Ace Launches Branding Campaign.

Although Bermuda-based Ace Ltd. has carved out a name for itself among insurance cognoscenti, it still needs to raise its profile in corporate boardrooms, an Ace executive said.

That's why the global property/casualty insurer and reinsurer is launching a new advertising campaign targeted at chief executive officers and chief financial officers, said Donald Kramer, vice chairman of Ace.

"The issue is, we're not known outside the risk-manager circle," Kramer said.

He played a videotape that showed how the new Ace commercial had been made, followed by the commercial itself. Designed with state-of-the-art computer graphics, the commercial reinforces Ace's slogan: "Take away the risk, and you can do anything."

Kramer gave details about some lesser-known specialty insurance divisions and products within the Ace empire. One was Esis, an Ace USA company that offers customers strategic help in controlling the frequency and severity of their losses. Clients include "virtually every major oil-drilling company in the United States," Kramer said. Esis pays out $2.5 billion in claims annually, with 70% of them in workers' compensation, he added.

"We're now making this a major division within Ace," he said. "We're seeing a tremendous flow of business."

Inamar, another Ace USA company, offers ocean and recreational marine coverage for cargoes, yachts, small boats and marine facilities.

"If you combine Inamar with our marine operations at Lloyd's, we're one of the largest marine specialty insurers in the world," Kramer said.

Recently, Ace Power Products enhanced its PowerBackerSM replacement power insurance coverage through an alliance with Cargill-Alliant to provide an option for the physical delivery of power to its customers. In the event of a power Outage or restriction, customers insured with PowerBacker--including utilities, industrial generators and power marketers--now have access to the physical delivery of replacement power via Cargill-Alliant's 24-hour energy-trading network.

"This is an important product for us," Kramer said. "We think we will be significant players in energy areas."

Through its Ace International unit, the group also insures the wine industry "from grape to glass," he said. This coverage kicks in once the grapes are harvested and crushed and extends through the aging of the wine and the bottling of the vintage.

"Ace actually has a Bordeaux policy and a Burgundy policy, as well as a separate Champagne policy," he said. "We insure all the Grand Crus and write virtually every vineyard in France."

Other specialty coverages apply to the fashion industry in Italy, newspapers in Spain and printers in the United Kingdom. "At the end of the day, these special policies add up," Kramer said, noting that Ace International generates about $2 billion in annual premium.

In Japan, Ace is the second-largest property/casualty insurer behind American International Group Inc. "We have a fairly large operation in Japan with about $400 million in premiums," Kramer said, adding that Ace insures Nifty Serve, the largest provider of Web services in Japan.

Ace is a holding company whose subsidiaries operate in the United States, Bermuda, London, continental Europe and Asia.

Ace Ltd.

A.M. Best #: 85875

Rating: A+

Headquarters: Hamilton, Bermuda

Lines of Business: Excess liability, directors & officers, marine & aviation, accident & health, workers' comp, reinsurance