A disagreement between a top London boss of Bermuda-based ACE Ltd. and two Lloyd's underwriters has led to terminations, a London newspaper has reported.

The article pre-empted, if not clouded, yesterday's announcement of promotions and other restructuring at ACE's UK operations.

The London Evening Standard, under a headline "ACE hit as two top men leave,'' claimed: "Gaping cracks are beginning to appear in the Lloyd's of London empire being built by Bermudian insurer ACE Ltd., with the help of Lloyd's underwriter John Charman.'' While the departure would be regarded as a potentially unpleasant affair, market observers hardly see it as of major consequence.

Since ACE was incorporated in August 1985 and it began writing business that November, it has generated robust growth fuelled by aggressive acquisitions, especially under the leadership of chairman, president and CEO Brian Duperreault.

Today, the company with assets of nearly $9 billion, employs an amazing 600 people worldwide, with thriving subsidiaries in both the UK and the US and has become the single largest capacity provider at Lloyd's.

The story centred around ACE's announcement of the "mutually agreed departure of Roger Field and Richard Finn.'' "The company wishes them every success for the future,'' an ACE press statement said, downplaying the whole affair without indicating what positions the pair had held in the company.

The Evening Standard said Field and Finn were the underwriter and underwriting director of Syndicate 219, "the new focal point of ACE UK Ltd.'' It said the syndicate was destined to be the foundation block for ACE 2000, a new composite syndicate planned to combine all of ACE's Lloyd's business.

"But,'' said the newspaper, "it appears that the pair of underwriters and Charman, who took the helm for ACE at Lloyd's when they bought Charman Underwriting Agencies in June for more than 500 million, no longer see eye to eye.'' The Standard quotes a Charman memo to UK staff as saying it was mutually agreed "their future lies outside the ACE group. They will go on `gardening leave' with immediate effect until the end of September 1999.'' He added: "On a personal basis (their departure) is all the more disappointing to me as, having taken their advice, both Roger and Richard will no longer be involved in the business.'' The Standard said that while underwriters move from one Lloyd's agent to another, keeping up with ACE's roster changes has been "particularly challenging''. Soon after Charman arrived, it said, about one in five ACE employees was handed walking papers, referring to the axe that fell on 60 jobs this August.

The ACE London statement late yesterday said Andrew Kendrick was promoted to active underwriter at Syndicate 219, and Stuart Wright to director of underwriting for its Lloyd's operations.

And ACE Non Marine has a new management team of Kendrick, Wright, David Furby and Richard Pryce. Mr. Charman, ACE UK Ltd. CEO is quoted: "ACE London has, in recent months been restructuring its business to enable it to move to a single syndicate for the year 2000.

"The new management team will give us an extremely strong, dynamic and effective partnership to develop and position non marine activities into the 21st century.''