Increasing Regulation and Economic Volatility Key Catalysts for Risk Management in...

Increasing Regulation and Economic Volatility Key Catalysts for Risk
Management in the Food System, Agribusiness and Beverage Industry, Says Report
from Aon Analytics

CHICAGO, July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aon Corporation (NYSE: AOC), the
leading global provider of risk management services, today released its 2009
U.S. Food System, Agribusiness and Beverage Industry Report. The first annual
report was generated by Aon Analytics to help Aon's clients in these
industries remain abreast of emerging issues and learn how peers and
competitors are managing risk, overcoming challenges and capturing
opportunities.

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The analysis is comprised of three main components:

-- Risk insights, where the top 10 risks faced by the food system,
agribusiness and beverage industry are identified and examined and
expertise on risk assessment and drivers is provided.
-- Client insights, where industry-specific insight into choosing an
insurer, working with markets, staffing a risk management department
and
using captives are among the areas discussed.

-- Market insights, where coverage terms and conditions; carriers
requested
to quote; submit-to-quote, quote-to-bind and submit-to-bind ratios;
top
carriers in a competitive bid situation; changes in premium rates over
the past year and the most common reasons for carriers not quoting and
clients rejecting a carrier's quote are addressed.

For example, risk professionals in the food system, agribusiness and beverage
industries cited commodity price volatility, weather/natural disasters and
product recall as the leading industry risks. In addition, the report finds
that many firms are not prepared to deal with increasing regulation, such as
tougher food safety laws proposed by the current U.S. administration, and that
many companies do not have comprehensive risk management processes in place,
opting instead to rely on senior management intuition and experience as a
primary method for identifying major risks.

"Companies in the U.S. food system are faced with more complex risks today
than ever before, and it is vital for them to fully understand these exposures
so they can make informed and insightful decisions," said Rick Shanks,
national managing director of Aon's food system, agribusiness and beverage
practice. "This report demonstrates our commitment to empowering our clients
with fact-based insight and leveraging the size and scope of Aon's unmatched
global network to generate industry-leading comprehensive analyses."

With regard to insurance pricing, food system, agribusiness and beverage
organizations have generally been experiencing rate decreases for casualty,
property and directors' and officers' liability coverage. That said, property
rates have shown some hardening in 2009 as a function of the market's
realization of cumulative loss events and the overall economic slump. While
this industry has largely enjoyed higher than average rate decreases for
directors' and officers' liability coverage, the report forecasts a trend
toward flat renewals or even slight increases over the next year.

Aon's 2009 U.S. Food System, Agribusiness and Beverage Industry Report is
based on data from Aon's 2009 Global Risk Management Survey, the Aon Global
Risk Insight Platform(SM) and additional proprietary databases. Results shown
in this report based on the Global Risk Management Survey represent 53 global
responses from the agribusiness, food processing and distribution and
beverages industry and are not limited to the United States. Aon GRIP(SM) is
the world's leading global repository of global risk and insurance placement
information and provides fact-based insights into Aon's global premium flow.
Results shown in this report based on data from Aon GRIP represent placement
information from the United States from November 2008 through mid-year 2009.
Results shown in this report based on data from additional proprietary
databases represent placement information from the United States between July
1, 2008, and June 30, 2009. With the support of additional Aon insurance and
industry specialists, Aon Analytics collected and tabulated the results,
provided analysis and interpreted findings.

To access Aon's 2009 U.S. Food System, Agribusiness and Beverage Industry
Report, visit http://www.aon.com/foodindustryreport.

Follow Aon on Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/aoncorp

About Aon
Aon Corporation (NYSE: AOC) is the leading global provider of risk management
services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting.
Through its more than 37,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon readily delivers
distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and
workforce productivity solutions. Aon's industry-leading global resources and
technical expertise are delivered locally through more than 500 offices in
more than 120 countries. Named the world's best broker by Euromoney magazine's
2008 and 2009 Insurance Survey, Aon also ranked highest on Business
Insurance's listing of the world's largest insurance brokers based on
commercial retail, wholesale, reinsurance and personal lines brokerage
revenues in 2008. A.M. Best deemed Aon the number one insurance broker based
on brokerage revenues in 2007 and 2008, and Aon was voted best insurance
intermediary, best reinsurance intermediary and best employee benefits
consulting firm in 2007 and 2008 by the readers of Business Insurance. For
more information on Aon, log onto http://www.aon.com.

Media Contacts
Kelly Drinkwine Cybil Rose
312.381.2684 312.755.3537
kelly_drinkwine@aon.com cybil.rose@kemperlesnik.com

SOURCE Aon Corporation

Kelly Drinkwine of Aon Corporation, +1-312-381-2684, kelly_drinkwine@aon.com,
or Cybil Rose, +1-312-755-3537, cybil.rose@kemperlesnik.com, for Aon
Corporation