Ace Ltd., the Zurich-based insurer with operations in more than 50 countries, sees acquisition opportunities "on the horizon," chief executive officer Evan Greenberg said.

"I see more opportunity now," Greenberg said on a conference call with analysts and investors. "We're not measuring this simply in months."

Ace, whose holding company is in Switzerland, maintains its principal executive offices and a major operating platform in Bermuda.

On Monday evening, Ace announced record profits of $953 million for the fourth quarter.

Mr. Greenberg also said that "prices are inadequate in many classes and industry profitability is under pressure". "Our management team has lived through soft markets and seen what happens when companies are not willing to make sacrifices in terms of market share and volume.

"At Ace, we won't knowingly forfeit future profitability for short-term benefit. We've made it clear, we'd rather write less business than kid ourselves about price or reserve adequacy and I believe that our actions over the last couple of years have proven just that."

Mr. Greenberg added that Ace had benefited from a "flight to capability and balance sheet", as the company gained business from struggling rivals. where more than price matters.

He added that there had been growth in harder market lines of business that had experienced losses and where prices have risen, particularly in areas such as financial institution professional liability, energy, and aviation.