Schedule II (details) - Guarantees Footnote

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Schedule II Guarantees Footnote

Schedule II Guarantees Footnote [Text Block]

2.     GUARANTEES

        The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV) has contingent obligations for guarantees related to its subsidiary's debt obligations and various other indemnifications, including those related to the sale of business entities. TRV also provides standard indemnifications to service providers in the normal course of business. The indemnification clauses are often standard contractual terms. Certain of these guarantees and indemnifications have no stated or notional amounts or limitation to the maximum potential future payments, and, accordingly, TRV is unable to develop an estimate of the maximum potential payments for such arrangements.

        In the ordinary course of selling business entities to third parties, TRV has agreed to indemnify purchasers for losses arising out of breaches of representations and warranties with respect to the business entities being sold, covenants and obligations of TRV and/or its subsidiaries following the closing, and in certain cases obligations arising from undisclosed liabilities, adverse reserve development, imposition of additional taxes due to either a change in the tax law or an adverse interpretation of the tax law, or certain named litigation. Such indemnification provisions generally survive for periods ranging from eight years following the applicable closing date to the expiration of the relevant statutes of limitations, although, in some cases, there may be other agreed upon term limitations or no term limitations. Certain of these contingent obligations are subject to deductibles which have to be incurred by the obligee before TRV is obligated to make payments. The maximum amount of TRV's contingent obligation for indemnifications related to the sale of business entities that are quantifiable was $93 million at December 31, 2011, of which $9 million was recognized on the balance sheet at that date.

        TRV has fully and unconditionally guaranteed certain debt obligations of TPC, its wholly-owned subsidiary, which totaled $1.20 billion at December 31, 2011. Prior to the merger of TPC and SPC in 2004, TPC fully and unconditionally guaranteed the payment of all principal, premiums, if any, and interest on certain debt obligations of its wholly-owned subsidiary TIGHI. TRV has fully and unconditionally guaranteed such guarantee obligations of TPC. See note 17 of notes to the Company's consolidated financial statements.