AIG Collapse Gives Lie to the Claim that “Trial Lawyers Are to Blame”
Monday, December 8th, 2008
Although doctors’ and insurance groups have long blamed “skyrocketing malpractice and insurance claims” for driving up insurance costs, the well-publicized and documented reasons for AIG’s collapse – which explicitly had to do with their investment of shareholder’s premiums – and had absolutely nothing to do with rising insurance claims — demonstrate the patent falsity of these groups’ claims. Indeed, when AIG’s dire financial situation was first reported a few months ago, Bloomberg explicitly noted that in addition to selling life insurance and protecting property, AIG owned or managed about $25.7 billion of real estate including residential, industrial and retail properties. The company had private equity and hedge fund holdings of about $30 billion as of June 30. Bloomberg further noted that when the U.S. Treasury seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the biggest sources of funding for AIG’s $2.5 billion of 5.85 percent notes due in 2018, AIG’s shares immediately plunged, and nearly wiped out the value of AIG’s shares.