US Treasury pay czar Kenneth Feinberg has eased restrictions on compensation paid to an executive at AIG, submitting to requests from the embattled government-controlled insurer to pay a multi-million incentive bonus to the unidentified officer. In a letter to the company, Mr Feinberg said that the executive, one of the company's top 25 earners, would receive a previously announced annual base salary of $450,000, plus an annual long-term restricted stock grant valued at around $1m and a stock grant worth around $3.3m on the grant date. Mr Feinberg, formally known as the Treasury's special master for executive compensation, said that he reconsidered the incentive package after the executive in question dropped plans to leave AIG at year-end. "In light of the fact that the specified employee will remain in the employ of AIG, it is appropriate to provide... long-term incentives to ensure that the employee contributes to AIG's long-term success and, ultimately, AIG's ability to repay taxpayers," Mr Feinberg wrote.

Has named Tim Fillingham as chief operating officer of its UK operations. He will also retain global responsibility for Torus' marketing and corporate communications. Mr Fillingham joined Torus in January 2008.

Ratings firm AM Best has affirmed the BBB issuer credit rating of US government-controlled insurer AIG and the financial strength ratings and credit ratings of most of the group's p/c and life subsidiaries, but said that the "outlook for all ratings is negative". Best said that the group's Chartis US commercial p/c operations have a "supportive level of risk-adjusted capital, improved underwriting and operating performance through Q3 2009" and are global providers of commercial cover. Offsetting those factors, the Chartis companies are experiencing "price-softening in nearly all core business segments, the risk associated with rebranding initiatives and the continued challenges of its association with AIG".

Ratings firm Standard & Poor's has upgraded the counterparty credit rating of Bermudian reinsurer Platinum Underwriting Holdings to BBB+ from BBB and assigned single A counterparty credit and financial strength ratings to its Platinum Underwriters Reinsurance and Platinum Underwriters Bermuda units, reflecting the group's "strong cycle management... strong enterprise risk management and... highly skilled and experienced underwriting and actuarial staff".