Who Founded Allianz? – The Insurance Company of the Titanic

Allianz SE is an international financial company headquartered in Munich, Germany. According to 2014 data, the company has approximately 150,000 employees worldwide, and according to data from the same year, its annual turnover was announced as 122.3 billion dollars. The core business of the Allianz Group is insurance and financial investment management.

Allianz was founded on February 5, 1890, under the name Allianz Versicherungs-AG in Berlin, Germany, by Carl von Thieme and Wilhelm von Finck. Opening its first international branch in London, the company’s first products were marine sector and accident insurance policies offered only in Germany. In 1904, with Paul von der Nahmer taking over the sales department and personally visiting the United States and other countries, the company’s market expanded significantly. Following all these initiatives, until the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the company entered the markets of the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Scandinavian countries, and the Baltic region, becoming Germany’s largest insurance company.

Allianz experienced its first economic difficulty in 1906 with the Great San Francisco earthquake in the United States. This natural disaster, which caused great material and non-material problems in the region, also caused the Allianz company to lose 300,000 marks. Selling fire insurance in 1905 and car insurance in 1918, the company also remained unrivaled in the world until 1924 in the equipment insurance business, which it started in 1911. Allianz began its life insurance service in 1921.

The Greatest Claim Payment in History: The Titanic Disaster and Allianz

In 1912, the sinking of the “unsinkable” ship Titanic after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean became one of the most important turning points in the history of insurance. Allianz was one of the companies in the insurance consortium of the Titanic, and as a result of this accident, it had to pay a very large amount of compensation. This event reinforced the company’s global credibility and proved to the whole world that it could maintain its financial strength even in the greatest disasters. With the payments made for the Titanic, Allianz not only compensated for a loss but also revealed the importance of the concept of “risk management” in modern insurance.

Since its founding, Allianz has continuously shown development and has successfully survived several serious financial crises. After the division of Germany into East and West following World War II, Hans Heb, who was at the head of the group, decided to change the company headquarters and moved it from Berlin to Munich. From the beginning of the twentieth century, the company has eliminated its competitors by acquiring many insurance companies operating both in Germany and in international markets, thus continuously increasing its market share.

The company has also sponsored many teams or organizations in different sports branches, especially golf, tennis, and swimming. Allianz has been one of the main sponsors of Formula 1 since 2000. According to Forbes magazine, the CEO of Allianz, the world’s largest finance company, is Oliver Bäte.