AIG is rolling out its new name, Chartis, throughout Australasia today.

The company says the rebranding is a “major milestone” in its 50-year history in Australia and “a step towards operational independence”.

The international rebrand comes in response to the massive bailout of the company’s US parent AIG in September last year. While the giant insurance group’s global general insurance operations weren’t affected by its near-collapse, the AIG brand had become toxic in marketing terms.

Australia CEO Chris Townsend says Chartis is performing strongly both locally and globally and branding, image and the related public perception are important factors for any business.

“This is something we have been acutely aware of given the well-publicised challenges our parent company has faced in the last 15 months,” he said.

“In addition to giving us our own identity, the new brand reinforces our commitment to the market and signifies our autonomy, with the ongoing protection provided by our financial strength.”

The disappearance of the AIG Australia brand comes in tandem with a local business structure reorganisation. Three new core divisions comprise corporate, commercial and consumer operations.

New York-based Chartis comprises profitable AIU Holdings units including AIG commercial insurance, foreign general insurance and private client group operations.

Chartis (the name is the Greek word for map) operates in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions.