You are here:
Print Editions
World Insurance Report
Browse Archive by Year
Browse 2002 Archive by Month
Articles for October 2002
Asia Pacific
#
11 October 2002
Citigroup in Japan
Mitsui Sumitomo CitiInsurance, the ¥6bn (US$48.5mn) joint venture established by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and the US-based Citigroup last year, commenced operations at the beginning of October to coincide with the deregulation of the..
Europe
#
11 October 2002
EU look at regulation of Lloyd’s market
A European Parliament committee will discuss a draft report by an English MEP which accuses the British government of serious failures in its regulation of Lloyd’s. The upcoming debate..
North America/Bermuda
#
11 October 2002
Allamerica to sell life and annuity businesses
Financial services company Allamerica is looking for a buyer for its life insurance and annuity businesses in an attempt to stop investors dumping its shares which have fallen from..
Company profile: Mapfre Re
#
11 October 2002
Spanish reinsurer Mapfre Re reported a pre-tax loss of €2.3mn (US$2.1mn) for its consolidated operations in 2001. This compared with a profit of €12.2mn for the previous year and reflected net losses of €16.1mn from..
Company profile: Croatia Lloyd
#
11 October 2002
Croatia Lloyd, the only professional reinsurer in Croatia, had another profitable year in 2001, reporting a pre-tax profit of HRK54.3mn (US$6.6mn), up by 28% on the previous year.
The company, which provides reinsurance for all classes..
Hannover Re Group
#
11 October 2002
The diversified nature of Hannover Re’s four main business areas significantly reduced the impact of 11 September losses on the reinsurers’overall result in 2001.
The company’s property/casualty business generated a pre-tax loss of €82mn (US$73mn) against..
Norway
#
11 October 2002
Market suffers net loss despite improved underwriting performance
Adverse stock market conditions impacted the operating result of the Norwegian nonlife insurance industry in 2001 but underlying underwriting profitability improved, according to provisional figures released by the..
India gives go ahead to bancassurance
#
11 October 2002
Indian banks can become corporate agents of insurance companies but they cannot act as independent brokers according to a recent ruling by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. IRDA has long been mulling over the..
Benefits of increased rates undone by asset impairment charges
#
11 October 2002
The global reinsurance industry is under scrutiny like never before. Over the last few weeks there has been a rush of reports on the state of the industry a year after the disastrous events of..
Scor
#
11 October 2002
Scor has announced plans to raise a further €400mn ($394mn) in a rights issue which will be voted on in an extraordinary general meeting on 5 November.
President and managing director Jacques Blondeau explained that the..
Poland to combat motor fraud with database
#
11 October 2002
Car insurance fraud in Poland is at its highest level for some years according to market leader, Powszechny Zakad Ubezpieczeñ (PZU). PZU’s deputy claims director, Jerzy Cywoniuk, said corrupt garage operators, who collude with vehicle..
Regulator blocks take over of Fortis France
#
11 October 2002
There is speculation that Fortis Assurances (France), the French life subsidiary of the Belgian-Dutch Fortis group, may need to be recapitalised after the French economy and finance ministry, following advice from the country’s insurance supervisor,..
Skandia
#
11 October 2002
Skandia Insurance will boost the capital its US subsidiary American Skandia by $255mn. Some $120mn of this will be raised through a rights issue. The rest of the funds will be obtained through intra group..
Generali
#
11 October 2002
The new president of Assicurazioni Generali, Antoine Bernheim, is expected to concentrate on the group’s core businesses. Generali is therefore unlikely to make any aquisitions in the near future. This is despite Mr Bernheim’s purchases..
Munich Re
#
11 October 2002
Munich Re is increasing the capital of its US subsidiary American Re by approximately $1.4bn. The measure was first announced in July of this year. The funds will come out of Munich Re’s existing resources.
The..
South Korean companies cut motor premium rates
#
11 October 2002
South Korean general insurers will cut premiums on motor insurance by between 1% and 6.2%, the Financial Supervisory Service has announced. FSS said that 11 of the country’s 14 general insurers including LG, Hyundai and..
Low sales force change in US annuity market
#
11 October 2002
Faced with declining sales of annuity products laden with hundreds of costly investment options, the nearly $830bn variable annuity market into US may undergo major changes, including the possible exit of several providers.
Two recent items..
South Korean market
#
11 October 2002
South Korea's insurers are increasing their investments outside the country as domestic investments are rendered less attractive by the decline in interest rates and the weakening of the local stock market.
The Korea Life Insurance Association..
17–30 September 2002
#
11 October 2002
Late Reports
13.9, explosion, fatality
Ethiopia: an explosion in the two-storey Tigray Hotel in the busy Piazza district in Addis Ababa killed one woman and injured 37 people. Media reports first said that the blast was caused..
World insurance stock prices
#
11 October 2002
Company/group
Currency
31/12/01
19/9/02
3/10/02
Change from 19/9/02 %
Capitalisation US$ mn
© World Insurance Report
Ace
US$
40.15
31.60
28.76
(9.0)
7,547
AIG
US$
79.40
57.50
54.62
(5.0)
142,596
Allianz
€
266.00
91.60
87.00
(5.0)
24,440
Allstate
US$
33.70..
Company profile: Asian Re
#
11 October 2002
Established in 1979 through an initiative of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Asian Re accepts reinsurance business from the insurance markets of member states and from other..
Singapore implements new motor risk assessment system
#
11 October 2002
Singapore’s General Insurance Association has introduced a new risk assessment system that rates motorists from high to low risk and which is intended to help insurance companies price their cover accordingly.
The idea behind the scheme..
EU intermediaries
#
11 October 2002
The European Union’s council of ministers has finally approved the Insurance Mediation Directive which is now likely to come into force in late 2004.
The new law is based on the proposals made in September 2000,..
Compulsory motor cover to come to Russia
#
11 October 2002
With compulsory motor insurance due in July 2003, the Russian motor insurance market is set for a massive transformation.
The price war once evident in the market is over, and has been for some time, according..
EC reveals aviation insurance plans
#
11 October 2002
The European Commission has unveiled plans for an EU-wide aviation insurance regime. Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio wants to impose common, minimum standards of cover and to clarify third party liability issues. She was due..
Caribbean to develop early warning system to mitigate impact of climate change
#
11 October 2002
An Early Warning System (EWS) for detecting the effects of climate change which could help insurance companies, among other interest groups, better plan risk management strategies, is being developed in the Caribbean under a US$3.5mn..
Cost of insurance at centre of Irish political agenda
#
11 October 2002
Mary Harney, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, has pledged to make reduction of insurance costs a high priority for the newly elected coalition government.
Addressing the Insurance Institute of Ireland, Ms Harney said the government would consider..
Concern as Chilean pension industry stands on the verge of momentous transformation
#
11 October 2002
The initial 90-day period whereby members of Chile’s remaining seven private pension funds (known as AFPs) can choose between five types of investment options for their accumulated savings ends on 29 October.
This is the first-time..
Europe
#
25 October 2002
Le Mans Re
Le Mans Re, the French multi-line reinsurance company, which is majority owned by XL Capital, is expanding its casualty and engineering capacity for the 2003 underwriting year. French insurance group MMA has a..
North America/Bermuda
#
25 October 2002
Terrorism bill stalled by differences over legal liability question
Differences about the extent to which businesses would be liable for damages to third parties in the event of a terrorist attack on the scale of the..
World insurance stock prices
#
25 October 2002
Company/group
Currency
31/12/01
3/10/02
17/10/02
Change from
3/10/02 %
Capitalisation US$ mn
* as at close 15th October
© World Insurance Report
Ace
US$
40.15
28.76
34.70
20.7
9,105
AIG
US$
79.40
54.62
64.86
18.7
169,329
Allianz
€
266.00..
Company profile: Trenwick International
#
25 October 2002
Bermuda-based Trenwick Group realigned the business written by its two London distribution platforms at the end of 2001. Treaty reinsurance for non-US ceding companies previously written by Trenwick International (TIL) was moved to Chartwell (now..
Axa
#
25 October 2002
Axa, the biggest insurance group in France, had a difficult year in 2001. The company’s result was hit by a significant diminution in the value of its equity investments and by substantial losses arising from..
Kazakhstan: market expansion driven by voluntary insurance covers
#
25 October 2002
The Kazakhstan insurance market grew by 70% to Tenge13.9bn (US$92mn) in 2001, according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the Central Asian republic’s insurance regulatory body. The bank says the market’s high growth rate was..
Peru introduces export credit insurance
#
25 October 2002
Peru’s Finance Development Corporation (Cofide) has launched an export credit insurance scheme. The scheme was first announced by the Peruvian government some months ago as part of a broad package of measures to encourage exports...
Rise in kidnappings poses problems for Argentine insurers
#
25 October 2002
A rash of kidnappings in Argentina has brought new challenges for the country’s already beleaguered insurers.
More than 180 cases have rated police investigation so far this year. Many lesser crimes go unreported, especially cases of..
Terrorist cover
#
25 October 2002
The General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) is in the process of submitting a report on the need for a terrorism reinsurance pool to support property insurers in Singapore. The report will call on the..
Loss forecasts
#
25 October 2002
Moody’s Investors Service’ latest forecast for Lloyd’s is that the market will suffer a loss of £2.4bn for the 2000 year of account and £2.6bn for the 2001 year of account. The rating agency points..
Capital resources and the resurgence of the subscription market
#
25 October 2002
The prospects of the Lloyd’s insurance market have improved significantly since November last year. Back then, the market had to face up, not only to its 11 September exposures, but also to the massive losses..
EU insurance support for airlines scrapped
#
25 October 2002
The economic ministers’ council of the European Union has effectively signed the death warrant of the state guarantees accorded to airlines to cover third-party liability losses on the ground in the case of a terrorist..
Irish market results: operating loss despite steep rate increases
#
25 October 2002
Steep rate increases last year helped Irish nonlife insurers to recover from the dire results of 2000, according to figures released recently by the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF). Their total underwriting loss shrank from €453mn..
Allianz in China
#
25 October 2002
An Allianz joint-venture in China has obtained a ‘preparation’ licence to establish a fund management company, Guotai Junan Allianz Fund Management Co.
The moves that led to the award of the licence were started eight years..
France to change medicial liability law to avoid crisis
#
25 October 2002
The French government wants to make changes to the law to prevent insurers from withdrawing third-party liability cover for doctors, private hospitals, and clinics. The draft law is being submitted to interested parties for comment.
The..
Asia
#
25 October 2002
China takes hardline
China’s leading anti-corruption official has been appointed as the new chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. Wu Dingfu, formerly an official at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the agency which monitors..
27 September–9 October 2002
#
25 October 2002
Late reports
27.9, sinking, fatalities
Senegal: about 970 people died when ferry Le Joola
(2,087 gt, built 1990), carrying nearly 1,034 people sank off the Gambian coast. Only 64 people are known to have survived. The ferry..
Company profile: Reasuransi Nasional Indonesia
#
25 October 2002
Incorporated in 1994, Reasuransi Nasional is one of four domestic reinsurers operating in the Indonesian market.
The company is wholly owned by the state-owned insurer PT Asuransi Kredit Indonesia (ASKRINDO)
Nasional’s performance in 2001 continued to be..
Tanzania: strong growth as public confidence in market returns
#
25 October 2002
Tanzania’s insurance industry had a good year in 2001. The market was boosted through a combination of strong premium growth and a reduction in nonlife underwriting losses.
Gross written premiums for the overall insurance market grew..
St Paul Companies sells Argentine unit
#
25 October 2002
Argentine health care service provider, Grupo Swiss Medical (GSM) last week signed an agreement with St Paul Multinational Holdings, to acquire all of St Paul’s local nonlife insurance business, St Paul Argentina Compañía de Seguros,..
Bolivia
#
25 October 2002
Bolivian insurers are complaining about their fast vanishing profit margins on compulsory traffic accident insurance (SOAT) business. By the end of August 2002, the market’s written premium income for this class had reached only US$5.5mn..
Chilean insurers to better manage investment risks
#
25 October 2002
Chile’s Insurance and Securities Superintendency (SVS) will from next month require that local insurers adopt a market risk assessment model for their investment portfolios, according to a statement made at the opening of the 9th..
Medical indemnity insurers driven out of market by rise in claims
#
25 October 2002
A crisis in health-related insurance is forcing many hospitals and clinics in Argentina to operate without liability/malpractice cover.
The latest problem facing the country’s once-vaunted health insurance system has been caused by a mass exit by..
Indian health insurance set for rapid growth
#
25 October 2002
The introduction last week of a cashless claim service by Indian health insurers is seen as a significant development for the market as it allows policy holders to obtain medical treatment at authorised hospitals without..
Hungary
#
25 October 2002
The Hungarian insurers’ association (MABISZ) and the financial sector supervisory authority (PSZAF) are considering changes to the country’s insurance law to prepare for the forthcoming entry to the European Union.
The present focus is on the..
Gerling seeks capital ahead of Baden-Baden
#
25 October 2002
The Gerling Group continues to look for an investor to inject capital into Gerling Global Re. There was speculation that if the group failed to do this before the reinsurers’ annual meeting in Baden-Baden this..
Coping with earthquakes in Chile
#
25 October 2002
‘A small earthquake in Chile’ is something of a journalistic catch phrase, but it does not change the fact that Chile is indeed prone to natural disasters, among them earthquakes. There are several fault lines..
Lloyd's and the Lloyd's Crest are trademarks of the Society incorporated by the Lloyd's Act 1871
by the name of Lloyd's
