Travelers former CEO Jay Fishman dies at 63

(Reuters) – Jay Fishman, chairman and former chief executive of property and casualty insurer Travelers Cos Inc, died on Friday.

Fishman, 63, disclosed in 2014 that he had a neuromuscular condition and that he might have been battling a variant of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Fishman became CEO of Travelers in April 2004 when St. Paul Companies Inc, which he had headed, merged with Travelers Property Casualty Corp.

Last year, Fishman stepped down as CEO of Travelers.

“Though he would be too humble to admit it, Jay was an icon among corporate leaders,” Travelers Chief Executive Alan Schnitzer said in statement on Friday.

Under Fishman, Travelers’ stock value more than doubled and the company aggressively raised premiums to offset low interest rates.

He held several executive posts at Citigroup Inc from 1998 to 2001, including CEO of its Travelers insurance business.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)