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World Loss Log 6 April – 17 April
Natural Catastrophe
7.4, hailstorm, loss update
Australia: the Insurance Council of Australia has reported that the final insured loss for the 45-minute Sydney hailstorm last April was A$1.7bn ($1bn), a sum A$200mn higher than the previous..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Data Update
Stock name
Number of shares
Closing price US$
Market capitalisation
% weighting
XL
124487000
48.1875
5998717313
34.70155%
Ace
217447000
25.25
5490536750
31.76181%
Partner Re
50523000
..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Data Update
Stock name
Number of shares
Closing price US$
Market capitalisation
% weighting
XL
124487000
53.75
6691176250
38.35839%
Ace
217447000
21
4566387000
26.17765%
Partner..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Natural Catastrophes
28.3, tornado, fatalities
US: 2 people died in building collapses and 2 in drowning accidents as a tornado hit Fort Worth, Texas. Windows were blown out in high-rise office buildings and people were arrested for looting. 4 dead.
29.3, volcanic..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Liability, Awards, Settlements
23.3, car accident, settlement
Hong Kong: an 11-year-old boy left brain damaged, unable to walk or write and nearly blind after falling behind a reversing car, jamming his head between it another parked one for around 30 seconds has reportedly..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Aviation
27.3, helicopter crash, fatality
Canada: a helicopter crashed just 500 metres from Innisfall airport, Alberta. The pilot was the only person on board. 1 dead.
28.3,crash, fatalities
NZ: a chartered helicopter carrying 4 American tourists, crashed in..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Road/Rail
29.3, bus collision, fatalities
Kenya: more than 100 passengers were killed when 2 busses crashed in Kapkatunga, western Kenya. 101+dead.
3.4, derailing, crash
Canada: a train crashed into a low-hanging bridge at St Catherine’s, Quebec,..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Marine
24.3, sinking, fatalities
Canada: Panamanian-registered cargo boat Leader L.
sank off The southeast coast of Nova Scotia. It was insured for both hull and P&l cover for $6mn with J L Jones Syndicate 329. Speculation is that the damage was..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Property and Business Interruption
27.3, explosion, fatalities
US: an explosion at the Phillips Petroleum plant in Houston Texas left 1 dead and scores injured. The company, which has a history of fatal accidents at the plant, said that most of the injured were contract workers. 1..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Company Profile: American Re Corporation
It is 83 years since American Re Corporation (ARC) began writing business in the US and the company has retained a strong domestic focus. The group’s US business is handled by American Re-Insurance Company (Am Re). But with 34 offices..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Commercial Partners
Commercial Partners, the Bermuda-based subsidiary of French reinsurer Scor, has announced a profit of US$29mn for its principal operating arm Commercial Risk Re in 1999. The result is a 12% increase on the 1998 figure. Gross premiums increased..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Munich Re
Munich Re Group has declared a pre-tax profit of €1.8bn (US1.7bn) for 1999, a fall from the previous year’s €2.3bn. The company cited a heightened reinsurance loss experience for the fall. Specifically, the company said that the..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
ReAC
The fund and investment group Hunter Hall has again increased its holding in embattled Reinsurance Australia Corp (ReAC), stoking speculation that it is preparing to move a spill of board positions in the embattled company. Hunter Hall Investment..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Singapore Re
Singapore Re increased its after tax profits by 53% to S$11.4mn (US$6.6mn) in 1999 from its S$7.2mn profit of the year before. The after tax profit was achieved despite an underwriting loss of S$2.1mn. The company made an..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Max Re
Maximus Capital, the holding company for Max Re, has completed the second tranche of its private equity financing by raising $178mn. This brings to $509mn the total raised since the launch of the company was first announced by ex-XL chief..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
News in Brief
The South African government has announced its intention to privatise the South African Special Risks Insurance Association
(Sasria) and has invited tenders for advisors for the transaction. Sasria was established during the Apartheid era to cover..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Hamnia
Hamnia has announced plans to sell insurance policies to small companies in Sweden via a website that is due to open in April. The insurer is targeting service companies in industries such as IT and advertising. The service will typically offer..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Tapiola
Being mutual was a distinct advantage in Finland last year at a time when the reputations of joint-stock insurers were suffering from the wrangling over shareholder value at Pohjola. The mutual Tapiola Group saw both its non-life and the pension..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
MLC
The cash-rich National Australia Bank (NAB) has confirmed that it is to buy the Australian insurer MLC from its parent company Lend Lease for A$4.5bn (US$2.76bn).
The acquisition is a good fit for NAB following the Commonwealth Bank’s..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
State Insurance
State Insurance (SI), New Zealand’s largest motor insurer, has set up a 24-hour roadside emergency break down service to rival the powerful Automobile Association (AA).
Initially the scheme will be free to Si’s half-million vehicle..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Baloise
Baloise is fighting for its independence, amid growing signs that a battle for the Swiss insurer is about to commence.
Last year, Zurich Financial Services Group (ZFS) acquired 19.9% of Baloise, bringing its stake in the company to 23%. ZFS..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Chubb
US non-life insurer Chubb has decided to focus on its core competencies in India by providing covers for industrial projects and high-tech risks such as software insurance. “Our expertise lies in providing insurance for projects and..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
GIC
India’s state-owned non-life player General Insurance Corporation (GIC) has proposed that the government should dispose 51% of its holding in the company’s equity so as to enable GIC to function with greater autonomy. GIC suggested this..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Mapfre
Spain’s Corporacion Mapfre and savings bank Caja Madrid have deepened their business relationship with the establishments of a mutually owned holding company. Following approval from both companies’ boards, Mapfre will take a controling..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Unipol
Italian insurer Unipol has won out over a number of competitors to acquire Milan-based MEIE and MEIE Vita from Telecom Italia. Unipol has paid approximately L67bn (US$33mn) for a 51% share of MEIE Vita and 51.2% of MEIE (which itself owns the..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
QBE
Leading Australian general insurance company QBE has made another foray into Eastern Europe, successfully gaining a 60% share of Macedonia’s largest insurer, ADOR Makedonija (AM), for A$23mn (US$14mn). This acquisition is the latest in..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
AMP
Ian Burgess, chairman of Australian composite insurer AMP, has resigned and taken four fellow directors with him. The resignations followed continued criticism of the 1999 takeover of GIO and the large payout to former chief executive George..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Zurich
An improved performance in the US and UK saw Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) post a record 1999 profit, but chairman Rolf Hüppi has ruled out a ZFS bid for the non-life units of UK composite CGU.
ZFS saw its net income rise almost 16% to..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Copenhagen Re launches syndicate
Copenhagen Re (CR) is preparing to launch a Lloyd’s syndicate as part of its strategic drive to get closer to its key markets. The new syndicate will take over the book of facultative business currently written at the London Underwriting..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Names rumble but don’t roar
Any underwriters present at the Association of Lloyd’s Members (ALM) Spring conference on 6 April were wise to maintain a low profile. Faced by deepening losses for the years from 1997, attendees and speakers alike piled considerable blame..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Goshawk enters consolidation stakes
Hot on the heels of merger talks between Limit and Wellington, Lloyd’s insurer Goshawk has thrown its hat into the ring by announcing that it is looking for opportunities to take part in consolidation.
“We can see that the market is..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Lloyd’s Limit slips further on merger talks
The decision of Limit and Wellington Underwriting to enter into preliminary merger talks has provoked some positive response in the London market despite being greeted with near derision by some investment analysts.
Limit and Wellington revealed few..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
EU Pyrrhic victory
Janusz Baranowski, the Polish businessman who gave his fellow countryman an early experience of the pitfalls of capitalism when his Westa insurance company collapsed in 1993, has won a Pyrrhic victory at the European Court of Human Rights.
The Court..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
US New report on auto parts
A new report has provided support for insurers hoping to use after market auto parts to repair automobiles in a bid to reduce claims costs and auto insurance premiums.
Auto insurers are still reeling from a multi-billion-dollar court decision last..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
US Paint bill seen as ‘disaster’
The American Insurance Association (AIA) is opposing a bill recently submitted to the Massachusetts legislature that would, according to the Association, “rewrite the rules of tort liability.” The AIA says that the bill, which has been..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
US Ergonomics rules still cause concern
William Hofmann, president-elect of the Independent Insurance Agents of America, has called upon the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to halt consideration of proposed rules regarding ergonomic hazards in the workplace until..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Law & Supervision Japan US wins concessions
Negotiations between Japan and US trade representatives will result in a further liberalisation of the country’s insurance market. One issue, though, could remain outstanding.
US trade negotiators visited Japan in the wake of heavy lobbying by..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Aviation Aviation market remains grounded
Aviation insurers will take little cheer from a forecast by the Aviation Insurance Offices’ Association (AIOA) that the industry is set to remain in the doldrums for some time to come.
Industry analysts say overcapacity is the dead weight..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Marine Grim prospects for marine market
Norway’s Central Union of Marine Underwriters (Cefor) has offered the grim forecast that loss ratio’s in the global marine market could exceed 200% for 1999, producing marine insurance losses of US$3bn.
Managing director Tore Forsmo..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Ergo
Ergo, the German primary insurance group controlled by Munich Re, has achieved a breakthrough in electronic commerce by signing a joint-venture deal with Deutsche Telekom, the country’s leading tele-communications and internet company.
The..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Pohjola’s commitment weakens
Finland’s Pohjola Group is questioning its ongoing commitment to If, the pan-Nordic insurance company launched with much fanfare last year. Pohjola’s hesitation has prompted Skandia and Storebrand to insist that Pohjola’s agreement..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
INA chief quits
INA chief executive Lino Benassi and chairman Sergio Siglienti have both decided to step down from their posts this month. Market commentators said the decision of the INA executives would leave Generali greater freedom as it seeks to integrate the..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
ING seeks US purchase
Cees Maas, chief financial officer of Dutch insurer ING Group, has reiterated his company’s desire to acquire a US insurer as it drives to become one of the top 10 players in the US market. However, following its failure to acquire French bank..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
London plans for efficiency
Lloyd’s and London’s International Underwriting Association have prepared a plan to streamline the way business is conducted in the London market. The plan envisages a single lead underwriter for each risk, to clarify administrative..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Shareholders approve CGNU
Shareholders of insurers CGU and Norwich Union (NU) have voted to accept the no-premium merger plan proposed by their boards in February (WIR632/01
). Despite the initial hesitancy of market analysts, more than 90% of NU shareholders approved the..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Ace protests US tax reform
A bill has been introduced into the US congress which aims to close off a tax loophole that has enabled US insurance companies with offshore parents to effectively park part of their Investments offshore.
The new legislation was provoked by recent..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Arbitrate to accumulate
Geoffrey Engert, Director of Business Development for the US-based Arbitration Forums, argues the case for inter-insurer dispute resolution.
Saving time and money are essential in today’s competitive insurance environment. Claims and..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Lloyd’s losses mount
Lloyd’s has reported a loss of £176mn (US$282mn) for the 1997 year of account, with worse expected for 1998. The announcement did little to inspire confidence in the forecasting skills of Lloyd’s syndicates. It was only last..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Allianz deal collapses
Germany’s Allianz is considering selling its 21.7% stake in Dresdner Bank following the failure of the proposed merger between Dresdner Bank and Deutsche Bank. The insurer also says that it is hoping to rescue some parts of the deal. Allianz..
Online Published Date:
14 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
635 - 14 April 2000
Employers Reinsurance Corporation Group
Employers Re is one of the fastest growing large reinsurance companies in the world. Its success has no doubt contributed to the rating of its parent, General Electric (GE), as the most admired company in the world according to Fortune
magazine. At..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Marsh & McLennan
The leading global insurance broker has posted a higher-than-expected 21% rise in first-quarter earnings helped by strong growth of its Putnam Investments money managing operation. The consolidated group income of Marsh & McLennan rose to..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Aon
Global broker Aon has launched an underwriting agency for credit and political risk insurance which is to transact 95% of its business over the internet.
The new Credit Indemnity and Financial Services (CIFS) will operate as a subsidiary of..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
JLT
UK-based broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) it to combine its UK retail insurance and employee benefit operations with Burke Ford (Holdings) and its subsidiaries.
The Burke Ford Group is made up of a number of businesses covering UK retail..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Copenhagen Re
Copenhagen Re (CR) and Lloyd’s underwriter Euclidian are joining forces to offer finite risk reinsurance. CR will write the covers on a global basis while Euclidian will provide consultancy support. CR chief executive Jan Hornsberg said the..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Gerling
For the German Gerling group, the latest news of high underwriting losses, personality clashes and restructuring at its main property and casualty company Gerling Konzern Allgemeine Versicherungs (GKA) increase its strategic dilemma. Gerling has..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Hannover Re
Clarendon Insurance, a subsidiary of Hannover Re, has signed an agreement with Acceptance Insurance to acquire the outstanding shares in the latter’s subsidiary Redland Insurance.
Redland operates in the US programme insurance market..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Elmonda
Elmonda Group, which combines the Swiss company Elvia Travel Insurance and France’s Mondial Assistance, has acquired the privately-held US travel insurance group World Access. The move will strengthen Elmonda’s presence in North America..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Allianz
True to its promise that the emerging markets are its next strategic target, Germany’s Allianz is rapidly moving into Eastern Europe. Banks play an important role in the Allianz scheme.
Last August, Allianz acquired 2% of Pekao in Poland, in..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
If
Even before it is fully operational, Swedish insurer If’s ambitions are growing. Managing director Bo Ingemarson told a recent seminar in Stockholm that If would be actively chasing business opportunities in all areas.
The first step would be..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
RSA
UK composite Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) has signed a partnership agreement with Sundaram Finance Ltd. (SFL). The two parties now intend to bid for a trading license from the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) to form a..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Sampo
At Sampo Insurance’s annual general meeting, chief executive Jouko Leskinen took the view that the agreement setting up If was binding – though he did not want to speculate whether If would survive.
He added that Sampo was in no hurry to..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Skandia
Skandia’s management is coming under increasing pressure over its share option scheme. The company’s recent AGM approved the revised version of the scheme, but only after board chairman Lars Ramqvist had appealed to the meeting for it to..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Risk factors
Lloyd’s chairman Max Taylor has highlighted weather, e-commerce, claims against corporate executives and loss of brand reputations as the four most significant risks facing business today.
Speaking to a US business audience Mr Taylor said the..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Following in unison
The Lloyd’s Policy Signing Office (LPSO) and the London Processing Centre (LPC) have produced the first fruits of their collaborative efforts with the launch of a uniform ‘to follow’ policy. The policy form provides the basic..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
WISe move
Lloyd’s has signed an agreement for a central, low-cost connection to WISe Trusted Trading. The agreement embraces the Corporation of Lloyd’s and all its managing agents and is the first major connection of the whole market to the..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Positive thinking
Now could be the time to invest in a Lloyd’s listed vehicle, a new report has argued. The report by HSBC argues that 1999 will prove to have been the bottom of the cycle, that “the worst has now passed”, and that a market..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Results show selective benefit
Syndicate results for the 1997 year of account provide compelling evidence that careful agency selection is the route to success for any Name or corporate looking to earn a crust in the volatile Lloyd’s market.
The figures show that exactly..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Interest holds up despite earnings drop
Interest in Lloyd’s among insurance companies remains high, despite the market’s growing losses, a new study produced by US analyst Conning & Company has reported.
In spite of Lloyd’s earnings volatility and diminishing..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Profits fall as merger proceeds
Limit Underwriting and Wellington, the two Lloyd’s insurers planning to merge their operations, both saw their profits fall in 1999.
Limit’s profits fell more than 60% to £21.3mn (US$33.7mn). However, chairman Jonathon Agnew said he..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Marriage of convenience
“We will become the most convenient personal financial portal for our customers – the one-source site for all the financial information they need,” Mr Hüppi claimed. And to achieve that goal, the group has decided to build an..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Insurers learn to relate online
As the new e-conomy bandwagon picks up speed, WIR examines two of the latest business models to be announced – and finds ‘relationship building’ to be the common theme.
Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) took the opportunity offered..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
IRB sale delayed again
The government in Rio de Janeiro has yet again delayed the planned privatisation of state reinsurer IRB, with the National Development Ministry citing doubts about the reserve price for the business.
The sale was scheduled for 25 April, but hardened..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Kidnappings reach record high
Worldwide kidnappings for ransom reached record levels last year, a new survey by the UK-based Hiscox insurance group reveals. Total reported kidnappings for ransom rose 6% in 1999 to reach 1,789 – and 92% of those incidents took place in the..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Zurich ends dual structure
Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) is to merge its two holding companies, Zurich Allied (ZA) Allied Zurich (AZ) plc, eliminating the dual structure that was created when ZFS acquired the insurance businesses of British tobacco company BATin 1998. The..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Munich Re reaches east
After months of worrying about the details, Alte Leipziger has finally taken the plunge and sold Alte Leipziger Europa (ALE), its Eastern European holding, to Munich Re.
Munich Re acquired 60% of ALE from Alte Leipziger for an undisclosed sum. It..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
HIH
A new policy providing protection against unexpected legal costs, introduced only last month, is attracting hundreds of clients every week. The policy launched by Sydney-based HIH Insurance Group, which has nine outlets in New Zealand, offers cover..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
The St Paul
The St Paul Companies has issued $500mn of senior notes.
The two-part deal includes $250mn of five-year notes with a 7.875% coupon and a further $250mn of 10-year notes with an 8.125% coupon. The company said the proceeds were to be used for general..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
NU/CGU
The EU has given its blessing to the proposed merger of UK insurers Norwich Union (NU) and GCU, saying strong competition would remain in the UK market.
The EU approval followed earlier and resounding votes by NU and CGU shareholders in favour of..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Indonesia
Syariah Takaful has been launched in Indonesia as the country’s first syariah insurance company with ambitious plans to raise premium income of Rp3.5tn (US$460,000).
A new marketing strategy will also place emphasis on increasing the..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
GIC
Four Indian oil companies, one petrochemical unit and three electricity companies have opted for a new mega-risk policy recently announced by the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority.
The new policy has been freed of tariff control,..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
US Insurers oppose mega-catastrophe legislation
Insurance industry bodies have voiced their opposition to a new bill aimed at creating a federal reinsurance authority that would compensate for losses caused by ‘mega-catastrophes’.
The Alliance of American Insurers (AIA) described the..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Malaysia New moves on consolidations
The central bank is to double the minimum paid up capital of insurance firms in an effort to increase the pace of consolidation in the industry. The new measures will require insurers to have a paid-up capital of M$100mn (US$26.3mn), compared with..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Italy Insurers protest motor freeze
The Italian insurance association, Ania, has protested to the European Commission that the Italian government’s recent decision to freeze motor-liability tariffs is in violation of EU rules. A number of individual insurers have also lodged..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
New Zealand New rules for workplace cover
Private firms will be able to manage their own workplace insurance in partnership with the state-owned Accident Insurance and Compensation Corporation (ACC) under rules and conditions recently published by the government.
From 1 July all..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
US Engineers bemoan frivolous litigation
America’s consulting engineers continue to enjoy the soft insurance market, plentiful capacity and relatively stable prices. Their insurers, though, are hinting that rate increases are on the way.
The observations come from the annual..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
US State regulation hinders e-business
The financial services industry in the United States is waiting for Congress to establish uniform laws regarding the conduct of business via the internet. But even with uniform laws at the federal level, the insurance industry might find itself at a..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
EU MEP’s miss compulsory insurance vote
An attempt by the European Parliament to require biotechnology companies to take out civil liability cover for damage caused to the environment or human health by Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) has collapsed.
The assembly’s Environment..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
New models
At a press conference to set out its own business model, Anderson Consulting (AC) recently sought to impress upon insurers that the internet can provide a revolutionary platform for new business communications between brokers and other parties..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Unfamiliar competition
Indeed, the separation of manufacturing from distribution means that the internet-marketing wing of insurers will run into some unfamiliar competitors. Now that the wider world has realised that financial products are amenable to commoditisation,..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Polish growth
The Polish insurance business showed a net profit of Z497mn (US$116mn) in 1999, a 5.1% increase on the Z473mn recorded the previous year. Gross premiums grew more than 21% to Z18.3bn. Even the non-life sector saw significant growth, with gross..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
NZ insurers told to lift premiums
Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has advised New Zealand insurance companies to increase premiums on non-life policies to counter falling profitability.
Some firms are experiencing heavy underwriting losses on their non-life..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Finish Increase
Primary premium income for Finland’s Local Insurance (Lahivakuutus) Group increased by 9% to FMk1.02bn ($157.8mn) in 1999. Primary premium income for the 105 associations making up the group increased by 6% to FMk647mn.
The turnover of the..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Holocaust funds
French insurers have promised to pay FFr70mn (US$10.4mn) towards a foundation dedicated to the memory of the persecution suffered by Jews in France during WWII. Responding to the publication of a government-commissioned report into the spoliation of..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Dai-itchi’s next move
Troubled mid-ranking Japanese non-life insurer Dai-ichi Mutual Fire & Marine is preparing a broad reform plan for the country’s Financial Supervisory Agency amid rumours that it will have to sell its business if it is to rebuild its..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
NRMA to demutualise
Members of NRMA, Australia’s largest general insurer, have voted overwhelmingly in support of a plan to demutualise. The company will be floated on the Australian stock exchange in July and could achieve a market capitalisation in the order of..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000
Time for some spine
Graham Nichols, chairman of the Aviation Insurance Officers’ Association, argues that the time has come for aviation insurers to show some responsibility.
‘A snap shot of underwriting conditions in the aviation insurance industry during..
Online Published Date:
28 April 2000
Appeared in issue:
636 - 28 April 2000