolved, starting with marine insurance. Great American wrote its first policy in 1872. In those days, we were a generalist fire insurance company. In 1915, the first Great American policies were written for farms, which represented the origins of our specialization in agriculture and equine risk.

Today, agriculture represents the largest industry sector for Great American Insurance Group, comprised of our AgriBusiness, Equine Mortality, and Crop businesses. Our Crop business currently stands as Great American's largest business unit, with premiums in excess of $2 billion. We are proud of the role we play in helping our policyholders proactively reduce their risk of loss, as well as recover in the event of accidents, catastrophes, and physical or financial losses. Great American is dedicated to providing solutions as a specialty insurer across many industries, from the historic marine/hull/cargo lines as pioneered by Lloyds, to complex cyber risks and innovative alternative risk transfer. I'd love to highlight a few of GAIG’s specialized businesses and the products that may be of interest to our AgriBusiness and Equine Mortality clients:

Fidelity/Crime: Provides insurance for crime-related losses, including Employee Theft, Forgery and Cyber Fraud. Our team can also extend Kidnap, Ransom & Extortion coverage with expert crisis response support, and Fine Art insurance tailored for collectors with protection for high-value items in transit or on loan.
National Interstate: Offers an array of tailored transportation insurance products and coverages, including traditional insurance and alternative risk transfer solutions such as captive programs.
Open Road Insurance: A specialty provider through National Interstate, offering coverage solutions for antique and collectible cars.
Crop: One of a select few companies authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture to write Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) policies. Crop-hail insurance and named peril coverages are also available. Whether you’re looking to cover a family-run farm or a large commercial operation, we can help provide the right coverage.
Ocean Marine: Proud to offer one of the broadest portfolios of marine insurance in the market, with solutions customized to fit clients including luxury yacht owners, marina operators, boat dealers, freight forwarders and more.