BestWeek: After the Fall, Fence Mending at AIG

By Daniel | June 20, 2008

BestWeek: After the Fall, Fence Mending at AIG

OLDWICK, N.J., Jun 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The sudden ouster of American
International Group’s Chief Executive Officer Martin Sullivan on June 15, and his
replacement with board Chairman Robert Willumstad, led to a week of uncertainty
about the insurance giant’s future among investors, analysts and AIG observers,
according to a story in BestWeek U.S./Canada.

The possibility of some level of rapprochement between the AIG board of directors
and the man Sullivan replaced, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, added to the intrigue in
the week following Sullivan’s abrupt dismissal and the naming of Willumstad as
the new chief executive.

Willumstad confirmed through a spokesman that he met with Greenberg on June 19,
and described the meeting as “positive,” but declined to comment further.

Also, in BestWeek Europe: A U.K. High Court case is considering at what point an
insurance policy should take effect: when exposure to asbestos began or when
claimants became sick. Insurers are hoping the case lessens the uncertainty
surrounding claims related to asbestos and the disease mesothelioma.

Also, in BestWeek U.S./Canada: For insurers, it could be the perfect storm of bad
news: how to deal with declining rates when the cost of everything else, from oil
to food to labor, is going up.

And in both editions of BestWeek: The Best’s Global Insurance Composite Index
finished the week of June 19 down 21.14% from a year ago. The composite index
reflects the performance of 167 insurance stocks. The week’s top stocks were
Atlantic American Corp., Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Infinity Property &
Casualty Corp., National Interstate Corp., and Navigators Group.

The bottom five stocks were Coventry Health Care, Beazley Group, Cincinnati
Financial Corp., UnitedHealth Group, and Humana.

BestWeek is published by A.M. Best for insurance professionals. To subscribe,
please call A.M. Best’s customer service department at (908) 439-2200, ext. 5742,
or e-mail your request to customer_service@ambest.com.

Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating
organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service
industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care
system providers. For more information, visit http://www.ambest.com.

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