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No bonanza at January renewals
Despite insurers’ capital shrinking by an estimated 25% to 30% during 2008, they appear not to have materially changed their reinsurance buying habits
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Life insurers face deteriorating operating conditions
AM Best said entities with large exposure to equity markets will be most affected
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Sector underwriting results fall $20bn into the red
The industry’s combined ratio worsened to 105.6% in the first nine months of 2008 from 93.8% in 2007
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Capacity and cycle management at Lloyd’s
There is an increasing consensus within the Lloyd’s market about the need for capacity to be linked to cycle management. However, Rolf Tolle, head of the Franchise Performance Directorate (FPD) at Lloyd’s believes there will always be natural, and in his opinion, healthy tensions between capital providers, rating agencies, regulators and market businesses as well as potentially between market businesses and FPD. In a recent speech to the Insurance Institute of London (IIL), Mr. Tolle argued that underwriting capacity at Lloyd’s is not an absolute but will always be a relative measure which takes into account a number of different factors such as market capacity, cycle management, approval of business plans, performance monitoring, adherence to standards and guidelines and transparency. In this edited extract from his IIL speech, Mr. Tolle looks at the relationship between capacity and cycle management at Lloyd’s
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Protecting against reinsurer default in Europe: an overview of current practices
A current feature of the economic climate has been the further development of contractual provisions within insurance and reinsurance policies which aim to protect insureds against (re)insurer default. Insureds are, understandably, concerned about credit risk and the potential for counterparty insolvency and various types of protection are now a frequent point of negotiation where such clauses may have, until recently, been overlooked, says Ashley Prebble, an insurance partner at Norton Rose LLP. Amongst the protections being negotiated are collateralisation techniques, downgrade and cut-through clauses. Managing capital efficiently and monitoring counterparty exposures are critical in the current economic climate. But, as Mr Prebble points out, great care needs to be taken to ensure that these instruments operate as the parties intend
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Aegon to focus on pensions and savings sectors in Romania
Aegon now has more than two million pension fund members in central and eastern Europe
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Hurricanes increase insured catastrophe losses by 50% in 2008
The number of disasters was down but the severity of events produced the second highest insured loss on record
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Market braces for new challenges
Mis-selling incidents have tarnished the industry’s reputation
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Non-life sector continues to trail life growth
Capital injections totalling NT$14.2bn strengthened the insurance margins of 12 life companies in 2007
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Investors vote to save collapsed finance firms from receivership
Directors of nine firms have won investor confidence in repayment proposals
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Value of sector stocks fall by nearly 50.0% in 2008
Two thousand and eight will no doubt go down in history as one of the toughest years for insurance and reinsurance stocks. In terms of the sector stocks tracked by WIR, only four (Amlin, Catlin and Odyssey Re and Platinum) finished the year with..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
INS agrees HSBC distribution deal as market monopoly ends
Costa Rica • Bolivia • Colombia • Ecuador • Peru • Uruguay • Venezuela • Central America • Honduras
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Timetable slips for state pension fund plans
The controversial proposal has been delayed until March • ISAPRES increase membership numbers • ISE takes HDI name
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Property damage and business interruption
17.12, pipeline fire
India: an accidental fire in a crude oil pipeline of Oil India Limited left a labourer with burn injuries in Hajo, 40 km from Guwahati. The fire broke out while work was in progress to replace a section of the pipeline with a..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Late reports
14.12, sinking, fatalities
Taiwan: sand carrier Lien Mong (1177 gt) loaded with construction sand and gravel sank off the coast of Keelung with six of its 10 crew members rescued and the others unaccounted for. The coastguard received a distress..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
XL Capital Ltd
Once it had stripped out the financial guarantee operations, making the case for the profitability of its core p&c insurance and reinsurance businesses was not a particularly difficult task for XL Capital
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Tax avoidance less of an incentive as rising personal incomes fuel growth in endowment, credit life and unit linked business
Improvements in Bulgaria’s supervisory regime and the country’s accession to the EU have led to a transforming influx of foreign insurance companies. For example, Vienna Insurance Group has taken overBulstrad,UNIQA has taken over Vitosha, Generali has taken over Orel and KBC has taken over the ex-state insurer DZI. ING and Cardif havesetup“freedomofestablishment” branches, while AIG has established a bancassurance joint venture with Etniki and United Bulgarian Bank. By the time this process had run its course in 2007, companies with majority foreign ownership were writing 97.0% of market premiums, up from 62.6% in 2005.
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Liability, awards and settlements
19.12, ownership dispute
Philippines: the Coast Guard reported that an ownership dispute between the shipowner and the P&I Club of general cargo Yu Tai-1 was preventing the immediate refloating of the vessel. The Coast Guard said that the..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
International
Regulatory reform priority in 2009
The economic crisis has turned the spotlight on the need for a more robust reporting and regulatory system, according to insurance consulting firm, Watson Wyatt. Craig Buck, US head of insurance consulting at..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Aviation
21.12, runway incident
US: thirty-eight passengers were injured when a Boeing 737-500 went off a runway and caught fire at Denver International Airport. There were 112 passengers and crew members on board the aircraft, Continental Airlines flight..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Natural catastrophes
20.12, snowstorm
US: a major snowstorm slammed into Utah causing flight delays for the majority of the airlines operating out of Salt Lake City International Airport. Southwest Airlines reported that 90% of its flights had been delayed and workers..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Marine
17.12, sinking, fatalities
Philippines: one crew member of general cargo vessel Maria Lourdes (639 gt, built 1979) died while 19 others were rescued after their ship sank off Antique province in Western Visayas. The cargo vessel sent a distress..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Asia
Hong Kong license for ACR
Singapore-based reinsurer Asia Capital Reinsurance Group (ACR) was granted a license from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance in Hong Kong in late December to operate a branch office in the Special Administrative..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Europe
Chubb Europe redomiciles to the UK
Chubb Insurance Europe is now registered in the UK as Chubb Insurance Company of Europe SE (CICE SE) and is regulated and authorised by the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA). Chubb Corporation first..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
US
Leadership change at PartnerRe US
The Bermuda based PartnerRe Ltd has announced the retirement of Scott Moore, chief executive of its US operations. He has been succeeded by Tad Walker, formerly chief underwriting officer of Partner Re US. Mr..
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009
Business Process Outsourcing in European Insurance
Information technology research and consulting firm Celent estimates that the core European insurance business process outsourcing market is $2.5 billion in 2008 and will grow steadily over the next five years to reach $3.5 billion in 2013...
Online Published Date:
21 January 2009
Appeared in issue:
853 - 19 January 2009