American National Insurance Company (NASDAQ: ANAT) is a major American insurance corporation based in Galveston, Texas. The company and its subsidiaries operate in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa. Through its subsidiary, American National de México, Compañía de Seguros de Vida, it provides products and services in Mexico.Company description
American National was founded in 1905 by Galveston businessman William L. Moody, Jr.. Today the company offers a wide array of insurance products and services including life insurance, annuities, health insurance, property and casualty insurance, credit insurance, and pension plan services. Mutual funds and other securities products are distributed through its broker-dealer subsidiary, Securities Management and Research, Inc.Although a publicly traded company, the majority of the stock continues to be controlled by the Moody family through foundations and trusts administered by the trust department of the family owned Moody National Bank.[6][7]
Financial ratings[8]
American National is subject to insurance regulation and examination by all 50 states as well as federal entities like the SEC and FTC. In addition, its records are audited by KPMG as well as the major financial rating agencies. The ratings reflect the company’s capitalization, operating performance and liquidity.
* A. M. Best Company: A+ (Superior)
* Standard and Poor's: AAA (Very Strong)
American Automobile Association
History
The American Automobile Association was founded on March 4, 1902, in Cleveland, Ohio as a response to a lack of roads and highways suitable for autos. The organization originally had 1000 charter members, who were generally of an auto enthusiast demographic. AAA’s membership base is and was formed from a number of local and regional motor clubs that later combined forces to create a more powerful organization.
The association expanded its scope of services as years progressed. The first AAA road maps were published in 1905, and AAA began printing hotel guides in 1917. AAA began its School Safety Patrol Program in 1920, and many driver safety programs followed in the decades to come. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which conducts a large volume of studies regarding motorist safety, was established as separate entity in 1947.
AAA was a sanctioning organization for auto racing in the United States until 1956. It sanctioned many races, including the Indianapolis 500. After the 1955 Le Mans disaster, AAA decided that auto racing distracted from its primary goals, and the United States Automobile Club was formed to take over the race sanctioning/officiating.[edit] Current operations
A typical AAA office
A typical AAA Car Care Plus center
Members belong to an individual club (such as AAA Northwest Ohio, AAA Mid-Atlantic, the California State Automobile Association, the Automobile Club of Southern California, AAA Oregon/Idaho, or Auto Club South, for example) and the clubs in turn own AAA. The member clubs have arranged a reciprocal service system so that members of any participating club are able to receive member services from any other affiliate club. Member dues finance all club services as well as the operations of the national organization.
From the standpoint of the consumer, AAA clubs primarily provide emergency road services to members. These services, which include everything from lockouts, winching, tire changes, automotive first aid, and towing, are handled by private local towing companies contracted by a state AAA club. Many AAA clubs have an automotive fleet division serving large metro areas, while private towing companies cover the surplus call volume by area. Recently, certain clubs have implemented an "on the go" diagnostic/installation automotive battery program, which offers members an additional service to an ever more demanding commute. This is part of AAA's vision for the future of automotive services, termed Go, not Tow. Clubs also distribute road maps and travel publications, and rate restaurants and hotels according to a "diamond" scale (one to five). The best hotels and restaurants according to AAA's criteria receive the Five Diamond Award. Many offices sell automobile liability insurance, provide travel agency, auto-registration and notary services. AAA also offers member discounts at over 100 partners including many hotels, Amtrak, Hertz rental cars, Jiffy Lube, LensCrafters, and Payless ShoeSource through its "Show Your Card & Save" program.
[edit] International affiliates
The AAA has reciprocal arrangements with a range of international affiliates. In general, members of affiliates are offered the same benefits as members of the AAA while traveling in the United States, whilst AAA members are offered equivalent benefits whilst traveling in the territory of the affiliate.International affiliates include:
* The Automobile Association in the United Kingdom.
* The Canadian Automobile Association in Canada (TourBooks and maps of Canadian places are published by AAA, and are distributed by AAA and CAA clubs using both AAA and CAA logos).
* The ADAC in Germany.
[edit] AAA and motorist rights
The AAA has a mixed record with its support of motorist rights.
The AAA is known for occasional high profile motorist advisories of unreasonable traffic enforcement, such as when it rented a billboard to warn motorists of the speed trap town of Lawtey, Fl.[1] In addition, the speed trap in Denmark, South Carolina, continues to receive scrutiny, especially since the municipality raises revenue by issuing unwarranted speeding tickets, which, unfortunately, also puts unearned points on motorists' drivers licenses.[citation needed]
However, the AAA has taken positions contrary to motorist rights. Prominent examples include:
* Support of the old 55 mph National Maximum Speed Law[2]
* Support of Virginia's now-repealed traffic citation tax because of its revenue generation potential.[3][4]
In many states, the mere presence of a ticket on driver's record allows a provider of automobile insurance to charge higher rates regardless of actual risk, if any, posed by the actual violation. Therefore, as a major provider of automobile insurance, the AAA has a fiduciary interest in supporting policies or practices that maximize motorist citations.
ANOTHER LIST AUTO INSURANCE BY RATING :
* American National Insurance Company
* American Automobile Association
* AIG
* Allstate
* American Family Insurance
* American Farmers and Ranchers Mutual (formerly Oklahoma Farmers Union Mututal)
* Amica
* Auto-Owners Insurance
* California Casualty Insurance
* CapitalOne
* Commerce Insurance Group
* COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services
* Cuna Mutual Group
* Electric Insurance Company
* Esurance
* Expatriate Insurance
* Farm Bureau Insurance
* Farmers Insurance
* Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company
* GAINSCO Auto Insurance
* GMAC Insurance
* Geico
* The General
* GuideOne
* Hanover Insurance
* The Hartford
* Hastings Mutual Insurance Company
* Haulers Insurance Company
* Infinity Auto Insurance Company
* Liberty Mutual
* Nationwide Insurance
* National Interstate
* Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
* Mutual of Enumclaw[1]
* OneBeacon Insurance Group
* Pekin Insurance[2]
* Pemco
* Progressive
* Safeco
* Safeway Insurance Group
* Standard Insurance Company [3]
* State Auto Insurance Companies[4]
* Shelter Insurance Companies
* Solid Insurance Group
* State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
* The St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc.
* Trustgard Insurance
* Unitrin Direct Auto Insurance
* USAA
* Wawanesa (California)
* Westfield Insurance