AIG narrows loss to $8.87b,continues restructuring

The troubled insurer also said in an annual regulatory filing that it may need additional support from the government. However, AIG has included such warnings in past filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The fourth-quarter results were an improvement from the $61.7 billion AIG lost in the year ago period, but they were worse than analysts expected. They also followed two straight profitable quarters.

The company reported a 2.2 per cent drop in new premiums in its Chartis general insurance business, compared with a year earlier, and attributed the slide in part to the weak economy. It also had lower sales in its life insurance division. AIG also reported $6.2 billion in expenses from repaying government loans.

Investors werent happy with AIGs news, and bid its stock down nearly 6 per cent in pre-opening trading.

The concern in the market is that AIGs insurance business, which was not the cause of its near-collapse in 2008, needs to be stronger for the company to keep repaying the government and become independent again.