American International CEO Plays Down Asbestos Charges ------------------------------------------------------ Published January 31, 2003 Maurice Greenberg, Chief Executive of American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG), said that the insurer did not have a major problem with asbestos, and that the next chief of AIG would come from inside the company. Mr. Greenberg allayed fears that AIG would be the next insurer to take a massive hit on shoring up reserves for asbestos claims, after rivals ACE Ltd. (NYSE:ACE) and Travelers Property Casualty Corp. (NYSE:TAPa) recently took large asbestos charges. Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) said it was reviewing its asbestos exposure, likely clearing the way for a charge in the second quarter. "We review reserves toward the end of the year, we are in the midst of doing that," Mr. Greenberg said, speaking at a Salomon Smith Barney financial services analyst conference. "If we require to increase reserves, we will do so . We do not have a great deal of asbestos exposure -- we were a very small company at the time asbestos became a problem for others. It's not a major problem for us." The release of AIG's fourth-quarter and year-end results -- which would detail any increase in reserves -- is expected on Feb. 13. COMPANY PROFILE American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) 70 Pine St. New York, NY 10270 Phone: 212-770-7000 Fax: 212-509-9705 http://www.aig.com Employees : 81,000 Revenue : $55,459,000,000 Net Income : $5,363,000,000 Assets : $492,982,000,000 Liabilities : $440,832,000,000 (As of December 31, 2001) Description: Helmed by financial legend Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, American International Group (AIG) is one of the world's largest insurance firms. Best known domestically as a leading provider of property & casualty and specialty insurance, AIG also has strong life insurance operations abroad and is a presence in financial services and asset management (purchases have included leading annuities firm SunAmerica and other companies specializing in retail financial markets). Other operations include auto insurance, mortgage guaranty, annuities, and aircraft leasing. ----------------------------------------------------------- LitigationDataSource.com