- Home/Publications/World Insurance Report
Asia
China encourages local insurance groups
According to its World Trade Organisation commitments, China is set to open up its industries, including the insurance industry, to foreign investment by the end of 2004. However, the Chinese authorities are..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
North America
Class action suit filed against Aon
US lawfirm Wolf Popper has filed a class action lawsuit against Aon Corporation on behalf of present and former employees who participate in the group’s pension schemes in the District Court for the..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Europe
Munich Re looks at internal practices
Munich Re has launched an investigation into its dealing with brokers as a result of the New York Attorney General’s investigations. The reinsurer made it clear however that it had no reason to believe..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Group of French insurers sue Libyan state
Negotiations stalled earlier this year. Now insurers have turned to the courts
The insurers of the DC-10 airliner belonging to the French company UTA, which was blown up 15 years ago over the Tenere desert in the sub-Saharan Republic of Niger,..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Thai Re
In contrast with its steady expansion in preceding years, Thai Re took a more selective approach to underwriting in 2003
Thai Re posted a strong increase in net profits in 2003, largely due to an excellent investment result. Net income for the..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Insurance Australia Group
The improved profit reflected the increased scale of the group’s business following 2 acquisitions from UK insurer Aviva
Pre-tax profits for Insurance Australia Group (IAG) almost quadrupled in fiscal 2003/4 despite the severe weather in..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
JAMAICAN NON-LIFE INSURANCE MARKET
Local companies look to expand into neighbouring markets
Although the new regulations were intended to reduce the number of companies in the market, this has yet to happen
Property and motor lines accounted for 93% of all non-life premiums in the..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Scor share price boosted by recovery in the equity markets
€550mn of catastrophe losses mean Munich Re will miss net income target of €2bn
Most of the insurance stocks monitored by WIR
closed higher on the fortnight ending 11 November, reflecting the strong performance of the US and European..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
New IAIS framework for insurance supervision
Tom Karp, chair of the IAIS’s Technical Committee, on the central position of insurers’ solvency in the supervisory process
At our General Meeting last month the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) released its new..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
EUROPE
Zurich Financial Services has suspended several employees in the Excess Casualty underwriting department of the Specialties Business unit of Zurich North America Commercial.
This coincided with an announcement that the insurer was reviewing its..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Platinum causes a bit of a stir
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s investigation of market practices is making insurers and reinsurers uneasy about their use of financial reinsurance
The tail end of reinsurers’ quarterly reporting season was unexpectedly..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Plans for international insurance centre take shape in Puerto Rico
But government is urged to focus on creating an open, more flexible and more competitive domestic insurance market
It is hoped that the implementation of the Puerto Rico International Insurance Center – Centro Internacional de Seguros de..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Jurisdiction: is attack the new defence for insurers?
The English Courts’ change in attitude towards negative declarations now means that insurers have the ability to prevent a claimant from choosing to start proceedings in unfavourable jurisdictions, say Elspeth Talbot Rice and Philip..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Africa
South African insurers set to drop HIV/Aids exclusions
South African insurers look likely to drop HIV/Aids exclusion clauses from all new policies from January 2005. A vote on the issue is due to be conducted by the country’s Life..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
23 OCTOBER – 5 NOVEMBER 2004
Late reports
20. 10 explosion, damage
Nigeria: a heavy explosion rocked the Ajaokuta Steel Complex Limited, delaying the planned refurbishment of the plant. The explosion affected a huge electric motor in the circulating water pump of the thermal..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Government to impose compulsory health cover for employees
Members of the taskforce are said to be discussing the feasibility of the proposal with the insurance sector
Following the recommendations of the Task Force on Social Security, the Indian government is contemplating legislation making it compulsory..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
CNP close to sourcing 15% of its premium income outside of France
The company considers Italy one of the more promising markets for developing personal lines business in Europe
CNP Assurances, the biggest provider of personal lines cover in France, has paid €575mn (US$742mn) for a 57.5% stake in..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
PZU now has a 27% share of the Lithuanian insurance market
The Polish insurer fully expects its Lithuanian businesses to become profitable by around 2006 or 2007
Polish insurer PZU plans to complete the integration of its Lithuanian subsidiaries by the end of this year. The businesses of Lindra (which used..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
Natural catastrophes, sadly, do not concentrate the mind
In Honduras, where 5,000 people were killed by a hurricane in 1998, nothing has been done to prevent another disaster
The recent hurricanes and storms which have swept through the Caribbean did not just affect Florida, but also caused havoc in..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004
The uses and abuses of mediation
Prior to the 1980s, very few reinsurance cases came before the Courts. Since that time, with billions of dollars at stake and a proliferation of insurance and reinsurance companies going into run off or in financial difficulties, more and more..
Online Published Date:
19 November 2004
Appeared in issue:
752 - 19 November 2004