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Solvency II more critical than credit crisis
Europe
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Moody’s anticipates slow down in share buybacks
North America
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Arson is no solution
North America
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Largest space cover placed with 20+ insurers
International
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Tougher times ahead
International
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Security
16.4, piracy
France: six Somali pirates captured after the rescue of hostages on board passenger (cruise) Le Ponant
arrived in Paris for trial. The six were brought to France on board a military plane and quickly placed in detention. French troops..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Aviation
15.4, crash, fatalities
Democratic Republic of the Congo: a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 9Q-CHN crashed into a residential area and caught fire following take-off from Goma Airport. The aircraft was destroyed. Seventy-nine of the 85 persons on board were..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Natural catastrophes
15.4, volcanic eruption
Colombia: the country’s Nevado del Huila volcano erupted in a shower of hot ash, prompting thousands of people to leave their homes. The remote volcano, 150 miles south-west of Bogota, erupted shortly before midnight..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Marine
15.4, collision, fatalities
China: general fishing vessel Zhe Dai Yu
11524 collided with general cargo vessel Han Lord
(6788 gt, built 1983) in the East China Sea, leaving 10 people missing. The collision happened near Shanghai when the fishing..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Liability, awards and settlements
18.4, sinking, report
New Zealand: a report into the sinking of fishing (general) Kotuku
in Foveaux Strait two years ago questioned the maritime regulatory system that certifies fishing vessels. Six people, including two children, drowned when the..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Property damage and business interruption
15.4, damage to undersea internet cables, charge
United Arab Emirates: an Indian chief officer of an Iraqi ship believed to be responsible for cutting an undersea cable that led to Internet outages in the Middle East and India in February will go on..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Partner Re
Instead of steering clear of the credit and equity markets in 2008, Partner Re anticipates a number of attractive opportunities
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Trade agreement paves the way for US entry from 2010
Bancassurance has now developed as a major sales method because of the strong ownership ties existing between banks and insurers. In 2006 more than 63% of new life and capitalisation business was sold by bancassurance. There are some fears that banks can sell life insurance with little effort almost by inertia. Customers do not always understand that they may have given agreement to the deduction of life insurance premium from the balance of a new deposit account
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Investors reassured by better than expected first quarter results
After a sharp deterioration at the end of the last period, many of the insurance and reinsurance stocks tracked by WIR staged substantial recoveries for the two weeks ending 1st May. Although further losses by the mortgage insurance sector (unveiled..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Latin America insurers face potential slump in line with economy
Industry braces for slower demand • Brazil motor premiums up 12% in 2008 • IRB Brasil Re’s profits up 25% in last year as Brazil’s only reinsurer • Brazil increases reinsurance broker licences • Fitch reports on Argentine market
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Life insurers on track to keep pace with 2007 growth levels
The frantic activity in China’s life insurance market is somewhat constrained by sharp fluctuations in local stock prices
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
New India enters health insurance joint venture in Oman
Bank of Baroda and New India say the new scheme in Oman will introduce the concept of health insurance in India
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
CEA takes CEIOPS to task over insurance group regulations
Tensions are rising as negotiations for the Solvency II framework reach critical point
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Unit linked life popularity buoys Hungary’s insurers
Two important events have taken place since the end of 2007; the suspension of MAV and the sale of OTP Garancia
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
La Banque Postale authorised to sell non-life insurance
In the past insurers had claimed “disloyal competition” • ZFS agrees 50% stake in Spanish group Caixa Sabadell
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Liberty Mutual acquires Safeco in $6bn deal
The insurer will raise its property/casualty ranking by one place to fifth on buying surety specialist Safeco
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
First quarter cat losses largest for 10 years, ISO
The costliest event of the quarter, at $955mn, was caused by an outbreak of severe weather that spread from Texas to Ohio
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Taking advantage of the challenges posed by Solvency II
Solvency II represents a major factor of change for the European insurance industry. Indeed, it is generating and will certainly continue to generate most of the new IT project spending in the field of compliance for European insurers. In addition, the new set of regulations currently in preparation will have a drastic impact not only in Europe but in other parts of the world too. Here, Nicolas Michellod,
senior analyst in the insurance division of information technology research and consulting firm, Celent, considers the impact of Solvency II on European insurers, particularly the way in which it will drive their IT initiatives. Significantly, Mr Michellod situates these trends within the broader context of change influencing the regulation of the international insurance industry
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
S&P: the impact of enterprise risk management on reinsurers’ ratings
Within the Standard & Poor’s global reinsurers’ rating universe, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is emerging as one of the strongest indicators of an entity’s ability to deliver an appropriate cross-cycle risk-adjusted return...
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
Tougher times ahead for global reinsurance sector
In response to shrinking premium volume, share repurchases have been the weapon of choice as companies strive to maintain returns to shareholders. During the first quarter most companies were continuing to buy back shares, some like Platinum and RenaissanceRe quite aggressively. However, Aspen, Axis and PartnerRe reduced repurchases to negligible or zero amounts
Online Published Date:
12 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
837 - 12 May 2008
ACE Saudi office opens
Middle East
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Fitch: China earthquake pressures insurers
Asia
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Aon completes Japanese quake bond
Asia
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Benfield opens Puerto Rico office
Latin America
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
ACE policy covers government officials
US
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Aviation
28.4, crash, fatalities
Ukraine: a helicopter belonging to the country’s state gas company Naftogaz crashed into the Black Sea, killing all 20 people on board. The Mi-8 helicopter went down as it was trying to land on a drilling rig some 70..
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Natural catastrophes
28.4, fog
New Zealand: thick fog disrupted domestic flights in and out of Auckland Airport. A total of 32 incoming and outgoing domestic flights were affected by the fog. Flights were delayed as airlines worked through the backlog and urged..
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Marine
29.4, vessel list
US: Mazda Motor Corporation scrapped more than 4,000 new cars involved in a shipping mishap in the Pacific two years ago. Vehicle carrier Cougar Ace
, with 4,703 vehicles held securely in straps on board, developed a list in bad..
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Liability, awards and settlements
1.5, guilty plea
US: shipping company National Navigation pleaded guilty to a US Court in Oregon and was fined $7.25mn after admitting several of its chief engineers and crew members dumped oily waste from six ships off the US Pacific and Gulf..
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Road and rail
30.4, train derailments
Australia: two train derailments affected both the Dalrymple Bay and the Hay Point Coal Terminals. The first derailment occurred at Jilalan, the train holding yard which services both of the coal terminals. This derailment..
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Property damage and business interruption
29.4, strike
Nigeria: ExxonMobil Corporation took the drastic step of declaring force majeure
on its energy operations in Nigeria because of an ongoing labour strike, signalling the damaging effect the dispute is having on its operations in the..
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Brit Insurance Holdings
While Brit’s UK and Reinsurance units appear relatively small next to its Global Markets business, these two divisions, the UK division in particular, currently represent the greater underwriting challenges for the group
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
High catastrophe risk and foreign capital
Foreign insurers are now heavily involved and influential in the Mexican market, having brought in new capital and expertise. The number of companies in the market has grown from 48 insurers and bonding companies in 1994 to 108 by August 2007. Of these, 52 had majority foreign capital
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
AIG losses set off global slide in financial sector stocks
It is somehow fitting that the most significant deterioration for the period ending May 15th was posted by AIG, the world’s biggest insurance group as well as a blue chip stock, the symbolic value of which cuts across sectors.
So much so, that..
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Life insurance finds momentum after two years of slow growth
Non-life strides ahead but recovery in life insurance is attributed to the new investment-linked insurance products offered by market leader Prudential, also Manulife and Baoviet
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
CIRC looks at potential for catastrophe insurance after earthquake
The disaster has proved to be a rude reminder about the poor insurance penetration and lack of catastrophe insurance in China
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
The reality is much better than the perception: the writing of political risk and trade credit insurance in Sub-Saharan Africa
Although the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) has clear developmental objectives, the Agency’s approach is much more informed by a streetwise pragmatism rather than by the high minded idealism that characterised the work of so many United Nations sponsored international financial institutions in the past. One recent example of the Agency’s pragmatism was to sign up Sudan, which at the moment is in less than good standing with the World Bank Group, as an ATI Member State. Another was the decision to change the Agency’s capital and legal structures. As a direct result of this move, which significantly increased operational flexibility and underwriting capacity, the ATI was last month assigned an ‘A’ counterparty and insurer financial strength rating by Standard & Poor’s
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
CCR’s state backed business suffers French storm losses
CCR has been reducing the business that it writes in the “open” market, and this fell to €392mn in 2007 from €542mn in 2004
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
First quarter cat losses threaten Munich Re’s underwriting targets
The group is still aiming for a combined ratio of 98% for its reinsurance business, with 6.5% allowed for natural hazards
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
California saves market underwriting results from losses
Excluding California, the calendar year’s combined ratio would go up by about five points – to more than 104%
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
House and Senate divided over flood insurance scheme
The Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act proposed by the Senate writes off the NFIP’s debts, estimated at $18bn
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Progress through transparency: Turkey’s new insurance law
In response to growing pressures on Turkey from foreign investors, the IMF and the EU to strengthen its financial services sytem in which the roles of banks and non-banking institutions are clearly defined and in which they are effectively supervised by the regulatory authorities, that country’s parliament passed Insurance Law No. 5684 on 14 June 2007. Here, Turkish law firm Hergüner Bilgen Özeke*
, considers the scope and implications of the new legislation. The key questions addressed by the firm’s attorneys are: what new changes are being introduced by the law and secondary legislation? What are the issues regarding the protection of policy holders? What are the amendments to the legal and organizational structure of insurance and reinsurance companies? And what are the changes in the solvency requirements for these companies?
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Marketing insurance in a downturn
The UK economy during the Blair years enjoyed strong growth with unemployment shrinking and house prices more than doubling across most of the nation. Financial services organisations, including insurers, responded by setting up schemes to encourage..
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Objection to postal bank
Insurers have reacted angrily to the government’s decision, which they say was taken without consultation, to allow La Banque Postale, a public service entity with numerous offices around the country, to sell non-life insurance
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008
Record losses for AIG
AIG insisted that, despite the difficult environment and the resulting effect on its overall financial performance for the first quarter, the group’s core insurance businesses are continuing to perform satisfactorily
Online Published Date:
26 May 2008
Appeared in issue:
838 - 26 May 2008