Percy Chubb III, former vice chairman of Warren, N.J.-based Chubb Corp. has died at 81, the company announced today.
Known to generations of employees, friends and industry colleagues as Pi, Chubb was the great-grandson of Thomas Caldecot Chubb and grandson of Hendon Chubb, who founded Chubb & Son in 1882. After graduating from Yale and serving two years in the Army, Pi Chubb joined the firm in 1958 as a trainee in the New York office. At that time, Chubb & Son had 17 offices and $67 million in written premium.
"As the fourth generation to work in the company started by his great grandfather and great uncle, Pi Chubb exemplified the principles that defined the great company he helped to build and lead over many years," said Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chubb. "Our thoughts go out to his family and friends, as well as to all the Chubb employees and industry colleagues with whom he worked."
Paul J. Krump, executive vice president of the Chubb Group and president for North America Commercial & Personal Insurance, said, "It was a joy to work with Pi. He was both student and teacher. He was constantly asking questions to better understand issues and opportunities while generously sharing his insights and experience. I fondly remember traveling with him and having long discussions about the art and science of underwriting. He loved the business and valued everyone's contributions. He was a true gentleman."
Family business
At the time Chubb joined the company, it was headed by his father, Percy Chubb II. To avoid the confusion of having two Percy Chubbs at work, the younger Percy decided to use his family nickname, Pi, which was borrowed from a center fielder for the Newark Bears, a Yankees farm team.
Pi Chubb learned the business by attending the College of Insurance at night and by participating in the company's rigorous training program, which rotated trainees from department to department every few weeks.
His first assignment was in multiple peril, where he was mentored by Henry Harder, who later served as chairman of Chubb from 1981 to 1988. Among his assignments, Chubb worked in Detroit as a marine underwriter, and in New Jersey in the company's life insurance business and in aviation underwriting. He was elected a director of Chubb Corp. in 1978 and vice chairman in 1986. He was a member of the board's policy committee, which oversaw all facets of the business. Chubb's day-to-day responsibilities encompassed IT, marketing, human resources, and other financial and administrative areas.
Over the years, Chubb served as president of the Victoria Foundation, trustee of the Mystic Seaport Museum and director of Safeway Stores and First Fidelity Bank. He is survived by his wife, the former Sally Gilady, and their children and grandchildren.
After Chubb retired as an officer of the company in 1997, he long maintained an office at Chubb's headquarters, which was in Warren, N.J., at the time, where he served as a beloved and respected friend and mentor to hundreds of Chubb employees.
In January of this year, Zurich-based Ace Ltd. acquired Chubb for approximately $29.5 billion in cash and stock. Ace adopted the name of Chubb Ltd. to do business under.
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