CHICAGO, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- How do you replace the irreplaceable? Insure the incalculable? That's the challenge facing some risk managers today who must incorporate modern-day threat detection and deterrence techniques into plans aimed at protecting some of the world's ancient and most popular tourist attractions. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO ) To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/aon/22608/ Terrorism concerns prompted officials in Rome last week to upgrade security measures at the Coliseum and may lead to additional analyses of the risk management challenges historic sites like the Coliseum or the Louvre in Paris pose to risk management experts worldwide. "The approach is the same whether it's the United Center in Chicago or the Pyramids," says Chris Rogers, risk control director for Aon's National Entertainment Practices group. "The difference is in what you do. The essential question is how do you make the assets at risk less attractive to a potential saboteur?" "These old buildings are an attraction; the organizations responsible for their management want to bring people to them," Rogers continued. "There's no value to having a Coliseum that people can't go to and see. You can't reduce the value or historical significance." Sean Ahrens, senior security consultant for Schirmer Engineering Corp., an Aon subsidiary, says unlike historic sites, contemporary buildings can incorporate security concerns into their design. "One strategy is called the 3-D method," he says. "'3-D' stands for Deter, Delay and Detect, and is part of a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design approach taken by many commercial building designers today." "If I'm a risk manager for a building built recently, for instance," Rogers said, "I have more options because I can put up barricades and surround the building with other deterrents. With newer buildings, security was likely incorporated in the facility's overall design, which offers security experts some flexibility when it comes to developing a plan of protection." Ahrens added, "Whether a structure is very old or very new, identifying suspicious persons is also important. Security staff needs to be trained in how to recognize the signs -- body language -- of a potential terrorist. Occasionally challenging a person by simply asking 'Can I help you?' can make the difference between a potential incident occurring outside or inside a site of historical or cultural importance." Dr. John Byrnes, of Aon's Center for Aggression Management, strongly concurs. "New human technology permits us to identify and prevent aggressive behavior by either disorderly visitors or a potential terrorist at historic sites." Byrnes says. "'Profiling' is ineffective and inappropriate, especially at historic sites where people are gathered from all over the globe. It is now possible to identify, measure and prevent malicious behavior using new and unique human technology; offering a blueprint of likely actions that can be anticipated and controlled." "With an historical site, it is what it is. You can't change it," Rogers concluded. "But there are steps experts can take to protect sites even many centuries old. It just requires some modern-day ingenuity." Aon Corporation ( http://www.aon.com/ ) is a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting. There are 47,000 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, 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, and ERISA class actions, 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. For More Information Al Orendorff Aon Corporation +1.312.381.3153 Related Links http://www.aon.com/ http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/aon/22608DATASOURCE: Aon Corporation CONTACT: Al Orendorff of Aon Corporation, +1-312-381-3153, Web site: http://www.aon.com/

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