LOS ANGELES, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aon Corporation , the leading global provider of risk management services, announced today its involvement in the development and passing of AB 2738, a law that will dramatically affect wrap-up construction programs in California.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO)

"In its initial form, AB 2738 promised to harshly affect wrap-ups and contractual indemnity clauses," said George Dale, executive vice president, Aon Residential. "As the only broker at the negotiating table, Aon worked alongside lawmakers and the California Building Industry Association to protect and advance the position of our clients by ensuring the final legislation reflected a more balanced view."

While the new legislation goes into effect Jan. 1, 2009, any new construction projects contracted ahead of time are required to meet the contractual disclosures and defense duty provisions required by AB 2738.

The law significantly alters the defense duty paradigm for construction defect claims and ensures that builder-controlled insurance policies are fair, equitable and include adequate limits to protect trade contractors and consumers in construction defect situations. AB 2738 is primarily focused on residential projects, although the legislation also includes requirements for non-residential projects and contractors.

In response to these new challenges, Aon is working to protect its clients' businesses by developing strategies to address the areas impacted by the new law, including:

    * Duty and method of defense in a construction defect claim
    * Determination and disclosure of wrap-up self-insured retentions and
      premium contributions
    * Contractual indemnity and wrap-up programs
    * Wrap-up policy disclosures

"This bill gives builders the opportunity to revisit and redraft agreements they have in place with trade contractors, in light of the current economic environment," added Dale. "The crucial first step is a thorough review of the entire risk transfer structure between the homebuilder and the trade contractor, followed by an evaluation of claims experience and assessment of how the wrap-up programs were structured."

About Aon Construction Services Group

Aon Construction Services Group employs over 540 employees dedicated to the construction industry in 25 offices across the country. Backed by broad resources, industry knowledge and technical expertise, Aon professionals understand every major sector of the construction industry and help a wide range of clients develop effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions.

About Aon

Aon Corporation is the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital 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 and 2008 by the readers of Business Insurance. Sign up to receive Aon news alerts by email or RSS feed at: http://aon.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=58.

Media Contact

Allyson Marcus, 312.755.3592, Allyson.Marcus@kemperlesnik.com

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SOURCE: Aon Corporation

Web site: http://www.aon.com/