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Iranian private insurance
Middle East
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Pakistan demands proof
Asia-Pacific
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Croatia reduces stake
Europe
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
US war risk cover in Gulf
North America
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
8–21 January 2002
Late reports
05.01, flooding fatalities
Philippines: at least seven people were killed and many more reported missing after heavy floods in Davao. Unseasonal rains caused at least six bridges to collapse, cutting the town’s links to..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
World insurance stock prices
Company/group
Currency
31/12/01
10/1/02
24/1/02
Change from 10/1/02 %
Capitalisation US$ mn
© World Insurance Report
Ace
US$
40.15
37.98
36.95
(2.7)
8,574
AIG
US$
79.40
77.90
77.38
(0.7)..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Company profile: London Life & General Re
Based in Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre, London Life & General Re (LLGRe) provides life, traditional and finite property/casualty, and accident and health reinsurance products to the London, continental European and..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Company profile: QBE Re Europe
The last 18 months have been eventful for Dublin-based QBE Insurance & Re. It saw a pretax profit of US$62.3mn in 1999 transformed into a loss of $29.6mn in 2000.
The company also changed its name to QBE Reinsurance (Europe) on 14 June 2001 as..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Bavarian Re
At the beginning of 2001 Swiss Re consolidated its European nonlife businesses into one entity by merging its Bayerische Rück (Bavarian Re) and Europe divisions.
Bavarian Re was renamed Swiss Re Germany in July last year and withdrew from all..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Indian oil companies look to self-insurance
India’s oil companies, with the help of general insurers in the local market, are adopting more proactive and innovative approaches to obtaining cover for power and energy risks.
The state-owned general insurers are negotiating with four..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
News roundup
• Truck hijacking in Colombia
fell by 41% during 2001, according to the latest figures released by the police. The value of hijacked commercial goods amounted to Col$55.3bn (US$24.8mn) in 2001, 34% less than in 2000. Last year Colombian..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Mexican sale buffets Aegon against Enron
Dutch insurance group Aegon has disposed of its shares in Mexican life insurer Seguros Banamex Aegon and in pension fund manager Afore Banamex Aegon to a local subsidiary of Citigroup of the US for US$1.24bn.
The deal takes effect from 31 December..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Four buyers qualify to bid for Mexico’s Ahisa
Mexico’s Federal Competition Commission (CFC) has shortlisted four companies to bid for state-owned insurer Aseguradora Hidalgo (Ahisa) as the government steps up its efforts to transfer the company to the private sector.
Ahisa has a 50% share..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Hungarian insurance gets more competitive
The Hungarian insurance market is getting increasingly competitive with the entry of new players into the market and the tendency among existing players to increase their range of products.
The two newest entrants are both subsidiaries of..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Cox searches for a way out of Lloyd’s market
UK group Cox Insurance Holdings is looking to end its involvement in the Lloyd’s market after revising its exposure to the 11 September attacks from £67mn (US$95mn) to £125mn.
Rating agency Moody’s has placed the group’s..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
French banks see fall in life premium income
French banks’ life insurance premium income was down by 9% last year, according to preliminary figures extrapolated from data collected during the first 11 months of last year. This was a slightly worse performance than the traditional life..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Munich Re moves closer to Commerzbank
Munich Re has announced it holds a 10.4% stake in Commerzbank. This makes the reinsurer the biggest single shareholder in the bank, the fourth largest in Germany.
The news has encouraged fresh market speculation about the likelihood of a merger..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
AIG signs deal with Russian mortgage bank
Russia-based mortgage bank DeltaCredit Bank, which is backed by the US government, has signed a strategic partnership with AIG’s Russian branch to provide life insurance for all of DeltaCredit’s clients.
AIG Life general manager..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Scor lists its losses
French reinsurer Scor is anticipating a loss of around €250mn for 2001 but is hoping for a significantly improved performance in 2002 based on the fact that premiums for big industrial risks are rising.
Scor president Jacques Blondeau blamed a..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
AGF closes down OK
French insurer AGF, part of the Allianz group, has closed OKassurance.com, its internet site selling insurance policies.
Outstanding policies will continue to be managed by the company.
AGF said the decision was the result of weak growth of..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
High premiums hit Irish firms
A near doubling of liability insurance premiums in two years has provoked a strong reaction from Irish business.
IBEC, its representative organisation, said some companies can no longer afford cover and could go out of business. Higher property..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Savings-linked life insurance products fuel double-digit market growth
The Swedish insurance market’s total gross premium income grew by 17.2% to SKr153.4bn (US$14.6bn) in 2000, according to the latest figures released by the Swedish Insurance Federation.
In line with the broader trend in western Europe, this..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Malaysia lowers levels for government bonds
In a move to boost local companies’ investment income in the current low interest rate environment, Malaysian insurance regulator Bank Negara has reduced insurers’ minimum investment levels in government bonds from 20% to 10% of their..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Philippines increases insurers’ minimum capital requirements
The Philippine Department of Finance, which acts as the country’s insurance supervisory authority, has raised the minimum paid-up capital for life and nonlife insurance companies from P10mn (US$195,000) to P50mn.
The new capital requirements..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Claims fall as Japan’s nonlife market contracts
The performance of the Japanese nonlife insurance market, the second largest in the world with gross direct premiums of ¥11,369bn (US$102.5bn), very much reflects the struggle of the broader economy, which has been in recession for the last..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Australian state sets up workers’ comp fund
The Western Australian state government has introduced legislation to protect workers and employers caught by insurance problems arising from the 11 September terrorist attacks in the US.
In the wake of 11 September, international insurers indicated..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
India grants licences to seven medical TPAs
The indications are that the health insurance sector is about to take off in India.
The authorities have granted ‘in principle’ approval to seven health insurance third-party administrators (TPAs), service companies that extend..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Judge criticises ACC
A New Zealand District Court judge has strongly criticised state-owned Accident Compensation Insurance Corporation (ACC) for spending NZ$4,000 (US$1,700) trying to recover $30 it claimed it was owed by a policyholder. ACC engaged two lawyers to..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Argentinian insurers adapt to financial crisis
Members of the Argentinian Insurance Association (AACS) have met to consider how the market is likely to adapt to the new macroeconomic environment, particularly the effect that the emergency legislation will have on the industry. The meeting..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Consumer Federation of America speaks out against government aid for insurance industry
The US insurance industry’s appeal to Congress for federal support in the event of another large-scale terrorist attack has lost much of the momentum and moral authority that made it seem a done deal in the few months after 11..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Nuclear law under fire
The Democratic-controlled US Senate is debating whether to reauthorise an expiring nuclear accident insurance law amid disagreement that it provides adequate protection for US citizens from intentional or accidental nuclear disasters.
The Price..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
EU updates laws on public procurement
Reform of EU legislation on public procurement will update the rules requiring public bodies to seek competitive bids for the supply of goods and services – including insurance.
Commissioner Frits Bolkestein, responsible for ‘single..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Launch of Euronext indices gives a boost to European weather derivative trade prospects
The Euronext stock exchange, created by the merger of the Amsterdam, London and Paris exchanges, has launched a series of weather indices.
And it intends in the medium term to introduce a series of derivative contracts based on these indices to..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
El Niño prediction eases Caribbean insurers’ concerns about hurricane damage in 2002
The Caribbean insurance industry has greeted with relief the prediction by US National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials that 2002 is shaping up to be an El Niño year. El Niño, the warm Pacific Ocean phenomenon,..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
Health, consent and disclosure
The US Congress is considering how the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Privacy Regulation
should be best implemented. The current tendency within Congress is to accede to the Department of Health & Human..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
AFPs take charge of public insurance scheme in Chile
The administration of Chile’s new unemployment insurance scheme has been contracted out for a 10-year period to Grupo Providencia, an ad-hoc association of private pension fund managers (known as AFPs).
The association won by offering to..
Online Published Date:
01 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
680 - 01 February 2002
CGNU to close in Taiwan
Asia-Pacific
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
PZU privatisation
Europe
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Insurers pay out on Enron
North America
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Company profile: Lureco
Founded in 1986, financial reinsurer Luxembourg European Re (Lureco) is a subsidiary of the US-based General Electric (GE) industrial and financial conglomerate.
The company was taken into the GE fold in June 1999 when ERC Life Re Corp of Kansas..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
In search of a future beyond the London market
The last three years have been the most challenging period in the 145-year history of the London-based Salvage Association, the maritime casualty survey organisation in the process of rebranding itself.
Until 1999 the Salvage Association comfortably..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Lloyd’s takes on risks in Malaysian market
Demand for terrorism cover is increasing in Asia. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia National Re (MNRB) has introduced a new policy to provide cover for properties and business interruption risks.
In India the General Insurance Corporation is developing a..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
China tightens regulations
The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) is shifting its focus from the market behaviour of foreign insurers to their capital strength.
The commission is also refining the present system of supervision.
The announcement comes in the wake of..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
BASF to form its own reinsurance company
German chemical manufacturer BASF has confirmed plans to set up a reinsurance company. A spokesman responded to reports in the German press by saying BASF’s plans were at a very early stage.
A report in Süddeutsche Zeitung
had suggested..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Credit insurance becomes AGF core business
Credit insurance is now a core business for AGF (Assurances Générales de France).
Company president Jean-Philipp Thierry used words to this effect when he announced that AGF’s credit insurance subsidiary Euler would pay €535mn..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Enron failure hits fourth-quarter results hard
The collapse of energy trader Enron has greatly affected several large insurers, with investment exposures totalling more than US$3bn in the fourth quarter of 2001, according to a statistical study compiled by rating agency A M Best.
Life insurance..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Chubb stays upbeat
Despite facing heavy losses from damages wrought by tropical storm Allison in April last year, from 11 September and more recently from its surety bond exposure to Enron, the Chubb group is confident about its future prospects.
Chubb’s various..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
French market had ‘traumatic’ last year
Last year was something of a trauma for the French insurance industry, according to Denis Kessler, president of the Fédération Française des Sociétés d’Assurances (FFSA) when he unveiled the preliminary industry..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Cargo premiums reduced
Middle East
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Good ratings despite cats
Caribbean
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
21 January – 4 February 2002
Late reports
19.01, damage, failed rescue
Belgium: general cargo vessel Hawk Arrow
(28,092 gt, built 1985), travelling inbound to Antwerp, struck the north wall of the channel while entering the Kallo Lock. In an attempt to prevent further damage,..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Company profile: East Africa Re
Kenya-based East Africa Re, which derives 90% of its premium income from the Comesa region (Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa), saw gross written premiums grow by 34% to a new high of KSh304mn (US$3.9mn) in 2000.
But the..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
General Insurance Corporation of India
The General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) saw a significant rise in its premium income for the year ending 31 March 2001.
Net written premiums rose by 16% to Rs21.9bn (US$469mn). A substantial portion of the growth came from the..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Nonlife insurance companies are a step ahead of inflation
Although no more than usually besieged by economic and political uncertainty, the Indonesian nonlife insurance market contracted by 4% in 1999.
But the market was doing a little better than the figures suggest.
The country’s 105 nonlife..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Underwater volcano revives fears among Caribbean insurers
The brief revival of activity at the site of the colourfully named Kick ’em Jenny underwater volcano 9km north of the island of Grenada has been a wakeup call for Caribbean insurers, which fear volcanoes may be posing a more general threat..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
The going gets tough for Argentina’s insurers
Urgent meetings have taken place in Argentina between high-ranking government officials – including Claudio Moroni, who was appointed insurance superintendent on 6 February – and market representatives about lifting financial..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Floods worry insurers
Insurers in Indonesia are worried about an avalanche of claims, with extensive damage of property and the death toll rising to 125 as a result of the recent floods. This is despite the fact that much of the damage occurred in the rural areas and was..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Crisis hits Taiwan’s health insurance system
The Taiwanese government has announced it will not allow the state-run health insurance system to increase its premiums but will set up a taskforce to look at other ways to refinance the struggling system.
This statement came amid speculation that..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Parliament decision heralds breakthrough in EU reforms
A European Parliament decision to cede powers over the regulation of financial services, in the interests of speedier EU responses to market developments, has been hailed as a breakthrough toward fast-track reforms.
But a minority of sceptics in..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Bush administration moves to extend health cover to increasing number of US uninsured
An estimated 2mn Americans lost their health insurance in 2001, which is the largest increase in the number of uninsureds in almost a decade, according to data released by newly established group Covering the Uninsured.
The group consists of the US..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Life business goes up
In the months since the World Trade Center disaster there has been an increased interest in life insurance, predominantly focused on fixed universal, whole and term life products, according to a study by investment and asset management firm Conning..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Extra losses wipe out RSA operating profits
Additional losses of £459mn (US$656mn) from asbestos claims and from exposures to 11 September and the Enron collapse have wiped out the operating profits of UK insurer Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA).
RSA has announced it will more than double..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
UAE brokers complain about commission cuts
Insurance brokers in the UAE are up in arms against a decision by local insurers to cut their commission payments.
The brokers complain the decision was reached without any consultation and if implemented will leave them with no profits at all. The..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
Regulation and competition
The UK government’s decision to implement the EU insurance mediation directive by giving the job to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) now means the FSA will have to take a much greater interest in the relationship between the individual..
Online Published Date:
15 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002
World insurance stock prices
Company/group
Currency
31/12/01
24/1/02
7/2/02
Change from
24/1/02 %
Capitalisation US$ mn
* Formerly NRMA Insurance Group
© World Insurance Report
Ace
US$
40.15
36.95
38.96
5.4
8,876
AIG
US$
79.40..
Online Published Date:
17 February 2002
Appeared in issue:
681 - 15 February 2002