BestWeek Looks at AIG Changes

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, call A.M. Best's customer service department at (908) 439-2200, ext. 5742, or e-mail your request to customer_service@ambest.com.