The Montreal office of Chubb Insurance Co. of Canada celebrates its 75th anniversary today.

When insurer Chubb & Son of New York (a division of the Federal Insurance Co. opened its very first branch office outside of the United States in Montreal on October 15, 1928, the city was the largest grain exporting port in the world. Chubb was drawn to Montreal by this flourishing marine trade, and began its activities in the Quebec marketplace as an ocean cargo and inland marine insurance carrier.

A year after opening, Chubb Montreal’s premium volume was estimated at $100,000. By 1945, it had grown to $500,000 and by the end of 1977, near it’s 50th anniversary, premium volume was $33,560,000.

Now a leading insurer serving the province of Quebec, the Ottawa region and the Atlantic Provinces, Chubb Montreal underwrote $139 million in premiums in 2002, and is forecast to grow that to more than $170 million by the end of 2003.

Chubb’s Montreal office employs more than 100 people and has been the leading insurer of the province’s high net worth individuals for more than three decades, and insures in some aspect 20 of the top 25 firms in Quebec, based on the most recent Les Affaires 500 list.

Jean Bertrand, VP and Montreal Branch Manager for Chubb Canada, largely credits his firm’s success with the partnership with their brokers.

“We have always relied on a select group of the very best brokers in the business to distribute our products, and we have built very close and strong relationships with them over many years — some that span decades,” he says.

Chubb Insurance is known for writing niche business, where its expertise can add tremendous value for their producers and policyholders. Chubb Montreal has made its mark as an insurer in such areas as High Value Personal Lines, Financial Institutions, High tech and Biotech, Film and Television productions, Directors’ and Officers’ liability, and Ocean Marine insurance.

http://www.chubbinsurance.com/newsreleases/Montreal75th/