Philam Life

The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company, under the AIA Group of Companies, is an insurance company based in the Philippines. It is currently the largest life insurance company in the Philippines in terms of assets, net worth, investment and paid-up capital. Philam Life was founded in 1947 by Cornelius Vander Starr, the founder of AIG, and his partner Earl Carroll. Despite it being a relatively new player in the insurance in the Philippines, it quickly became the number one insurance company in the Philippines by 1949. It has since received various awards such as the Asian Management Award for General Management, Asian Management Award for Financial Management, and the Reader’s Digest Platinum Trusted Brand Award. In addition, it also received the Presidential Citation from the Philippine government in 1994 for the company’s "invaluable contribution to nation-building and service to the country."​ Another milestone for the company was made in 1961 when the Philam Life Building in Ermita was inaugurated, which soon became a landmark structure as well as being a center of culture and the arts in Manila. The building would serve as its headquarters until 2013, when the company moved its headquarters to the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. Philam Life was part of the American International Group (AIG) until 2008 when the company, along with other AIG subsidiaries, American International Assurance (AIA) and ALICO were placed under the administration of a special purpose vehicle in exchange for a bailout by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.[7] On November 3, 2009, the American International Assurance (AIA Group) bought 99.78% stake of Philamlife after approval of government regulators.[8] On November 27, 2009, the new Philamlife bought a 51% stake in Ayala Life and formed a joint venture with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). Ayala Life was renamed BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corporation (BPI-Philam) in 2010.