Company chairman, president and CEO Edmund Kelly, in yesterday's statement, says the firm has "the financial strength to absorb these losses," and that it is "already meeting our obligations to help our policyholders recover as quickly as possible." With regard to widespread speculation that insurance companies will attempt to invoke war-acts exclusions as a shield from potential attack-related claims, Kelly says, "We have a very strong capital position and the liquidity to meet our obligations to policyholders. These situations are what we are in business to handle."

The Boston-based international group of insurance companies has more than $54 billion in consolidated assets, more than $67 billion in assets under management and $13.5 billion in consolidated revenue.