LONDON, 11 June 2007 – UK pubs and wine bars need to watch out they don’t over-serve drunk customers, as the increasing threat of US-style liquor liability could lead to costly lawsuits. Aon’s Vine to Wine report warns the sector to monitor trends in US legislation and prepare for a likely shift in responsibility for customer behaviour.

Bars and restaurants in the US can be held liable for the harm or crime caused by a customer, if it can be shown that the bar staff served further alcohol when they were already intoxicated. Currently, 43 states and the District of Columbia hold establishments liable for the damage and injuries of a drunk driver. As well as drink driving, around half of the liquor liability claims are for assault and battery cases.

The law has been responsible for some significant awards. For example, in 2003, a restaurant chain paid US$21 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the parents of two 16 year olds killed by a drunk driver who had been drinking in one of its Louisville diners. In the UK, meanwhile, victims believed offenders to be under the influence of alcohol in 44% of violent incidents, illustrating the extent of the problem.

While the UK may be seeing more US-style claims hitting its shores, Tony Hills, business director of Aon Global, doesn’t believe it will go as far as it has in the US. “The UK legal environment is a lot less plaintiff friendly than that in the US, but there will be some shift towards placing liability with pub owners. There are already signs that this is happening and this month the government has tightened up the penalties for serving underage customers, with licensees now facing a fine of £10,000 and closure for up to three months.”

Tony added: “Those establishments with good risk management, effective staff training and robust corporate social responsibility programmes will inevitably feel the benefit of their investment with reduced claims and lower premiums.”

To protect them from these claims, restaurants and bars in the US take out liquor liability cover, often as part of the general liability contract, although it can also be taken out on a standalone basis. In the UK, bars and restaurants will be covered for alcohol-related claims in their public and product liability policies. The insurance industry is most wary of claims resulting from misleading or provocative advertising for bars and alcoholic products.

Companies can prepare for increased liability by implementing the following tactics:

• running alcohol awareness training for employees to learn how to handle tricky situations;
• communicating the ‘enjoy alcohol responsibly’ message in advertising and posters, in line with drinks companies who have effectively anticipated public concerns;
• using corporate social responsibility programmes as an opportunity to enhance your organisation’s brand
• ensuring you had adequate public and product liability cover in place.

About Aon

Aon Corporation is a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting.  There are 43,000 employees working in Aon’s 500 offices in more than 120 countries.  Backed by broad resources, industry knowledge and technical expertise, Aon professionals help a wide range of clients develop effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions.

This press release contains certain statements related to future results, or states our intentions, beliefs and expectations or predictions for the future which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from either historical or anticipated results depending on a variety of factors. Potential factors that could impact results include: general economic conditions in different countries in which we do business around the world, changes in global equity and fixed income markets that could affect the return on invested assets, fluctuations in exchange and interest rates that could influence revenue and expense, rating agency actions that could affect our ability to borrow funds, funding of our various pension plans, changes in the competitive environment, our ability to implement restructuring initiatives and other initiatives intended to yield cost savings, our ability to execute the stock repurchase program, our ability to obtain regulatory or legislative changes to permit continuous sales of our supplemental Medicare health product, changes in commercial property and casualty markets and commercial premium rates that could impact revenues, changes in revenues and earnings due to the elimination of contingent commissions, other uncertainties surrounding a new compensation model, the impact of investigations brought by state attorneys general, state insurance regulators, federal prosecutors, and federal regulators, the impact of class actions and individual lawsuits including client class actions, securities class actions, derivative actions, ERISA class actions, the impact of the analysis of practices relating to stock options, the cost of resolution of other contingent liabilities and loss contingencies, and the difference in ultimate paid claims in our underwriting companies from actuarial estimates.  Further information concerning the Company and its business, including factors that potentially could materially affect the Company’s financial results, is contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Aon Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in respect of insurance mediation activities only

Aon Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in respect of insurance mediation activities only.