Fitch Rates Aon's 500MM Euro Sr. Debt Issue 'BBB+'

CHICAGO--(Business Wire)--
Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'BBB+' rating to the euro 500 million senior
unsecured note issuance completed today by Aon Financial Services Luxembourg,
S.A. (Aon Luxembourg), a subsidiary of Aon Corporation (Aon). Fitch also
assigned a 'BBB+' Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Aon Luxembourg. The new notes
are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Aon and are therefore based on Aon's
'BBB+' IDR. Fitch expects that the net proceeds from this new senior debt
issuance will refinance roughly 480 million euro of existing debt maturing in
2010, with the remaining balance for general corporate purposes.

On June 12, 2009, Fitch affirmed all of its ratings for Aon and Aon's
subsidiaries. The Outlook is Stable. (A full list of existing ratings follows at
the end of this release.)

The anticipated rating action reflects Aon's strong balance sheet and cash flow
generation, and very good financial flexibility. Following the completion of
Aon's financing plans, the company's pro forma March 31, 2009 total debt to
capital ratio will remain essentially unchanged at roughly 26%. Fitch believes
that Aon's financial leverage, as measured by debt-to-EBITDA and debt-to-total
capital ratios, is currently and will remain within a reasonable range for the
rating category in the near-term. Aon's liquidity profile is solid with cash and
short-term investments totaled roughly $1.4 billion. Cash flow remains strong
with earnings-based interest coverage of roughly 13 times (x) as of March 31,
2009.

Additionally, Aon's ratings reflect the company's favorable competitive position
among the top three global brokers, with major operations in insurance
brokerage, reinsurance brokerage and human capital consulting. Aon continues to
demonstrate its ability to retain clients and grow new business while improving
profitability. Fitch also believes that Aon's current management team has a very
good track record related to the execution of strategic plans and expense
cutting, and therefore expects integration risk as a result of the acquisition
of Benfield Group Limited at the end of 2008 will be manageable.

Issues offsetting these positives include Aon's significant projected pension
obligations and its current underfunded status. Fitch believes this pension
expense could stress Aon's liquidity profile; however, Fitch also expects this
volatility should decrease over time due to the freezing of Aon's major plans.
Aon's pensions were roughly $1.4 billion under-funded as of March 31, 2009,
while the company plans to contribute $400 million in 2009, increased from $177
million in 2008. Fitch believes this contribution is reasonable given Aon's
strong balance sheet and operating cash flow.

Fitch's analysis also considers its broker industry outlook and assessments of
Aon's corporate governance practices' effectiveness.

Fitch has assigned the following ratings:

Aon Financial Services Luxembourg, S.A.

--Long-term IDR 'BBB+';

--Euro 500 million 6.25% senior debt due July 1, 2014 'BBB+'.

Fitch currently rates the Aon Corporation entities as follows:

Aon Corporation

--Long-term IDR 'BBB+';

--$225 million 7.375% senior debt due Dec. 14, 2012 'BBB+';

--Short-term IDR 'F2';

--Commercial paper 'F2'.

Aon Capital A

--$726 million 8.205% trust preferred capital securities due Jan. 1, 2027 'BBB'.

The Rating Outlook is Stable.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on
the agency's public site, 'www.fitchratings.com'. Published ratings, criteria
and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of
conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance
and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of
Conduct' section of this site.

Fitch Ratings
Gretchen K. Roetzer, 312-606-2327 (Chicago)
Gregory W. Dickerson, 212-908-0220 (New York)
Brian Bertsch, 212-908-0549 (Media Relations, New York)
brian.bertsch@fitchratings.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009