⁍ AIG said its board approved a plan to separate the life and retirement business from the rest of the company.

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⁍ The life and retirement business accounted for 34% of AIG’s $49 billion in 2019 adjusted revenue, compared with 64% for its general insurance business.

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⁍ The insurer, which ranks among the top 10 U.S. carriers by market value, said it has yet to make a decision on how to carry out the separation.

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– American International Group’s board has approved a plan to separate the life and retirement business from the rest of the company. President Peter Zaffino, 53, will succeed 73-year-old Brian Duperreault, who will take charge of AIG’s seventh CEO since 2005. The life and retirement business accounted for 34% of AIG’s $49 billion in 2019 adjusted revenue, compared with 64% for its general insurance business, AIG said in September. The insurer, which ranks among the top 10 US carriers by market value, said it has yet to make a decision on how to carry out the separation, beyond the board voting to establish two independent, market-leading companies. The separation of the business could take ‘a couple of years’ and may be done in phases through sales of minority stakes, according to two people familiar with the matter. AIG has struggled to right itself after a $182 billion US taxpayer bailout in 2008 to save it from collapse. Since then, the company has sold off big chunks to repay the debt plus a $22.7 billion return. It also had to work through hefty losses from claims occurring in prior years that led to more than $11.2 billion in unexpected reserve increases since 2015, most of which occurred under prior leadership. In May 2019, AIG reported its first general insurance underwriting profit since the 2008 financial crisis, a key goal. The separation of AIG’s life insurance business echoes a move pushed by billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, who targeted the insurer in 2015 with a break-up plan that was also supported by former hedge fund manager John Paulson. Icahn sold his AIG stake in 2018.