American Insurance Association (AIA)

What Is the American Insurance Association (AIA)?

The American Insurance Association (AIA), incorporated in 1866, was a leading property and casualty insurance (P&C) trade organization. In early 2019, the AIA merged with the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) to form the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA).

The P&C insurance industry is considered a part of the financial sector of the stock market and includes many large insurance companies.

How the American Insurance Association (AIA) Worked

The American Insurance Association (AIA) represented companies on the state, federal, and international scope by monitoring legislation on each level. It served as a resource for policymakers, the media, and the public on certain insurance issues. The AIA had local representation in every state, regional offices in key locations throughout the country, and a headquarters in Washington, D.C. The AIA contributed to national building codes, highway safety, and the enactment of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act in 2002.

The function of the AIA and the subsequent APCIA is to protect and support its members. The AIA Board of Directors mobilized industry resources in various insurance fields to assist with specific issues. The AIA member companies had online access to new regulations, bulletins, and laws. Members also received access to the newest data sources, ad hoc studies, and legal research tools.

The AIA member companies jointly developed legislative, judicial, and regulatory priorities. The AIA provided members with support in the court system through its legal department. It facilitated meetings between individual member companies and regulatory officials when company-specific issues arose and needed resolution.

The AIA customized daily reports that related to adopted regulations and department bulletins. It had a regulatory database and a supplemental Enhanced Legislative Search, which allowed its members to search for all insurance-related legislation by any combination of insurance issues in the AIA database. Another report that the AIA produced related to newly enacted legislation by issue. The AIA generated a state-level report to summarize select property and casualty insurance issues, regulations, and communications.

American Insurance Association (AIA) vs. Property Casualty Insurers (PCI)

Together, the newly formed American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) represents nearly 60% of the US property and casualty (P&C) insurance market. Before the merger, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) had 1,000 member companies while the American Insurance Association (AIA) had 350 companies. The two combined cover companies that write more than $354 billion in annual insurance premiums. David Sampson, the current CEO of APCIA, was previously the CEO of PCI from 2007 until the merger.

The merger of the AIA and PCI leaves only one other major organization representing P&C insurers in the United States. The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) has 1,400 member companies that write $313 billion in annual premiums, and it accounts for 30% of the market.