Aon plc - AON STOCK NEWS

ICEYE, a global leader in satellite-powered disaster management solutions, has expanded its data licensing agreement with Aon, a leading global professional services firm. The agreement now includes ICEYE's Flood Insights data globally and Wildfire Insights data for the US. Aon will incorporate this near real-time data into its event response capabilities for Reinsurance clients, facilitating loss analysis of catastrophic events.

ICEYE's NewSpace satellite constellation provides persistent monitoring with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology, offering uninterrupted visibility in any conditions. Hazard and damage data is made available within hours of an event, with regular updates as the situation develops. This collaboration aims to enhance clarity and confidence around the immediate financial impact of catastrophic events, enabling better business decisions for Aon's clients.

Aon plc (NYSE: AON) has launched its integrated Radford McLagan Compensation Database, enhancing analytics capabilities for Human Capital clients. This unified platform combines compensation and talent insights from financial services, life sciences, and technology sectors, covering over 8,000 client organizations and 30 million employees across 100+ countries.

The database offers expanded features including:

• Job Offers Data for tracking pay trends in AI, data science, and machine learning
• Location Analytics for comparing global talent metrics
• Talent Intelligence for predicting pay in data-scarce areas
• Talent Metrics for monitoring salary increases, turnover rates, and diversity statistics

The Q3 2024 Insurance Labor Market Study, conducted by The Jacobson Group and Aon (NYSE: AON), reveals that 86% of insurance carriers plan to increase or maintain staff size in the next 12 months. Key findings include:

- 52% plan to increase staff, 34% maintain, and 14% decrease
- Underwriting, claims, and technology roles are in highest demand
- 79% expect revenue growth in the next year
- 72% expect hybrid work schedules
- Recruiting difficulty has eased, but remains challenging for some roles
- Industry employment projected to increase by 0.58% in the next year

The study indicates a relatively stable insurance industry with modest job growth expected, despite slight easing in recruiting difficulty and slowing turnover.

Aon plc (NYSE: AON) has launched its Directors and Officers (D&O) Risk Analyzer, a digital tool for U.S.-listed public companies to assess and mitigate executive risks. This release joins Aon's Property Risk and Casualty Risk analyzers in a suite of analytics tools. The D&O Risk Analyzer offers:

• Real-time analytics for quantifying potential D&O losses
• Risk exposure and loss models
• Stock price drop analysis
• Total cost of risk visualizations

These features enable real-time loss forecasting and facilitate discussions between risk managers and brokers about potential risks. The tool aims to help clients make better decisions in an evolving risk landscape, particularly in light of rising litigation costs, market volatility, and changing regulatory frameworks.

Aon plc projects a 9% increase in U.S. employer-sponsored health care costs for 2025, with average costs expected to exceed $16,000 per employee. This increase is higher than the 6.4% rise experienced from 2023 to 2024. Key factors driving the surge include:

1. Elevated medical claims
2. Rising prescription drug costs, especially specialty drugs
3. Increased utilization of GLP-1 medications for diabetes and obesity
4. Inflation-driven wage increases in the healthcare sector

Employers are bearing the brunt of these cost increases, subsidizing about 81% of plan costs. The technology and communications industry faces the highest average employer cost increase at 7.4%. Aon's Health Risk Analyzer uses machine learning to help employers predict high-cost claimants and manage risks more effectively.

Aon plc (NYSE: AON) has announced the appointment of Admiral James Stavridis to its Board of Directors, effective Aug. 15, 2024. Admiral Stavridis, a retired four-star U.S. naval officer, brings extensive experience from his military career, including roles as Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and commander of U.S. Southern Command. He is currently Partner and Vice Chair, Global Affairs at Carlyle, a global investment firm. Admiral Stavridis also serves as chair of the Rockefeller Foundation's board of trustees and holds board positions with Fortinet, Inc. and other organizations. His appointment is expected to bring new insights to Aon's board as the company aims to deliver more value for clients, colleagues, and shareholders in an increasingly complex risk landscape.

The Jacobson Group and Aon plc (NYSE: AON) will present the results of their Q3 2024 Insurance Labor Market Study in a free webinar on August 8, 2024. The study, conducted from July 8-28, surveyed insurance carriers across all sectors about their hiring and revenue plans for the next 12 months. Gregory P. Jacobson of The Jacobson Group and Jeff Rieder of Aon will discuss key findings, industry labor market trends, and staffing expectations for 2025.

The webinar aims to provide insights for insurers to remain competitive in the evolving talent marketplace. As financial performance for insurers improves, carriers are focusing on developing talent to build resilience and meet profitable growth objectives. The webinar is open to all insurance community members and registration is available online.

Aon reported Q2 2024 results with total revenue increasing 18% to $3.8 billion, including 6% organic revenue growth. Adjusted EPS rose 6% to $2.93, while GAAP EPS decreased 9% to $2.46. The company completed the $13 billion acquisition of NFP, a middle-market risk and benefits advisory firm. Key highlights include:

- Commercial Risk Solutions organic revenue grew 6%
- Reinsurance Solutions organic revenue up 7%
- Health Solutions organic revenue increased 6%
- Wealth Solutions organic revenue rose 9%
- Adjusted operating margin expanded 10 basis points to 27.4%
- Repurchased 0.8 million shares for ~$250 million

Aon's CEO Greg Case noted strong progress on the company's 3x3 plan and expressed optimism for the remainder of 2024 and long-term outlook.

Aon plc's Global Catastrophe Recap for the first half of 2024 reveals global economic losses from natural disasters totaled $117 billion, below the 21st-century average of $137 billion. Insured losses reached $58 billion, surpassing the average of $39 billion. The insurance protection gap reduced to 50%, largely due to high payouts for U.S. severe convective storm (SCS) damage. U.S. natural disasters accounted for 80% of global insured losses, reaching nearly $46 billion.

Key events include Japan's Noto earthquake ($17 billion in economic losses) and a U.S. SCS period in March ($4.7 billion in insured losses). The report highlights the need for increased insurance coverage in emerging markets and anticipates a potentially costly hurricane season in the second half of 2024.