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Taiwan slams war charges
Asia-Pacific
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
CGNU to become Aviva
Europe
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Buffett wants transparency
North America
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
World insurance stock prices
Company/group
Currency
31/12/01
21/2/02
7/3/02
Change from 21/2/02 %
Capitalisation US$ mn
* Formerly NRMA Insurance Group
© World Insurance Report
Ace
US$
40.15
41.82
43.11
3.1
11,201
..
Online Published Date:
15 March 2002
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Yasuda Fire & Marine
Yasuda Fire & Marine is the second-largest nonlife insurer in Japan.
The company, which was established in 1888, is set to merge with Nissan Fire & Marine on 1 July 2002.
Yasuda, the surviving entity, will be renamed Sompo Japan Insurance...
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Part 1: increase of 24% in gross premium income signals hard market
Although UK reinsurers suffered record losses during 1999, the year’s major disasters (the Danish and French windstorms) occurred so late in the year that they had little impact on reinsurance pricing at the January 2000 renewals.
But the..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Reinsurers revise WTC loss figures
Swiss Re now expects a loss of around SF200mn (US$119mn) for 2001. The precise figures will be released on 10 April.
The losses due to the attacks of 11 September have now been estimated at SF2.95bn after retrocession and tax, and the company will..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Scor stresses its commitment to US market
French reinsurer Scor had a tough time last year but the company is hopeful the next two years will be better.
Scor reported a group net loss of €278mn (US$242mn), a sharp deterioration from a net profit of €59mn for 2000 and marginally..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
La Fondiaria/SAI merger would rival Generali
Italian insurer SAI (Società Assicuratrice Industriale) is now considering a merger with La Fondiaria, which had earlier been targeted by Fiat-owned Toro.
Reports in the Italian press have suggested SAI has offered one of its own shares for..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
AGF plans to improve
French insurer AGF has promised investors that things will be better by 2004 after a slight fall in profits last year.
Much of the promised growth will be driven by the company’s life insurance business, although AGF is very much focused on..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Aegon opts for cautious approach
Dutch group Aegon was careful with its earnings forecasts for 2002, promising only that net income (and net income per share) would at least equal those achieved in 2001.
But neither analysts nor shareholders were particularly impressed with the..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Insurance losses hit Berkshire Hathaway
US retail services and insurance holding company Berkshire Hathaway has reported a 76% drop in net earnings from US$3.3bn in 2000 to $795mn for 2001. This uncharacteristically poor performance was a direct result of 11 September losses incurred by..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
New York cracks down on motor policy fraud
New York State Supreme Court has ruled in favour of changes to a no-fault motor insurance regulation to settle claims quicker in an attempt to cut down on insurance fraud. Insurance fraud has become the second largest economic crime in the US,..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Safeco plans to buy Swiss Re US businesses
Seattle-based insurer Safeco will buy Swiss Re’s US medical excess-of-loss and group life business in an effort to expand its life and health book. Safeco will acquire US$10mn in annual group life premiums and $240mn in medical excess-of-loss..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
American National responds to lawsuit
Texas-based American National Insurance has responded to a lawsuit brought by American International Group (AIG) by saying AIG breached a reinsurance agreement between the two companies when it refused American National access to important..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Managing the franchise
An important part of the Bain proposals for the reform of the Lloyd’s market is the formalisation of the Lloyd’s name or franchise. This entails a contractually binding franchise with Lloyd’s centrally acting as franchisor, and..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Dubai plans new centre
Middle East
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Brazilian brokers join forces
Latin America
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15 March 2002
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19 February – 4 March 2002
Late reports
18.02, explosion, fatalities
Mexico: an explosion at a brake pad factory near Mexico City killed four female plant workers and left seven others injured. It occurred at the Automanufacturas Brake factory in Tizayuca, 80km north of..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Company profile: Nigeria Re
The federal government of Nigeria has begun the process of privatising Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation but the process – which involves the sale of 71% of the government’s present 100% holding to private investors – has been..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Company profile: NRMA
NRMA Insurance Group (NIGL) is Australia’s largest general insurance group, providing motor, home, health, compulsory third-party and commercial insurance.
The company commenced trading on 22 July 2000 following the acquisition of NRMA..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Malaysian motor insurance review meets further delay
Bank Negara Malaysia, the country’s central bank, continues to ponder proposals to relieve the burden on motor insurers. The Malaysian cabinet deferred a proposed motor insurance review a few months ago, despite pressures from insurers led by..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Singapore body offers extension to motor insurance policies
Singapore’s General Insurance Association (GIA), which represents the country’s 35 motor insurers, is offering customers a policy extension that will allow private car owners to make a claim without losing their no-claims discount.
GIA..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
New Zealand’s Southern Cross loses clients
Southern Cross, New Zealand’s largest health insurer, with 80% of the market, has come under fire for failing to pay claims on time.
The Private Hospitals Association claims Southern Cross patients are owed NZ$40mn (US$16.8mn). Southern Cross..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Frustrated insurers demand long-term gilts
The lack of appropriate long-term investment options in India is becoming frustrating for local insurers.
So much so that the Indian insurance regulatory authorities are trying to persuade the government to issue 30-year gilts to enable insurers and..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Australian commercial rates increase by 28%
Domestic insurance costs in Australia have increased by 8% since June 2001, while commercial insurance costs have returned to pre-1993 levels, with an average increase of 20%, according to the latest J P Morgan/Deloitte/ Trowbridge 2002 interim..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
India considers 3.5% gross premium tax on nonlife insurers
Indian finance minister Yashwant Sinha is expected to impose a 3.5% tax on nonlife insurers’ gross premium income.
Finance ministry sources indicated taxable income would amount to Rs90bn (US$1.8bn) to create a catastrophe fund of Rs3.2bn.
As..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
India makes changes to state insurer chiefs
The Indian government is changing the top management at the four state-run general insurance companies.
H S Wadhwa, a general manager of National Insurance, will be taking over as acting chairman of the company. It is not clear if the government is..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
ING refrains from profit forecasts
The ING board would not offer a profit forecast for 2002 but the company has promised that performance improvement will be an absolute priority as it moves to further integrate its US insurance operations and make new efforts to acquaint its..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Irish market produces mixed initial results
The Irish insurance market looks to have improved substantially in 2001 if the results of Hibernian Group, the country’s leading nonlife insurer, are representative.
But FBD Holdings, which owns Ireland’s fifth-largest nonlife insurer,..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Pohjola looks towards fund management
The Pohjola insurance group is in talks with the Finnish Savings Banks’ Association with a view to cooperation to give the group more clout in the local asset management market.
Meanwhile, Pohjola reported a consolidated operating profit of..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
US Senate votes to extend nuclear cover act
The US Senate voted to extend the Price Anderson Act for a further 10 years, providing liability insurance to nuclear power plants in the event of a major accident.
The federal law was set to expire in August 2002. In November last year the Price..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
EU parliament approves rapid introduction of accounting legislation aimed at insurers
The European Parliament has given the go-ahead to the rapid introduction of EU legislation requiring application of International Accounting Standards (IAS) to the consolidated accounts of listed companies, as of 2005.
The vote will create further..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Canadian bodies form umbrella organisation
Five Canadian finance and insurance sector associations have formed an umbrella body, the Financial Services Council, which will oversee and coordinate work on legislative, regulatory and policy issues affecting the financial services sector.
The..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Indian insurers seek out facultative cover
As a result of international reinsurance companies’ refusal to accept terrorist risks in India on existing treaty arrangements, domestic insurers are looking to set up facultative reinsurance covers.
Facultative cover arrangements are usually..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Captive havens to adopt OECD transparency code
The captive reinsurance companies that have set up in no-tax or low-tax Caribbean locations may be forced to reconsider their positions with the increasing number of agreements struck between regional governments and the Paris-based Organisation for..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Chilean insurance market stages a recovery
Chile’s insurers increased their premium income by 12.2 % in real terms last year to a total of US$2.7bn and transformed the $72.4mn net loss of 2000 into a profit of $53.3mn. General insurers saw the largest increase in premiums (up 21.9 % to..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002
Insurers fear proposed law will disrupt Polish market
The Polish government has adopted a draft amendment to the country’s public insurance law, a move that critics of the amendment believe will seriously disrupt the structure of the Polish motor third-party and civil liability insurance..
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15 March 2002
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683 - 15 March 2002