Speaker > Biography

Biography of Richard Thomas

Richard Thomas joined American International Group in 1985 as a senior vice president of the American Home and National Union Insurance Companies.  He currently is the Senior Vice President & Chief Underwriting Officer for the Domestic Brokerage Group of AIG.  Prior to this assignment, Mr. Thomas was responsible for Year 2000 Strategic Planning and Implementation for AIG casualty underwriting worldwide.

Previously, Mr. Thomas was the President of AIG Risk Management’s Industry Specialties Group.  The Group consists of the following underwriting divisions:  Construction Risk Management, Public Entity, Energy and Communications.

Mr. Thomas was responsible for the start up of the Public Entity Division, one of AIG’s specific market focus profit centers that was formed in January 1996.  The Public Entity Division was designed to provide a full range of insurance products and risk financing programs to educational and governmental entities in the public sector.

Prior to October 1996, Mr. Thomas was the Chief Underwriting Resources Officer for all of the insurance companies of AIG’s Domestic Brokerage Group.  In that position, he was responsible for monitoring and improving underwriting performance and profitability, compliance with corporate policy and external regulation, and managing the company’s Office of Workers’ Compensation.

Prior to his tenure at AIG, he was associated with Aetna Life & Casualty, The Hartford Group, INA/CIGNA and Reliance Insurance Companies in a variety of underwriting and management positions.

Mr. Thomas is AIG’s representative on the Board of the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute.  He served as its Chairman from 1991 to 1993 and is presently a member of the Board’s Executive Committee.  He is AIG's representative to the M-200, an association of risk managers of multi-national corporations.  Mr. Thomas has served on the Board of the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) and its Audit and Terrorism committees.  He has also represented AIG on the Insurance Services Office Commercial Lines Committee and served as its Chairman.

During his tenure at AIG, Mr. Thomas has had a number of special assignments.  He has presented a treatise on the development of Products’ Liability in the United States to the Ministry of Finance in Japan and met with representatives of the government of Argentina to recommend competitive features for implementation in their new workers’ compensation law.  He was the AIG point person for providing leadership to an insurance industry coalition that was the catalyst for achieving significant reform of workers’ compensation systems in twenty five states.

Mr. Thomas has previously served on the boards of the Illinois Insurance Exchange, the New York Medical Malpractice Insurance Association, the Florida Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association, the United States Aviation Insurance Group and the Industrial Risk Insurers.  He has testified before the United States Treasury Department on insurance issues related to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and CERCLA, the “Super Fund” act.  He has testified before a Colorado Senate Committee on medical professional liability reform issues,  National Association of Insurance Commissioners Committees on workers’ compensation reform and AIG's response to September 11, and the Commerce Committee of the U.S. Senate on insurance programs for large construction projects.

Mr. Thomas was graduated from Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio, with a B.A. degree in 1969.