AIG Singapore head resigns amid crisis

The head of the Singapore unit of troubled insurance giant American International Group has resigned with immediate effect, the country’s central bank said today.

Mark O’Dell, general manager of AIA Singapore, has taken a leave of absence and Executive Vice President Kenneth Juneau will take over, said the bank, known as the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

AIG customers throughout Asia have cancelled policies this week amid fears AIG would follow investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings into bankruptcy.

AIA Singapore headquarters has been flooded this week with thousands of nervous policyholders seeking to find out the status of their policies or cash them out, even after the US Federal Reserve pledged an 85 billion-dollar loan to prop up AIG.

The company said in a statement today that any policyholder who terminated their policy this week would be allowed to reinstate it during the next two weeks without penalty.

“We have received feedback that many of our customers are now more reassured of AIA Singapore’s financial position,” said Mark Wilson, regional president of AIG Life Companies in Asia Pacific.

“So we have offered this policy conservation programme to those policyholders who reacted to the uncertainty of recent developments at AIG.”

Less than 0.1 %, or about 2,000, of the company’s 2 million in force policies in Singapore – a nation of 4.6 million people – have been terminated this week, the company said.

Both AIA Singapore and the central bank reiterated that the company’s policies are safe.

“AIA maintains separate insurance funds for all policies,” the company said.

“AIA Singapore has more than sufficient capital and reserves above the regulatory minimum requirements to meet our obligations.”

AIG provides services in 130 countries, including China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.