ACE's president and chief executive officer Brian Duperreault has questioned whether US insurance regulations can keep up with global developments under the present system of State supervision.

"The US is still fragmented in an area where the US needs to catch up,'' Mr.

Duppereault told the 12th annual international conference of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society. "The case for uniform federal regulation is becoming compelling,'' he said.

He pointed out that Europe had taken great strides in the area of insurance regulation and there was no reason why uniform regulation should not be possible in the US. This did not mean that all state regulation should disappear, but a uniform approach would reduce the costs of compliance, he said.

With the CIGNA acquisition mostly complete, ACE last week introduced three new products. Following the announcement of the agreement with NEIL, ACE Bermuda Insurance Ltd. launched the first insurance product designed to lock in the rates, terms and conditions of existing property policies for up to three years in advance.

Called ACE Futures, these contracts provide a financial hedge for companies worried that the current favourable pricing climate in commercial insurance may not last. Unlike multi-year insurance policies which can often be cancelled mid-term with 30, 60 or 90 days notice, ACE Futures cannot be cancelled during the entire option period.

Klaus Gebhardt, senior vice president, property at ACE Bermuda, said: "Many risk managers have experienced drastic changes in insurance conditions after their company suffered a large loss or after a major natural catastrophe led to a tightening of the insurance market. For a fraction of their annual premium, risk managers can now obtain long term rate stability irrespective of their current insurance programme. They can avoid unplanned surprises and do what they do best: manage risk and not insurance.'' Purchasers of ACE Futures obtain guaranteed capacity at a guaranteed rate at a future date. Every contract is tailored to specific customer needs and is designed to replace an entire property insurance programme or substantial parts thereof in time of need.

Up to $200 million in all risk capacity and $25 million in critical earthquake capacity can be pre-purchased.

"Insurance products have long been subject to large price fluctuations,'' said Gary Schmalzriedt, president of ACE Bermuda. "With the confluence of the financial markets, it is a natural for insurers to emulate financial instruments used in the capital markets to manage this risk. Risk managers can now limit the potential downside of a change in market sentiment without sacrificing much of the upside benefits provided by soft market conditions.'' Meanwhile, ACE Insurance in Japan and ynifty, the largest Japanese Internet service provider and a wholly owned subsidiary of computer giant Fujitsu, recently announced the launch of " y nifty insurance''.

The joint marketing initiative will offer ynifty's 3.5 million registered subscribers direct access through the Internet to insurance products and customer services provided by ACE Insurance in Japan.

The ynifty insurance service provides the first real-time, online underwriting, payment and policy-issuance capabilities in Japan. The service also features integrated customer and call-centre services for seamless accessibility for customers. Starting on Friday, ynifty customers will be able to purchase ACE overseas travel accident insurance through ynifty insurance.

ACE golfer insurance will be available through the site, starting on November 26.

Plans call for adding ACE Personal Accident Insurance and additional insurance products to the ynifty insurance product list by the end of the year.