The future of the American International Group Inc., the United States’ largest insurer with $1.1 trillion in assets and 74 million clients in 130 countries, was still in doubt when the Assurex Global partners came to Atlanta in September for their annual shareholders meeting.

Assurex Global is a network of independent insurance brokers with more than 500 offices on six continents. The organization holds an annual shareholder meeting, which this year was held at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead from Sept. 9-11.

“The future of AIG was in a free fall and we all wanted to think about how to compete in a global economy,” John Rodwell, vice president of international business development for the network, told GlobalAtlanta in a telephone interview from its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.

“Our partners know many of the people at AIG so we were receiving a lot of information,” Mr. Rodwell added.

Yet despite the thunderclouds forming on the horizon that would soon cast lightning bolts on the global insurance colossus, the 130 partners attending the meeting didn’t seem particularly concerned about the fates of their enterprises.

Yes, AIG probably would endure enough damage that it would be stripped of many of its assets, but its credit rating was holding on despite the crisis.

And while the Assurex Global partners would likely all be brokers of AIG products, the insurance industry follows cycles of its own, depending on factors such as rates and underwriting capacity.

AIG’s size and history are impressive, having been started in 1919 in Shanghai, China. As it grew and eventually moved its headquarters to the United States, it deftly switched from its dependency on agents to independent brokers such as the Assurex Global members, many of whom also have deep historical roots and have weathered global financial crises in the past.

For instance, Dominique Sizes, the secretary general of the French Verspieren Group and an Assurex partner, told GlobalAtlanta during a video interview that five generations of the family have been involved in its management since the family founded the firm in 1830.

Mr. Sizes attributed the longevity and success of the Verspieren Group to its close relations with its clients, enabling the firm to meet their ever expanding needs. As an example, he cited its close relationships with the aviation industry.

Not only did it anticipate the need of airline pilots for specialized insurance products to cover their day-to-day jobs, but also their extracurricular activities such as skiing.

In addition, the company has special policies to cover ultralight enthusiasts and anticipated the growth in private jets, which has become an important international business for the company.

While its aviation lines are only a small part of its widespread offerings, they are representative, he said, of the advantage that the firm has by keeping closely in touch with the industry so it can anticipate its clients’ needs.

Assurex Global plays an important role for his company, he added, in developing a global network. “With globalization, the market is imposing things on our clients that they didn’t know of before,” he said.

David Gordon, deputy managing director of Leaderim Risk Insurance Brokers Ltd., an Israeli insurance broker, said his firm is a comparatively new member of Assurex Global having joined in 2006.

“It is perfect for us because we can service our clients abroad,” he said, adding that the firm has some 400 clients with many operating in Central and Eastern Europe as well as the United States.

Following a management buyout in 2001, Leaderim focused its attention on private and corporate clients casting off many small- to medium-sized companies that it had served before.

Meanwhile, Assurex Global was looking for an Israeli partner in view of increasing demand for a trustworthy member there, especially to service information technology firms interested in setting up operations in Israel.

The partnership has enabled Leaderim, according to Mr. Gordon, to find clients in New York and Florida as well as in Europe while expanding its services from only providing insurance solutions to a more broad-based management consulting practice addressing all of a client’s risks.

Paul Atkinson, managing director of the Tokyo-based operations of Cornes & Co. Ltd., represents the oldest international trading house in Japan. Established in Yokohama in 1861 by an English textile merchant, the company began trading in silk and tea, later expanding into other goods as well as shipping and insurance.

Today it focuses in Japan on insurance, maritime, agricultural machinery and high technology businesses.

The key to success in Japan, according to Mr. Atkinson, is to take a long view, which has been his company’s strategy for 147 years. “The cultural barriers are greater than the legal barriers,” he added. But he did not discourage Southeastern U.S. companies from entering Japan.

As an example he cited the success of Columbus, Ga.-based AFLAC Inc., which has a large practice in Japan selling supplemental insurance.

He also said that foreign companies would find well-trained personnel including Japanese seniors who have retired from Japanese companies but who want to continue to work.

Assurex Global shareholder meetings like the one in Atlanta enable him to network with partners from around the world, he said. While the partners provide support for his clients globally, he can help their clients through the intricacies of doing business in Japan.

“Without support worldwide, it is difficult to compete multinationally,” he said.

HSBC Insurance Brokers Ltd. is another partner of Assurex Global and is owned by HSBC Holdings Inc., which has assets of more than $100 billion.

Although owned by a large global player, the U.K. broker still benefits from membership to the Assurex Global network, according to several of its officials who attended the Atlanta meeting.

As the parent of insurance underwriting companies with offices in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia, representative offices on mainland China in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and joint ventures in South Korea, India and Vietnam, Asia seems pretty well covered.

Robin Harman, HSBC Insurance’s global network director, also is enthusiastic about the company’s growth in the Middle East. He said that the company has opened an office in Saudi Arabia and has applied on the company’s behalf for a license in Qatar.

But Assurex Global provides him with access to local markets in North America and Europe. “Through Assurex Global, we’re able to access reports on countries easily and add direct personal contact in those countries through our Assurex Global partners there,” he said.

Thanks to local contacts in New Orleans, he was able to create a policy for companies that might lose a cargo vessel to foul weather in the Gulf of Mexico. Because of the policy, a craft that can lift the damaged vessels off the ocean floor is guaranteed work in view of the ravages caused by hurricanes in the region.

He also cited Jeff McCart, executive vice president of the Atlanta-based McCart Group as a local partner to contact should he learn of an investor who would be interested in an opportunity in the Southeast U.S. The McCart Group, a sponsor of GlobalAtlanta, was the host of the shareholders’ meeting.

Douglas White, HSBC Insurance’s CEO for Asia-Pacific, and Mary Ma, director of HSBC’s Shanghai branch, spoke of the insights they gain from belonging to Assurex Global as they develop products for China, what they still consider to be an emerging market for insurance products.

Mr. White is based in Hong Kong and is responsible for HSBC Insurance’s activities in China and six other countries in the region.

He said that for the man in the street, life may not have changed that much in Hong Kong since 1997 when sovereignty was transferred from the United Kingdom to China.

But, he added, for particular industries, especially the financial services industry, change has been enormous and rapid. “Our overseas partners want to be able to let their clients know what is really going on in China,” he said.

Tomás Lorant, chairman and CEO of Grupo LM&S, the largest Mexican-owned insurance broker and actuarial consultancy and third largest in Mexico, underscored the importance of having local contacts in different markets.

For instance, he called Mexico’s labor laws outdated and complex. Without a thorough knowledge of these laws, a company wishing to do business in Mexico can quickly create labor problems for itself.

“Under Mexican labor law, you can’t fire an employee without just cause,” he said. “And old age is not a just cause.”

The solution, he said, is to have a private pension plan, but drawing one up has to be done carefully.

Starting as a one-man operation more than 50 years ago, the company now has its headquarters in the Polanco section of Mexico City and offices elsewhere in Mexico in Monterrey, Guadalajara, Leon, Puebla and Queretaro. It also has plans to expand to other cities including Cancun.

According to Mr. Lorant, the fastest-growing part of the business is its insurance for fleet leasing companies, but it has a wide range of product offerings including aviation and yacht insurance.

Meanwhile, the company is active internationally and Mr. Lorant’s son, Pablo, serves as the director of its international division.

Mr. Pablo Lorant said that he travels to Europe often on behalf of the company’s clients and is in contact with Assurex Global partners regularly so that he keeps abreast of developments in local markets.

A wide variety of speakers were included in a conference attached to the shareholders’ meeting including Joseph L. Boren, chairman and CEO of AIG Environmental, the leading U.S. provider of environmental insurance products and services; Bruce Blythe, CEO of Crisis Management International Inc., an Atlanta-based organization of crisis management specialists, business continuity planners and former FBI and Secret Service agents;

Todd Buchholz, a former White House director of economic policy during the administration of former President Georgia H.W. Bush; Michael Eremchuk, vice president, risk management, First Data Corp., a provider of electronic payment processing and information management services; Christopher Duncan, chief operation and financial officer, The McCart Group, the Atlanta-based host of the shareholders meeting;

Jorge Fernandez, vice president, global commerce, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; Robert Hoyt, Ph.D. chair of risk management and insurance, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia; Todd J. Lynady, manager, business development in the Washington office of Zurich Surety, Credit & Political Risk;

Brian MacLean, president and COO of Travelers Insurance, who became president of the company in June; Rupert Reid, managing director of the Security Exchange, an independent advisory and resource management service for the special risks security industry based in London;

Anthony J. Ten-Barge, manager of risk management and facilities at Downers Grove, Ill.-based Aftermarket Technology Corp., a provider of remanufactured drive train products to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) automobile marketplace and David Wilhelm, a political strategist and manager who oversaw the 1992 presidential campaign of former President Clinton.

The North America regional partners’ conference of Assurex Global is to be held in April 2009, in Paradise Valley, Ariz.

The Europe, Middle East and Africa partners’ conference is to be held in May 2009, in Zurich, Switzerland.

The next global partners’ conference and shareholders meeting is to be held in September 2009, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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