The story
Founded by Giuseppe Lazarus Morpurgo in 1831, in Trieste.1
Established on December 26, 1831, as the Imperial Regia Privilegiata Compagnia di Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche ('Imperial and Royal Privileged Company for General Austrian-Italian Insurances') in Trieste. Its promoter was Giuseppe Lazzaro Morpurgo.
The adjective "Generali" ("general") referred to the company's comprehensive insurance coverage across all the branches (fire, life, hail, sea, land and river transport). This approach was rare at the time when most Trieste insurance companies focused solely on maritime transport, except for the Azienda Assicuratrice, which also dealt with hail insurance.
The "Austrian-Italian" label referred to the company's dual management structure, with the main office in Trieste responsible for the company's affairs and relations with the Habsburg Monarchy, (at the time, Trieste was the most important seaport of the Austrian Empire). Meanwhile, a management office in Venice oversaw activities in Lombardy-Venetia and the Italian peninsula.
Financed with a share capital of two million florins, Generali attracted a diverse group of shareholders from Trieste and Lombardy-Venetia, including influential figures like Giovanni Cristoforo Ritter de Záhony, Giovanni Battista de Rosmini, Marco Parente, Samuele Della Vida, and Pasquale Revoltella.
The Habsburg eagle symbol, a nod to Trieste's Austrian possession since 1382 until 1918, was chosen as the company's emblem. During the 1860s, as the Risorgimento ended Austrian domination of Italy, this logo was replaced with one based on the Venetian Lion of Saint Mark.
Generali's early presence in multiple markets stemmed from the historically commercial nature of both Trieste and Venice. In its first decade, the company's agency network expanded across all Italian states, major cities of the empire, and leading European ports.
Until 1847, Gianbattista de Rosmini, the legal adviser and a significant shareholder, played a pivotal role, serving as the permanent president of the General Congresses and effectively leading the company. Following the uprisings of the Risorgimento in 1848, the "Austrian-Italian" adjective was dropped, and the company became only Assicurazioni Generali.
By 1856, Generali had grown to become the largest insurance company in the Austrian Empire, culminating in its listing on the Trieste Stock Exchange the following year.
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Following Italy's unification, Generali's Venetian management led the company to become the largest insurance company in the newly formed kingdom, with Samuele Della Vida overseeing the Italian branch until 1875.
In 1869, Generali foresaw the significant impact of the Suez Canal's inauguration on world trade. Key figures within the company, including Pasquale Revoltella and Giuseppe Morpurgo, were involved in the historic event, with Revoltella becoming the vice president of the Universal Company of the Suez Canal.
The opening of the canal brought about a favorable economic climate for Generali, leading to its expansion across various regions, from the eastern Mediterranean to North Africa, the Far East, and the Americas.
Under the stewardship of Marco Besso, who managed the company from 1877 to 1920 and eventually became its president, Generali assumed an international dimension. The company opened agencies in the Mediterranean, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, the Americas, and the Far East, while also founding subsidiaries such as Erste Allgemeine Schaden und Unfallversicherung in Vienna, Generala in Romania, Anonima Grandine, and Anonima Infortuni in Italy.
During this period, Generali's most prestigious Italian offices were constructed, including notable buildings in Florence, Trieste, Milan, Rome, and Turin. In 1914, the Procuratie Vecchie, the seat of the Venice administration, underwent restructuring. Amidst the challenges of the First World War, which pitted Italy against Austria-Hungary, Generali's Venetian and Trieste headquarters maintained their operational independence, allowing the company to navigate complex circumstances without taking political positions that could compromise its integrity.
The Italian period
In 1920, Edgardo Morpurgo assumed the role of president, ushering in a phase of further international expansion for the company. By 1924, due in part to the division of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Generali had established eight overseas management offices and had a presence in sixty branches and agencies across thirty countries. By 1935, it had expanded to include twenty-nine subsidiaries in Europe, four in the Americas, two in Africa, and one in Asia. During this time, the company's image was managed by Marcello Dudovich, contributing to its growing reputation. Alleanza Assicurazioni was acquired during this period.
However, the mid-1930s brought challenges, as the rise of racial laws and the tightening relationship with Fascism created a difficult environment.
In the first century of activity, Assicurazioni Generali had consolidated and expanded also thanks to the decisive presence of shareholders and managers of Jewish origin, from the Morpurgos to the Maurogonatos, from the Levi Della Vidas to the Treves de' Bonfilis.
In 1938, as the impending "racial laws" loomed and Benito Mussolini visited Trieste, a Morpurgo, who was serving as president at the time, was asked to resign, handing over the presidency to Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata. During this era, Generali was under the guidance of managing director Gino Baroncini.
The company faced significant challenges during World War II, including German and Yugoslav occupations and the subsequent British-American administration of the Free Territory of Trieste. Following this tumultuous period, Generali's branches in Eastern countries were expropriated under the presidencies of Antonio Cosulich (1943–1948) and Mario Abbiate (1948–1954), adding to the complexities. Between 1960 and 1968, Baroncini, who had been with Generali since 1937, served as president during Italy's economic boom.
In 1963 the French branch of Generali, Concorde, adopting the intuition of Pierre Desnos, founded Europ Assistance; the new company gave birth to the concept of "private assistance", offering organized support to individuals facing difficult situations away from home.
In 1974, the company established Genagricola, which focused on the Group's agricultural activities.
From 1968 to 1979 Cesare Merzagora was president and restructured the company in a more efficient and transparent way. He was succeeded by Enrico Randone, who held the position until 1990.
In 1988, Generali bolstered its presence in France by acquiring a stake in Compagnie du Midi. The following year, it became a shareholder in the AXA Midi group. In 1996, Generali made a strategic decision to sell its share package, providing the necessary liquidity for the purchase of INA Assitalia.
In 1994, Generali launched Genertel, the first company in Italy to offer financial services via telephone. Four years later, in 1998, Banca Generali was established as an online bank. Over time, Banca Generali evolved into a banking hub within the Group, moving into the private banking segment.
Recent years
Following the acquisition of INA Assitalia in 2000, Generali acquired Toro Assicurazioni in 2006. As the company expanded, it established Generali Real Estate in 2011 to manage its real estate activities. Generali Real Estate soon became a prominent player in the sector, becoming the sole owner of CityLife, the new residential and commercial complex that stands on the area of the old Milan fair at Portello. Among the notable structures within CityLife is the Generali Tower, designed by archistar Zaha Hadid, which has served as the Group's headquarters in Milan since 2019.
In 2013, a significant corporate restructuring took place when the Italian branch of Assicurazioni Generali was incorporated into INA Assitalia, leading to the formation of Generali Italia. The new entity, effective from July 1, 2013, encompassed Toro Assicurazioni, Lloyd Italico, and Augusta Assicurazioni, with Philippe Donnet assuming the role of managing director and Country Manager in Italy. Donnet became CEO of the Generali Group in March 2016. In 2018, local insurance company ASSA bought Generali's business in Panama.
In 2022, the general shareholders' meeting reappointed Donnet for a third term, During the same meeting, Andrea Sironi, an academic and president of Bocconi University, was elected president of the Group.
The company continued its expansion efforts in June 2023, announcing the acquisition of Liberty Seguros, a competitor operating in Spain and Portugal's non-life insurance sector, from the US group Liberty Mutual. As a result, Generali will rise to become the fourth non-life insurance company in Spain, the second in the Portuguese market and will enter the top ten in the sector in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
On July 6, 2023, Generali acquired Conning and its subsidiaries. Additionally, the company entered into a ten-year partnership with Cathay Life, making the latter a minority shareholder (holding 16.75% of shares) in Generali Investment Holding, an entity that houses the majority of Generali's asset management activities. This acquisition bolstered Generali's total assets under management, which then amounted to 775 billion euros, an increase of 144 billion euros. Consequently, Generali claimed its position as the ninth European player in terms of assets under management. In June 2024, Generali appointed Woody Bradford, then chief executive officer and chairman of Conning Holdings Limited, as chief executive officer and general manager of Generali Investments Holding. Bradford retained his positions at Conning.
On 21 January 2025, Generali and BPCE announced that they have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to create a 50-50 owned joint venture in order combine their asset management operations. As Natixis Investment Managers (BPCE's asset management arm, which includes Ostrum Asset Management) has around €1.2tn in assets under management and as Generali has €630bn of assets under management, the deal would create one of the largest asset management firm in Europe, with around €1.9tn of assets under management. On 11 December 2025, Generali and BPCE announced the termination of the negotiations aiming at the creation of a joint venture between their asset management operations.
From Wikipedia’s article on Assicurazioni Generali, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5