McGee subsequently sold assets to simplify his company and won praise from Paulson. Travelers and life insurer Prudential Financial Inc. are among AIG rivals that sold units in prior years to narrow their focus.
“AIG is frankly overdue in following in the footsteps of all other major multi-lines in breaking up life and P&C,” Paulson is quoted as saying in the letter.
Hancock’s predecessor at AIG, Robert Benmosche, resisted calls in 2011 for a breakup, saying the insurer benefits from having a variety of businesses. Harvey Golub, the former AIG chairman, said that year that the company should be broken up eventually because its two main businesses have “no strategic fit between them.”