AOC Aon Corp.

Bartenders who know their stuff sell higher quality wines when cigarettes aren't allowed CHICAGO, May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Smoking bans can mean better business for restaurants and bars -- particularly if wine-savvy bartenders talk up their supply and promote brands of higher quality, according to the "Vine to Wine" report released this week by Aon Corp. (NYSE:AOC). (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO) Establishments selling beer and wine in California are reported to have seen an increase in annual sales by more than $2 billion between 1997 and 2002. A law effectively banning smoking in public places took effect in 1994. Sales and employment at restaurants and bars are reported to have increased also in Florida and Delaware and in several U.S. cities including New York after smoking bans took effect. Since a smoking ban was introduced in Scotland in March 2006, wine sales in bars have increased 8 percent, according to AC Nielsen. The increase is attributed in part to bar patrons sampling better, more expensive wines. Restaurant and bar owners can increase revenues by encouraging bartenders to talk to customers about pricier, higher quality brands, according to the Aon report. Training can be delivered through: -- wine tastings for the team to sample the wine list and understand grape varieties, regions, etc., enabling them to enjoy the products and make recommendations; -- training booklets on health & safety, underage drinking. etc.; -- partnering new recruits with experienced bartenders so they can learn on the job. "Bars in countries such as Italy and Ireland have benefited from smoking bans by catering to increasingly sophisticated wine drinkers," said Liam Dolan, principal consultant at Aon HR Solutions in London. "In the United Kingdom, traditional pubs are becoming more family oriented and 'gastropubs' are offering higher quality food and wines. Just 10 years ago, you'd be offered sweet or dry wine, but now you're more likely to have a choice of 20 wines from around the world." Some larger bar chains in the United Kingdom are already seeing the benefits of increased staff training in the form of better staff morale and higher customer satisfaction, the report found. To view the report, visit: http://www.aon.com/uk. Aon works on behalf of clients in the U.K. wine industry to find insurance products that protect the wine product throughout its lifecycle, as well as with restaurants and other establishments. About Aon 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 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. Media Contacts: London Chicago Alexandra Lewis Rahsaan Johnson Tel: 020 7882 0541 1.312.381.2684 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041215/CGW049LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Aon Corporation CONTACT: Alexandra Lewis in London, +020-7882-0541, or Rahsaan Johnson in Chicago, +1-312-381-2684, both of Aon Corporation Web site: http://www.aon.com/ http://www.aon.com/uk

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