Percy “Pi” Chubb III, a former Chubb Corp. vice chairman and a scion of its founders, has died.

Chubb disclosed in a March 22 announcement that the 81-year-old former executive had passed away, without further details. He’s survived by his wife – the former Sally Gilady – as well as their children and grandchildren.

The insurer noted that Pi Chubb was the great-great grandson of Thomas Caldecot Chubb, and grandson of Hendon Chubb, who founded Chubb & Son in 1882. Pi Chubb joined the firm in 1958 as a trainee in the New York office, when the carrier had just 17 other offices and $67 million in written premium. At that time, his father Percy Chubb II, headed the company.

To avoid the confusion of having two Percy Chubbs, the younger of the two began to use “Pi,” which came from a center fielder for the Newark Bears, a Yankees farm team, Chubb noted in its release.

Pi Chubb’s work experience with the eponymously-named insurer included a stint in Detroit as a marine underwriter and in New Jersey in Chubb’s life insurance business, and also in aviation underwriting. He became a director of The Chubb Corp. in 1978 and vice chairman in 1986, and also served as a member of the board’s policy committee, which oversaw all parts of the business. Day-to-Day, Pi Chubb’s responsibilities included IT, marketing, human resources and other financial and administrative areas.

Pi Chubb retired as an officer of Chubb in 1997, but he continued to maintain his office at Chubb’s Warren, N.J. headquarters, where he was a friend and mentor to hundreds of employees, according to the company.

“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 build and lead over many years, Chubb Chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg said in prepared remarks. “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 Krump, executive vice president of the Chubb Group and president, North America Commercial & Personal Insurance, said Pi Chubb was “both student and teacher.”

“He was frequently asking questions to better understand issues and opportunities while generously sharing his insights and experience,” Krump said in a prepared statement. He added: “I fondly remember traveling with him and having long discussions about the art and science of underwriting,”

Today’s Chubb is a far different animal than the one for which Pi Chubb worked and helped build. ACE Ltd. acquired Chubb for $29.7 billion earlier this year, and kept the Chubb name. The carrier now bills itself as the world’s largest publicly traded property/casualty insurance company, with operations in 54 countries.

Source: Chubb