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World Loss Log 18 April – 1 May
Late reports
15.4, mine explosion, fatalities
China: a gas explosion in the Yongcai coal mine in central Shanxi province buried 44 miners with only 1 survivor. 40 dead, 3 missing presumed dead.
Property and Business Interruption
20.4, car..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Company Profile: Chubb Corporation
With assets in excess of $23.5bn, New Jersey-based Chubb ranks among the five largest publicly listed insurance stocks in the world – an impressive achievement for the company that listed on the New York stock exchange in 1984.
Chubb can trace..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Swiss Re grows
Swiss Re has announced its sixth successive year of double-digit profit growth with group 1999 earnings climbing 12% to SwFr2.81bn (US$1.71bn). The board has proposed a dividend of SwFr50, up from SwFr48 the previous year.
The strong result was due..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Bids please
Keen not to be left behind, reinsurers are venturing into the world of e-commerce. Some are offering capacity on-line, others assessment of risks. But very few reinsurance companies will admit to not having a future e-commerce plan.
Cedants, though,..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Weathering the storms
With a costly year now behind them, French reinsurers are looking to see if the events of last December are the truly the final nails in the coffin of the soft market.
Some of the answer should come in July this year. Due to concerns over the Y2K..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Steffey resigns from ReAC
Faced with a hostile upcoming annual general meeting, ReAC’s chief executive Nick Steffey has resigned. In a brief note to the Australian stock exchange, the company said that both it and Mr Steffey has “retained their rights.” Mr..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
JL Jones
Innovating Lloyd’s marine-underwriting Syndicate 329, JL Jones & Others is to terminate its relationship with the US-based Markel group. The decision follows Markel’s recent takeover of the Terra Nova group, JL Jones’ original..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Iffco-Tokio
Close on the heels of Royal & SunAlliance finding a general insurance partner in India, Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance of Japan and Indian Farmers’ Fertiliser Co-operative (Iffco) have announced a new non-life partnership.
Iffco, the..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
NRMA
NRMA has revealed that the investment bankers Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), Macquarie Bank and UBS Warburg will act as joint global co-ordinators for the company’s float in July. Deutsche Bank, JB Were, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Amlin merges syndicates
The managing agency of insurer Amlin is to consolidate its managed syndicates 902 and 1141 into Syndicate 2001.
Amlin became the managing agency for the two syndicates after Amlin Underwriting Limited (AUL) merged with Angerstein Underwriting in..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
SVB turns profit
SVB Holdings turned in a profit of £23.8mn (US$37.8mn) for 1999 compared with a loss of £2.3mn for 1998. SVB Holdings, which owns five syndicates through its subsidiary SVB Syndicates, said the result included a £13.3mn write off of..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Over the peak
Rating’s agency Moody’s has forecast that Lloyd’s market losses will peak in 1999, but that year 2000 operations will still produce a deficit of almost £500mn (US$800mn).
Moody’ noted that previous years’ forecasts..
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12 May 2000
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US New voices oppose tax reform
The war of words over a bill designed to close a perceived ‘loophole’ in US tax law has heated up with the Bermudian premier and a cross-industry body both raising their voices in opposition to the move.
The bill in question, HR 4192, is..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Australia Reinsurance deregulation rejected
Proposals to deregulate the Australian reinsurance industry have collapsed following industry consultations by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (Apra). The regulatory body said that submissions to its proposed reforms of prudential..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
No insurance for wild virus
Companies with computers attacked by the ‘ILOVEYOU’ virus are unlikely to find any solace for damages caused from their insurers. While policies in the field of e-commerce are developing, there is little chance of rogue viruses gaining..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Football failures seek cover
English football club Chelsea was recently reported to be considering the purchase of an insurance policy to cover against the possibility that it would fail to qualify for the European Champion’s League competition next season. Spanish club..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
An independent option
Lloyd’s has unveiled a new cover to protect US firms against the cost of hostile takeover bids. The new Strategic Defence Insurance (SDI) has been developed by UK-based TOI Corporate Services (TOI) and provides protection for the cost of..
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12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Superior National files for bankruptcy
Superior National Insurance Group (SN), the holding company for four California-domiciled insurers, has filed for bankruptcy protection after a Superior Court upheld the rehabilitation plan proposed by the California Department of Insurance (CDI),..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Berkshire buys
Berkshire Hathaway is to acquire United States Investment Corp, a small commercial, professional and personal lines insurer. The company, based in King of Prussia, PA, sells its policies through agents in all 50 states and the District of..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
QBE throws down gauntlet
Australian insurer QBE has launched a counter bid for Limit, the largest Lloyd’s listed insurer. The provocative move came just days after Limit and fellow Lloyd’s insurer Wellington published details of their own proposal to form a..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
German giants swap stakes
Munich Re and Allianz have announced that they will cut their mutual stakes from 25% to 20% in several steps up to 2003. The programme will start in 2001, when – according to the Berlin government’s plans – proceeds from the sale..
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12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Ace and Willis in bold PCC move
Ace and Willis have joined forces to form a Protected Cell Company (PCC) in Guernsey. Ace, which will own company Ace PCC Insurance (Ace PCC), has allocated $200mn of capacity to the venture with the aim of becoming the largest PCC in Guernsey...
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
ERC Frankona
ERC Frankona chief executive Bernhard Fink has claimed that 1999 was the worst year since the war for reinsurers. He said he expected higher prices at the end of this year, since storms Anatol, Lothar and Martin came too late to have an impact on..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Gerling reports ‘best year’ ever
Björn Jansli, chief executive of Gerling-Konzern Allgemeine (GKA), the main non-life vehicle of the Gerling group, reported the “best year of our history”, but was decidedly unhappy about events last year. The main reason: the high..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Dai-ichi
Japan’s insurance regulator has ordered Dai-ichi Mutual Fire & Marine to cease trading after the insurer abandoned efforts to increase its reserves. The Financial Supervisory Agency (FSA) said it had no alternative but to shut down the..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Pohjola
Pohjola has commissioned a report from consultant Fox-Pitt Kelton to outline the options for Pohjola’s shareholders notably its two largest ones, the group led by Ilmarinen and Osuuspankki, and the still merging Sampo-Leonia. The objective is..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
NIA
New India Assurance (NIA), India’s largest non-life player, has obtained permission from the Chinese authorities to open a representative office in Beijing. NIA chairman SK Kanwar said the company is seeking a license to operate in the..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
Sampo
Finland’s Financial Supervision Authority and Competition Authority have finally approved the plan to merge Sampo with the state-owned bank Leonia. But the approval of the Insurance Supervision Authority, which is also necessary for a final..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
India IRDA shortens application procedure
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is expected to begin receiving applications for registration and licensing of new companies for three months from 15 June. It plans to complete the scrutiny of applications, choosing which..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
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637 - 12 May 2000
US P/C insurers call in the feds
The property/casualty business in the US has, for two decades, been debating the benefits of state versus federal regulation of insurance. Smaller, regional companies that do not operate nationally prefer the state-by-state approach because it is..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
Appeared in issue:
637 - 12 May 2000
Hacker warning
The New Zealand Insurance Council has warned that companies and website providers will have to introduce adequate security standards before the New Zealand insurance industry provides insurance cover against attacks by computer hackers. These..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
Appeared in issue:
637 - 12 May 2000
Brokers and the internet: survival of the e-fittest…
Ted Blanch
, chairman and chief executive officer of EW Blanch Holdings, argues that the ‘e’ revolution is a new start, not an end, for the reinsurance broker.
‘Throughout history, the development of commerce has been accelerated..
Online Published Date:
12 May 2000
Appeared in issue:
637 - 12 May 2000