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Company profile: Munich Re of Africa
Although Munich Reinsurance Company of Africa (MroA) saw a 13% reduction in its gross premium income in 1999, it managed to increase pre-tax profits by 130% to R44.9mn. Although the improvement in the pre-tax result was almost entirely due to a 300%..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
GE Frankona Re
Last year was not a good one for ERC Frankona, as GE Frankona Re was then called. Despite a relatively low retention rate the company still managed to rake up an enormous underwriting loss of around DMmn813mn (US$420mn). Despite this, an increased..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Record number of mergers in 2000
The first 11 months of 2000 produced a record 607 insurance merger announcements (in 1999, 573 had been announced at the 11-month stage) with 75 new deals announced in November alone.
The most striking thing about November was that there were no..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Pain before gain
I
t has been a hard decade for aviation insurers in the London companies market. Not only have they traded at a loss for eight of the last 10 years, but they have also suffered record claims over the last three. Now, at long last, the market is..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Tower to buy Aetna policies
New Zealand’s Commerce Commission has given permission for the takeover of Aetna Insurance’s 40,000 health insurance policies by Tower. Aetna sold its New Zealand subsidiary to the country’s largest health insurer, the Southern..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
MetLife eyes private market
Metropolitan Life (Argentina), one of the US life insurers working in Argentina since the early 1990s, has decided to set up its own pension fund manager – an AFJP. The company is due to start operating in March next year.
The shareholders..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Scor refocuses US life business
European insurance groups continue to strengthen their presence in the US life reinsurance market.
The most recent entrant, France’s Scor group, announced last week that its US subsidiary Scor Life US Re, established only five months ago, has..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Tata-AIG on final stretch
Tata-AIG General Insurance, the joint venture between the Mumbai-based Tata group of industries and US giant American Insurance Group has been asked by India’s Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority to file application for the..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
XL buys CGU Surety
Following from the sale of its US general insurance business, CGNU has sold its US surety business. The buyer is Bermuda’s XL Capital through its US subsidiary XL Specialty Insurance. The purchase includes inforce business as well as CGU..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
All eyes on Parion as market prepares for change
The much-awaited restructuring of the German insurance market is finally gathering pace, but is not likely to reach full speed before 2002.
From 1 January 2002 onwards capital gains from the sale of companies or stakes in companies will be tax..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
World loss log 28 November–11 December
Late reports
27.11, crash, fatality
US: a pilot was killed when his Cessna single-engine aircraft collided with a Cessna 172 four-seater about 30 miles west of Houston, Texas and then crashed on interstate highway 10. The pilot of the second..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
World insurance stock prices
Company/group
Currency
1999 year end
16/11/00
30/11/00
% change from 16/11/00
Capitalisation US$mn
1. CGU
Ace
US$
16.69
39.50
39.00
(1.3)
8,656
AIG
US$
72.09
96.94
96.56
(0.4)..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Company profile: Hibernian Re
Hibernian Re is the small reinsurance arm of large Irish insurer Hibernian. It, in turn, is owned by UK colossus CGNU.
The company writes all its business from Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre. It also writes all its business..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Company profile: Arab Re
Arab Reinsurance Company SAL was established in Lebanon in 1972 to develop and provide reinsurance capacity for the Arab insurance markets through its management of the Arab Reinsurance Pool. In addition to managing the pool, Arab Re also writes..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Countering hostile bids
O
ur report indicates that the first 11 months of 2000 produced a record number of insurance mergers: 75 new deals were announced in November alone. But as WIR reports from Brussels, a move within the European Parliament to change company takeover..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Single regulator
Finland is planning to combine its banking and insurance regulators to create a single financial services inspectorate. If the move succeeds, it will put an end to several years of wrangling.
The move has been largely prompted by the imminent..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Privacy objection
An application from New Zealand’s leading credit and debt collection agency to buy records of patients from the Accident & Compensation Insurance Corporation (ACC) has alarmed New Zealand’s privacy commissioner, who has voiced..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Against the tide: NZ’s renationalisation
The reintroduction of lump sum compensation payments, in addition to weekly disability benefits, for accident victims means New Zealand’s recently renationalised, unique accident insurance system has undergone a full reinstatement of its..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
HIHNZ outrates parent
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has removed its negative CreditWatch from HIH Casualty & General Insurance (NZ) (HIHNZ), the main trading entity of HIH New Zealand. It also affirmed the company’s A- credit rating.
This means..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
SPP issue creates market
SPP’s plans to return excess funds to its clients have spawned a secondary market in pension rights in Sweden (see WIR 652/9)
. In the course of the November issue rights worth some SwKr200mn were traded. Since the money from SPP is to be used..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Australia bars genetic testing
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has granted authorisation for two years to a proposed agreement by life insurers that they will not require applicants for life insurance to undergo genetic testing. The ACCC said there..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Brokers oppose demutualisation
The Swedish insurance brokers’ association SFM has expressed doubts about plans to demutualise life insurer Handelsbanken Liv. SFM chairman Mats Lindkvist was concerned that Handelsbanken Liv’s 270,000 policyholders would only benefit..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Model predicts hailstorm losses
The hailstorm that cut a swathe through Sydney in April 1999 cost insurers about A$1.7bn. For the Australian insurance industry it was one the worst natural disaster in the country’s history. A computer model that predicts hailstorm losses for..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Hungarian health market lifts
Two companies already active on the Hungarian insurance market are gearing up for the forthcoming restructuring of the health insurance sector. Due to the infancy of private healthcare provision, there are a limited number of health insurance..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Overseas investment in Taiwan
Taiwan has taken a significant step in preparing its insurance sector for the challenges of globalisation. The government extended the limit on overseas investment by local insurers from 10% to 20% of their insurance funds. The move could see the..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
New chief at Sampo
Björn Wahlroos, former head of investment bank Mandatum, is taking over as chief executive of newly-merged Finnish bancassurer Sampo-Leonia. The appointment of Mr Wahlroos follows the forced resignation of Sampo-Leonia’s former chief..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
EFIC in private sector alliance
Australia’s Export Finance & Insurance Corporation (EFIC) chairman Ian Payne has welcomed the announcement by the country’s trade minister Mark Vaile that EFIC should seek an alliance with a private insurer to improve credit..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
Life and annuity market grows in Argentina
Figures released by the Argentinian insurers’ association has revealed the life and annuities sector collected P2.35bn (US$2.35mn) of premiums for the period to September 2000. It now represents 0.85% of Argentina’s GDP. Life premiums..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
A fine balance
Christine Farnish,
director of consumer relations at the Financial Services Authority, explains how the interests of consumers will be protected under the new ‘risk-based’ model that will regulate the activities of insurers, banks and..
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05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001
NRMA consultant to be sued
Following the leak of a confidential board report into the use of proxies at the annual general meeting in 1998 (see WIR 651/8)
NRMA chairman Nick Whitlam is to sue his former strategic consultant Robert Dempsey for breach of confidence.
Extracts..
Online Published Date:
05 January 2001
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653 - 05 January 2001