Aon's Impact Forecasting Team Studies 55 Years of Hurricane Data, Releases Comprehensive Report on Severity and Frequency of Atl

Impact Forecasting Experts Also Wrap-Up Costliest Hurricane Year Ever in 2005 Global Climate and Catastrophe Report 


CHICAGO, Feb. 6  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- It was a year with more storms in the Atlantic than any other on record, and it was also the costliest hurricane season ever.  Impact Forecasting, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aon Corporation, studies some of the possible reasons for the activity -- including shifts in the frequency of storms and the impact of El Nino -- behind a year that produced more Category 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin than any other.  The report, "Atlantic Ocean Basin Hurricane Frequency Shift," was released today and is available at http://www.aon.com/ .

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In Aon's report, a complete study of possible causes of weather pattern changes shows evidence of more frequent storms as part of an ongoing cycle of worldwide weather patterns.

Bryon Ehrhart, chief executive officer of Aon Re Services, commented: "It is clear that the increased frequency and severity of hurricanes consumes more economic capital than previously considered prudent.  Quantifying the change in insurer capital and reinsurance exposed to these increased loss and volatility expectations will help insurers sustain their capital position through this heightened risk period."

The insurance industry also dealt with other natural catastrophes across the world, including typhoons, widespread flooding, and devastating earthquakes.  Aon has also released a complete report on all global catastrophes from 2005.  The company's "2005 Global Climate and Catastrophe" report is also available at http://www.aon.com/ .

To arrange an interview, please contact a member of the Aon Public Relations Team (Thaddeus Woosley at 312.381.2446 or Dave Van de Walle at 312.381.5028).

About Aon

Aon Corporation ( http://www.aon.com/ ) is a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting.  There are 47,000 employees working in Aon's 500 offices in more than 120 countries.  Backed by broad resources, industry knowledge and technical expertise, Aon professionals help a wide range of clients develop effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions.

This press release contains certain statements related to future results, or states our intentions, beliefs and expectations or predictions for the future which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from either historical or anticipated results depending on a variety of factors. Potential factors that could impact results include: general economic conditions in different countries in which we do business around the world, changes in global equity and fixed income markets that could affect the return on invested assets, fluctuations in exchange and interest rates that could influence revenue and expense, rating agency actions that could affect our ability to borrow funds, funding of our various pension plans, changes in the competitive environment, changes in commercial property and casualty markets and commercial premium rates that could impact revenues, changes in revenues and earnings due to the elimination of contingent commissions, other uncertainties surrounding a new compensation model, the impact of regulatory investigations brought by state attorneys general and state insurance regulators related to our compensation arrangements with underwriters and related issues, the impact of class actions and individual lawsuits including client class actions, securities class actions, derivative actions, and ERISA class actions, the cost of resolution of other contingent liabilities and loss contingencies, and the difference in ultimate paid claims in our underwriting companies from actuarial estimates. Further information concerning the Company and its business, including factors that potentially could materially affect the Company's financial results, is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

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DATASOURCE: Aon Corporation



CONTACT:  Thaddeus Woosley, [phone], or Dave Van de Walle,

[phone], both of the Aon Public Relations Team for Aon Corporation



Web site:  http://www.aon.com/ 

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