LONDON, 18 August 2008 - Aon Crisis Management, a unit of the world's leading global risk and insurance firm, has hired the former senior investigating officer for multinational extortion at the British police to head up a new extortion consulting team. This is in response to a rapid rise in the number of commercial extortion cases in the UK.

Sam Nicholls comes to Aon after 32 years within the major crime arena of the police. During this time he rose to become the National Coordinator of Operations for Domestic Extremism.

The past few years have seen a rapid rise in commercial extortion activity in the UK, according to Sam. "Between 2003 and 2006, there was an average of 23 cases reported each year. In 2007, that figure hit 40. In the past 12 months, there have been 67 recorded incidents."

In reality, however, the number of incidents is likely to be much higher. "There are no hard and fast figures of course, but it is believed a substantial number of commercial extortion cases go unreported," Sam explained. "Companies want to avoid publicity and potential damage to their brand or reputation. Many will pay extortion demands to try and get rid of the problem quickly, though this approach often doesn't solve the problem. Once an extortionist knows a firm will pay out they are likely to target that company again in the future."

Craig Preston, director of crisis consulting at Aon, warns that you can't predict where an attack might come from. "Extortionists may be terrorists, extremists, an organised crime group, a disgruntled employee seeking retribution or even a competitor trying to gain a greater market share. Common tactics include the threat to contaminate a product, bring down an online trading platform, harm personnel, reveal proprietary information or release customer data, such as bank account details - extortion can take many forms."

According to Sam it is essential to put the right plans and procedures in place, and test their contents. "Forward planning is the key. Companies should identify a response team, involving the right people with the right skill sets, and ensure that all the predictable decisions are made before something happens. A live crisis makes a very poor learning environment, and the correct response can make the difference between successfully managing the threat and serious damage to your brand and reputation."

Sam also warns of a common misunderstanding about the role of the police in an extortion incident. "There has to be a degree of reality in terms of the police's role. They will proffer advice and guidance, but they will not take over and tell a company what to do. Decision making stays with the company - as do the consequences of those decisions."

Craig Preston added that the significant experience that Sam brings of extortion and extremism crimes from a police perspective is key to Aon's new extortion consulting team. "We now have unrivalled subject matter expertise in this area. Having Sam's in-depth knowledge, tied in with our consulting skill base and our experience in designing insurance programmes that protect against the impact of these incidents means we can offer our clients distinctive value in what is a critical area."

Ends
For more information contact:
Reuben Aitchison
020 7086 7201
reuben.aitchison@aon.co.uk
http://aon.mediaroom.com

About Aon
Aon Corporation (NYSE: AOC) is the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting. Through its 36,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon readily delivers distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions. Our industry-leading global resources, technical expertise and industry knowledge are delivered locally through more than 500 offices in more than 120 countries. Aon was named the world's best broker by Euromoney magazine's 2008 Insurance Survey. In 2008, Aon ranked highest on the Business Insurance ranking of the world's largest insurance brokers based on commercial retail, wholesale, reinsurance and personal lines brokerage revenues. Aon also was ranked by A.M. Best as the number one insurance broker based on brokerage revenues in 2007 and 2008, and was voted best insurance intermediary, best reinsurance intermediary, and best employee benefits consulting firm in 2007 by the readers of Business Insurance. For more information on Aon, log onto www.aon.com.

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