AIG joins Dow Jones Industrial Average.

American International Group Inc.--the largest American insurer based on revenue--has been added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average index, an investment benchmark of the largest "blue chip" stocks, Dow Jones Co. said.

Marking the first change in the index's composition since Nov. 1, 1999, AIG, drug-maker Pfizer Inc. and telecommunications firm Verizon Communications Inc. will replace long-time Dow components AT&T Corp., Eastman Kodak Co. and International Paper Co., said Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, which has published the index since 1896.

The changes were effective with the open of trading on April 8, and the divisor used to calculate the average from the components' prices is being changed to prevent any distortion in the index's reflection of the U.S. stock market, the company said.

"There are no predetermined criteria for a stock to be added or deleted, though we intend that all components be established U.S. companies that are leaders in their industries," John Prestbo, editor of Dow Jones Indexes, said in a statement. Prestbo said composition changes are rare and that all 30 companies were reviewed before the decision was made to replace three of them.

According to Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Paul E. Steiger, who oversees the Dow's makeup, none of the changes was triggered by any specific event, such as a merger.