Company Overview
American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE/NASDAQ:AFG) is a holding company based in Cincinnati, Ohio and has been in business for more than four decades. Our insurance roots go back to the 1800’s with the founding of Great American Insurance Company in 1872. Today, through the operations of Great American Insurance Group, AFG is engaged primarily in property and casualty insurance (“P&C”), focusing on specialized commercial products for businesses, and in the sale of traditional fixed, indexed and variable annuities and a variety of supplemental insurance products. AFG’s purpose is to enable individuals and businesses to manage financial risk using insurance products and services tailored to meet their specific and ever-changing risk exposures. AFG’s strategy is to allocate capital to insurance operations which management believes offer a competitive advantage or unique opportunities.
The primary objective of our P&C operations is to achieve solid underwriting profitability while providing excellent service to its agents and policyholders. The P&C operations are primarily comprised of a highly diversified group of businesses offering a wide range of specialty commercial coverages and managed by experts in particular lines of business or customer groups. The major product lines include inland and ocean marine, workers’ compensation (principally in California), agricultural-related products, executive and professional liability, fidelity and surety, collateral protection, umbrella and excess liability, excess and surplus and commercial automobile. This group writes business in all 50 states primarily through independent agents and brokers.
Our Annuity and Supplemental Insurance operations are conducted through, Great American Financial Resources, Inc. (GAFRI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of AFG. GAFRI sells its traditional tax-deferred annuities primarily to employees of educational and other not-for-profit organizations. GAFRI’s supplemental insurance products include coverage for Medicare supplement, cancer and long-term care and disability.
AFG’s primary investment objective is to maximize return on an on-going basis rather than on short-term performance. Our in-house talented team of analysts and investment managers has built a quality investment portfolio that produces a relatively predictable, steady stream of income. Over the years, our conservatively invested, low-risk portfolio has generated solid returns and provided asset growth. We have a relatively transparent investment portfolio with over 95% of our investments in publicly traded securities that can be valued through the securities markets.
Fixed income securities, primarily investment grade bonds and mortgage-backed securities, account for around 95% of our total investments and over 90% of our fixed maturity investments are rated “investment grade” by nationally recognized rating agencies. Stocks, real estate, policy loans and other investments make up the remainder of the portfolio. Our real estate investments include a group of classic, turn-of-the-century, European style hotels in Cincinnati (Ohio) and New Orleans (Louisiana); the Mountain View Grand Resort (New Hampshire); the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina; the Skipjack Cove Yachting Resort and the Bay Bridge Marina on Chesapeake Bay; the Sailfish Marina and Resort in Palm Beach Shores; and apartment developments in several states. We believe the market value of these investments significantly exceeds their carrying value on the balance sheet.
With the power of generations behind it, AFG grows and changes with discipline and integrity. We're proud of who we are, where we've been and where we're going. Our industry is changing and we continue to change as well. We strive to continue to build value for our shareholders, provide quality products and service to our customers and offer a rewarding work environment for our employees.
