AIG Insurance fights for life

The ailing insurance giant American International Group (AIG) has been granted permission by New York State to gain access to $20bn (£11.1bn) of assets in subsidiaries to stabilise the parent company which has posted losses totalling over $18.5bn (£10.3bn) in the last three financial quarters.

AIG, is the latest victim of the credit crunch which has already sent Lehman Brothers into bankruptcy and forced the sale of Merrill Lynch.

This intervention should now ensure that policyholders of the world's largest insurance company are protected.