Excerpted from the March 3, 2000 issue

Industrial Re International had a March 1 deadline for wrapping up a French reinsurance placement. But before placing the risk, a 24-page professional liability insurance contract written in French had to be translated into English.

Phil Shawe, principal of TransPerfect Translations of New York, said insurance clients "need prompt translations so they can accurately assess and settle claims." TransPerfect Translations' insurance clients include American International Group of New York; Aon, Chicago; Chubb, Warren, N.J.; St. Paul Cos., St. Paul, Minn.; Principal Financial, Des Moines, Iowa; Cigna, Philadelphia; and Prudential, Newark, N.J.

The company considers itself one of the largest in the field, generating upward of $18 million in annual revenue. TransPerfect Translations has about 120 employees worldwide, more than 3,000 translators who work in about 100 languages, and offices in 14 cities and three continents. Co-founded by Shawe and Liz Elting, TransPerfect Translations opened for business in 1992. "Our account executives make themselves available 24-7, so if an insurance executive is traveling and needs a contract translated on a Sunday night for delivery first thing Monday morning, we'll get the job done," Shawe said.

—Ron Lent

About TransPerfect
With revenue of over $250 million, TransPerfect is the largest privately held language services provider in the world. From offices in 66 cities on 5 continents, TransPerfect offers a full range of services in over 100 languages to multinationals worldwide. With a global network of over 4,000 linguists and subject-area specialists, TransPerfect is the largest translation company to be fully ISO 9001:2008 and EN 15038:2006 certified. TransPerfect is headquartered in New York and has regional headquarters in London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit our website at www.transperfect.com.