FORM 3
        	UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES
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                      	Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940	                      	

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *

SCHMALZRIEDT GARY T	2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (MM/DD/YYYY)
12/31/2004 
	3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol

ACE LTD [ACE]	
(Last)        (First)        (Middle)

ACE OVERSEAS GENERAL, 1325 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS	4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable)

_____ Director                            _____ 10% Owner
___ X ___ Officer (give title below)          _____ Other (specify below)
Subsidiary Chairman & CEO* /	
(Street)

NEW YORK, NY 10019       

(City)              (State)              (Zip)	5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YYYY)

3/10/2005 
	6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

_ X _ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person	

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned	
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)	
Ordinary Shares  	124109.474   (1)	D  	 	

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned ( e.g. , puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)	
1. Title of Derivate Security
(Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(MM/DD/YYYY)	3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)	4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)	
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares				
Options to Acquire Ordinary Shares  	  (2)	7/2/2009  	Ordinary Shares  	30000  	$28.0625  	D  	 	
Options to Acquire Ordinary Shares  	  (3)	2/22/2011  	Ordinary Shares  	38500  	$36.30  	D  	 	
Options to Acquire Ordinary Shares  	  (4)	2/22/2012  	Ordinary Shares  	60000  	$43.90  	D  	 	
Options to Acquire Ordinary Shares  	  (5)	2/27/2013  	Ordinary Shares  	48000  	$27.57  	D  	 	
Options to Acquire Ordinary Shares  	  (6)	8/6/2013  	Ordinary Shares  	15000  	$32.58  	D  	 	
Options to Acquire Ordinary Shares  	  (7)	2/25/2014  	Ordinary Shares  	27000  	$43.56  	D  	 	
Options to Acquire Ordinary Shares  	  (7) (8)	2/25/2014  	Ordinary Shares  	10000  	$43.56  	D  	 	

Explanation of Responses:	
(  1) 	Of the total, 50,750 were received at various times pursuant to ACE Limited long-term incentive plans. Stock vests as follows: 1/4 of the first anniversary of the date of the award, 1/4 on the second anniversary of the date of the award, 1/4 on the thirs anniversary of the date of the award and 1/4 on the fourth anniversary of the date of the award, with 18,750 vesting in February 2005, 16,000 vesting in February 2206, 11,000 vesting in February 2007 and 5,000 vesting in February 2008.	
(  2) 	Option award pursuant to the ACE Limited 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan granted on 07/02/1999. Options vest as follows: 1/3 on the first anniversary of the date of the award, 1/3 on the second anniversary of the date of the award and 1/3 on the third anniversay of the date of the award.	
(  3) 	Option award pursuant to the ACE Limited 1995 Long-Term Incentive Plan granted on 02/22/2001. Options vest as follows: 1/3 on the first anniversary of the date of the award, 1/3 on the second anniversary of the date of the award and 1/3 on the third anniversay of the date of the award.	
(  4) 	Option award pursuant to the ACE Limited 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan granted on 02/28/2002. Options vest as follows: 1/3 on the first anniversary of the date of the award, 1/3 on the second anniversary of the date of the award and 1/3 on the third anniversay of the date of the award.	
(  5) 	Option award pursuant to the ACE Limited 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan granted on 02/27/2003. Options vest as follows: 1/3 on the first anniversary of the date of the award, 1/3 on the second anniversary of the date of the award and 1/3 on the third anniversay of the date of the award.	
(  6) 	Option award pursuant to the ACE Limited 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan granted on 08/06/2003. Options vest as follows: 1/3 on the first anniversary of the date of the award, 1/3 on the second anniversary of the date of the award and 1/3 on the third anniversay of the date of the award.	
(  7) 	Option award pursuant to the ACE Limited 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan granted on 02/25/2004. Options vest as follows: 1/3 on the first anniversary of the date of the award, 1/3 on the second anniversary of the date of the award and 1/3 on the third anniversay of the date of the award.	
(  8) 	Option award pursuant to the ACE Limited 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan granted on 02/25/2004. Options will vest on the fifth anniversay of the date of the award.	

Remarks:
*Chairman & CEO, ACE Overseas General	

Reporting Owners	
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships	
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other	
SCHMALZRIEDT GARY T
ACE OVERSEAS GENERAL
1325 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK, NY 10019			Subsidiary Chairman & CEO*		

Signatures		
Signed for Gary T. Schmalzriedt by Keith White Pursuant to a power of attorney		4/12/2005	
** Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.	
*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).	
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).	
Note:	File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.	
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