You are here:
Print Editions
World Insurance Report
Browse Archive by Year
Browse 2008 Archive by Month
Articles for March 2008
Security
#
03 March 2008
8.2, hi-jacking
Somalia: talks with pirates who seized tug Svitzer Korsakov
, carrying a Russian-British-Irish crew off the coast of Somalia two weeks earlier continued. Copenhagen-based Svitzer A/S, owners of tug Svitzer Korsakov
said in a statement..
Aviation
#
03 March 2008
7.2, air crash investigation
Venezuela: Italian experts were sent to Venezuela to investigate the disappearance of an aircraft that crashed at sea in January with 14 people on board, including eight Italians. Experts from Italy’s navy,..
Natural catastrophes
#
03 March 2008
6.2, storms
Canada: stormy weather caused problems for road and ferry traffic in parts of British Columbia. High winds forced BC Ferries to suspend all sailings between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen until further notice. Environment Canada..
Marine
#
03 March 2008
5.2, missing vessel
Egypt: Egyptian authorities launched a search to find a cargo ship that went missing in the Red Sea on its way to Sudan. General cargo vessel Badr I
(1121 gt, built 1962) left..
Liability, awards and settlements
#
03 March 2008
8.2, New Delhi Express, legal action
US: Seaspan Ship Management and Seaspan Corporation, owners of fully cellular containership New Delhi Express
, sued the US government over an April 2006 grounding in Kill Van Kull, blaming the..
Property damage and business interruption
#
03 March 2008
5.2, damage to undersea internet cable
Middle East, Asia: less than a week after Egypt lost two-thirds of its international networking cables, two more lines were cut off the coast of Dubai. Cables linking the United..
Arab Insurance Group (Arig)
#
03 March 2008
Management is concerned that rising rates in its main markets in 2006 obscured the wider success of Arig’s restructuring efforts
Market’s prospects raised by success of private sector companies
#
03 March 2008
The licensing of private insurers in Iran in 2001 has provided the market with real competition for the first time in years. These companies are innovative and have been established on western principles. With around 18% of gross premiums currently being written by the private insurers, change may be coming quicker than originally anticipated. The next few years will be pivotal in the development of the Iranian insurance market
US sector stocks plunge on new doubts about AIG credit portfolio
#
03 March 2008
Insurance and reinsurance stocks tracked by WIR continued to experience mixed fortunes for the fortnight ending 21 February. Only this time there was something of a reversal of fortunes between the US, Europe and Asian.
European..
Swiss Re joins foreign admitted reinsurers in Brazil
#
03 March 2008
There are about 15 foreign reinsurers operating under Brazil’s new reinsurance laws • Brazilian life insurance market gains 13% • Swiss reinsurer Glacier Re enters Latin America with Buenos Aires office
Axa takes leading market position with Seguros ING acquisition
#
03 March 2008
ING will be left to focus on life and pensions in Mexico • Government invests in cover to protect against natural disasters
Mid-term government identifies pensions as issue for next election
#
03 March 2008
Measures to address vulnerabilities in the country’s much admired private pensions system were finally approved in January
Speculation rises as Ping An proceeds with $22bn IPO
#
03 March 2008
The Chinese insurer is now the subject of rumours that it will acquire stakes in overseas insurers
Best loss ratio for eight years boosts market’s underwriting profits
#
03 March 2008
The top three insurers in Australia have consolidated their share of the local market taking 91% of all business
Insurance, pensions and the UK economy
#
03 March 2008
While the prospect of a recession is low in the UK, high levels of personal debt and lack of savings remain concerns
Life insurers fear saturation as policies in force remain static
#
03 March 2008
While life premiums continued their ascent, the number of policies stayed at 3.3m • Groupama buys OTP insurance subsidiary
Renewals vindicate Scor’s acquisition of Converium
#
03 March 2008
The integration of Converium did not impact January renewals • Munich Re issues $100mn mortality bond
Market leaders report combined 2007 losses of $4bn
#
03 March 2008
Both MBIA and Radian Group say it will be difficult to shake off the challenges of the current environment
Travelers to defend asbestos-related litigation, reserves unchanged
#
03 March 2008
An appeals court has overturned Travelers’ asbestos settlement agreed in 2006
How does an insurer prepare for a pandemic?
#
03 March 2008
In the week that Munich Re established a $1.5bn bond programme for pandemic risk, Tom Bakke,
business continuity co-ordinator for Dutch insurance group Delta Lloyd, gives an account of how his own organisation views and is addressing the issue
Using the post as a communications tool
#
03 March 2008
It is becoming increasingly evident that the traditional consumer/supplier relationship in the insurance market is changing. In the financial services sector, according to
Abi Wood
, head of financial marketing at Royal Mail in the UK,..
Chinese companies win Re contract in Pakistan
#
03 March 2008
Despite ceding 98% of the risk to foreign reinsurers, Adamjee says it is not contravening local rules on ‘fronting’ by domestic companies in Pakistan
Cashing in on the crunch
#
03 March 2008
As Odyssey Re enjoys the rewards of its bold investment strategy, the news from companies more reliant on underwriting to drive profits is a lot less exciting
North America
#
17 March 2008
London market insurance group Beazley is offering US law firms a risk management package which combines legal malpractice insurance cover as well as professional reputation management advisory services. In order to provide the latter, Beazley..
Aviation
#
17 March 2008
20.2, aircraft grounded
Singapore: Singapore Airlines said an A380 flight had to be grounded due to a fuel pump defect, the first major technical glitch to ground the world’s largest passenger jet. The carrier said the..
Natural catastrophes
#
17 March 2008
20.2, tropical cyclone Ivan
Mozambique: tropical cyclone “Ivan” had been downgraded to a tropical storm as it headed for flood-ravaged Mozambique after killing 60 people on the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, where it reportedly flattened..
Marine
#
17 March 2008
19.2, fire, fatalities
Brazil: three Chilean sailors were confirmed dead following a fire on board vehicle carrier Rio Blanco in the port of Santos. Investigators from the Chilean Navy were sent to Brazil to help with..
Liability, awards and settlements
#
17 March 2008
19.2, toxic waste, criminal charges
Netherlands: Dutch prosecutors planned to file criminal charges against oil trading company Trafigura and the Amsterdam council over their roles in the incident involving toxic waste from combined bulk and oil..
Property damage and business interruption
#
17 March 2008
19.2, explosion
US: shares of Alon USA Energy fell to their lowest level in more than a decade after the Dallas-based petroleum refiner announced that its Big Spring refinery in West Central Texas was temporarily shut..
Axis Capital Holdings
#
17 March 2008
Catastrophe business currently accounts for around 30.0% of the reinsurance division’s income. However, the company learned some profound lessons in 2004 and 2005 and continues to grow the volume of its non-catastrophe exposed business
Cost of compliance forces smaller brokers to consolidate
#
17 March 2008
A number of recent studies have suggested surprisingly high levels of non-insurance and under-insurance in Australia. According to a recent survey by the Insurance Council of Australia, 26% of households in New South Wales have no form of buildings or contents insurance. According to new research by insurer CGU, 65% of small businesses have no consequential loss insurance and most businesses fail to increase their property sums insured on a regular basis
AIG’s $11.0bn write down scuppers market’s efforts at recovery
#
17 March 2008
It was far from the relentless downward slide as suggested by the closing figures in the table below. Indeed, there were quite a few moments of hope, accompanied by strong recoveries in the value of..
Latin American market grew by 20.1% in 2006
#
17 March 2008
The region’s non-life market in 2006 was characterised by strong price competition, although broader factors which contributed to economic development in these countries worked in favour of premium growth
Net profitability down in Chile, despite increase in premium income
#
17 March 2008
The 19.4% increase in the premium income of Chilean insurers last year (measured in real terms), to a total of US$6.1bn, did not extend to the companies’ bottom line performance.
The 46 companies reporting by the..
Most of UK ‘blissfully’ unaware of financial risks
#
17 March 2008
The ‘protection gap’ – expressed as the failure to make adequate provision for financial emergencies – is as wide as 20% of personal disposable income in the UK, according to recent calculations by Swiss Re Life & Health.
Bebear steps down as chairman of Axa
#
17 March 2008
The French group’s underlying earnings rose by 27% last year, reflecting solid growth across all segments
US individual life and annuity sales buoyant
#
17 March 2008
Record sales of variable annuities continued to drive the growth of individual annuity business in 2007, according to LIMRA
Turned down by the banks, Ambac turns to stock market for funds
#
17 March 2008
The company had previously told investors that as a result of market conditions and other factors – including rating agency actions – raising equity capital was not an attractive option
Bancassurance in Japan: Lessons from Europe and the US
#
17 March 2008
√In December 2007, Japan opened up its bancassurance market. Banks have been allowed to sell a limited range of products, primarily annuities and homeowners’ insurance, since the early 2000s, but this recent move represents one of the largest changes to the Japanese markets in the past few years. Here, Catherine Stagg-Macey*, senior analyst with research and advisory firm Celent’s Insurance Group and Neil Katkov*, managing director of Celent’s Asia Research Group, examine the Japanese life and non-life insurance industries against the backdrop of mature bancassurance markets abroad and analyse the critical factors for success
The data security life cycle
#
17 March 2008
Every day sees another headline that illustrates how data protection has been ignored resulting in vital government or corporate data that has been exposed or lost. Yet it is common knowledge that government agencies and..
Life profits put Hannover Re ahead in Europe
#
17 March 2008
Hannover Re chief executive Wilhelm Zeller was optimistic about the company’s medium term outlook based on what he calls its ‘cycle thermometer’. Mr Zeller noted that the number of non-proportional treaties renewed in January at lower rates had exceeded the number renewed at higher rates for the first time during the present cycle
Aviation
#
31 March 2008
4.3, helicopter crash, fatalities
Nepal: a United Nations helicopter crashed while flying in bad weather in Nepal’s mountainous east, killing 12 people including at least seven UN staff. The helicopter went down about 125 miles east..
Natural catastrophes
#
31 March 2008
4.3, bad weather
Mexico: the government closed the country’s three main crude oil exporting ports for up to three days due to bad weather in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf ports of Dos Bocas, Cayo..
Marine
#
31 March 2008
6.3, capsizing, fatalities
Vietnam: Vietnamese rescue workers struggled to locate 13 missing sailors and stave off a potential major oil slick after Tanker Duc Tri
overturned in the South China Sea. Rescue workers believed that the..
Liability, awards and settlements
#
31 March 2008
5.3, damages
UK: the owner of the very large crude oil tanker Front Ace
(144652 gt, built 1993) won a Court of Appeal battle to increase the amount of damages it is to receive from the..
Property and business interruption
#
31 March 2008
6.3, Coastguard stoppage
UK: the UK was dependent on contingency plans for coastguard cover as workers at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency launched a 24-hour stoppage in pursuit of a pay claim. The Prospect and Public..
Berkshire Hathaway
#
31 March 2008
Thanks to the Equitas deal Berkshire’s net earned premiums from its insurance and reinsurance activities jumped by 33% to $31.8bn in 2007. This enabled Berkshire’s total revenue from (re)insurance to rise by 29% to $36.6bn in 2007
Market reliant on compulsory motor and loan covers for growth
#
31 March 2008
While individuals in Benin tend to go directly to insurance companies, corporate entities tend to buy their insurance through brokers, because they understand better the service brokers provide. The result is that a single major broker can generate anywhere up to half of the turnover of an individual company, depending on the profile (corporate or otherwise) of an insurer’s portfolio of business
Recovery driven by unstinting commitment of federal authorities
#
31 March 2008
Recovery’ is necessarily a contentious term given the current volatility in the financial markets, but insurance and reinsurance stocks put in their strongest performance over the two week period ending 20 March. The gains (or,..
Premiums continue downward trend in competitive market
#
31 March 2008
Motor insurance, the market’s largest and most competitive class of business, kept premiums low
Fears rise over private medical insurance slump in Chile
#
31 March 2008
A substantial rise in claims is expected to cast a cloud over the sector’s 2007 results
Insurers’ fortunes change in line with economic recovery
#
31 March 2008
The Argentine economy is enjoying one of its best periods in history, with annual growth rates of around 9% since 2003
Allianz premium growth outperforms German market
#
31 March 2008
Premiums rose by 1.6% against a market rise of 0.2% • Generali profits up 21% • Lloyd’s positions for Polish licence
Insurers’ models fail to keep pace with rising flood losses
#
31 March 2008
The industry’s flood models rely heavily on data from the 1960s and 1970s when floods in Europe were less common
US reinsurers record further rise in underwriting profits
#
31 March 2008
Despite improved underwriting results, US reinsurers’ pre-tax income of $9.7bn for 2007 was some $2bn lower than 2006
Tort cost poll ranks Florida at bottom of US states
#
31 March 2008
However Florida, along with Colorado, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Indiana and Michigan, are expected to improve ranking
Wasa V Lexington: reinsurers take note!
#
31 March 2008
On 29 February 2008, the English Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in the case of Wasa International Insurance Co Ltd and AGF Insurance Co Ltd v Lexington Insurance Co (Court of Appeal, 29 February 2008)
, reversing the decision of the judge at first instance and over turning the expected approach of the English courts to ‘follow the settlements’ cases involving US insurers and reinsurance contracts governed by English law. Here, Katy-Marie Wilson
, a partner in the Reinsurance and International Risk team at London law firm, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, considers the implications of this unexpected, but significant, judgement for the insurance industry
Regulating the bond insurers
#
31 March 2008
The current problems for the municipal bond market arose when the bond or financial guaranty insurers’ credit rating was threatened by deterioration in the subprime mortgage market. The bond insurers had also insured billions of..
Beyond bancassurance
#
31 March 2008
Insurance companies in India are now looking more seriously at alternative distribution channels such as insurance brokers, agents and retail chains
Takeover delay saves Scor
#
31 March 2008
Converium’s book since the acquisition benefited from favourable commutations and better than expected results from its Lloyd’s operation
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
