American International Group, Inc. (“AIG”) has expanded excess casualty liability limits for Class 1 railroads in the U.S. and Canada to $1 billion per occurrence. This coverage for catastrophe losses would be in excess of $1.5 billion in underlying limits, AIG said.

AIG said that it was responding to the demands of North America's rail companies contending with record rail traffic and the growing number of rail cars carrying potentially hazardous materials, such as crude oil. The Association of American Railroads has reported that U.S. rail demand is at a seven-year high. The association also reported U.S. Class 1 railroads (including the U.S. Class 1 subsidiaries of Canadian railroads) transported more than 407,000 carloads of crude oil in 2013, up from 9,500 carloads in 2008, an increase of nearly 4,300 percent.

“These expanded limits are another way AIG's scale and innovation is meeting the needs of our critical infrastructure clients and the customers they serve,” said Russ Johnston, the president of AIG's casualty operations in the Americas. “The Class 1 railroads are seeing strong growth and a resulting increase in risks they need to cover. AIG is one of the few carriers that can provide customers the large limits and risk expertise to meet this need.”