Under the name of "Imperial Regia Privilegiata Compagnia di Assicurazioni Generali Austro-Italiche", the company was founded on December 26, 1831. At the time, Trieste was the most important sea port of the Austrian Empire. The company grew in importance, becoming one of the largest insurance operators both in Italy and in Central Europe. , the company ranks 57th on the Fortune Global 500 list of companies and 43rd on MITs worldwide "Smartest Companies" ranking in 2015.