- Home/Publications/World Insurance Report
Arig net profits up
Middle East
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Micro-insurance for Tsunami victims
Asia
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
S&P calls for rate increase
Europe
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
North America
Principle based regulation to favour bigger players
More than 80% of US life insurance chief financial officers favour the transition from formula-based to principles-based regulation for reserves and capital, according to the latest life insurance..
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Rethinking global strategy
International
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Security
31.7, hostages released
Somalia: all 25 crew members abducted four months ago from fishing vessel Dong Won No.628
were released. Eight South Korean sailors and their 17 colleagues from Indonesia, China and Vietnam left Somalia according to..
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Aviation
27.7, crash, fatalities
Afghanistan: a helicopter crashed in bad weather in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, killing all 16 people on board, including at least two American civilians. Afghan army and US-led coalition troops recovered 12 bodies..
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Natural catastrophes
26.7, floods, fatalities
North Korea: according to the Red Cross in Beijing floods and landslides from recent heavy rains killed at least 154 people in North Korea and left another 127 missing in five counties, three of which are in Pyongyang. The..
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Marine
27.7, ‘deliberate pollution’ charge
France: a French environmental organisation Robin des Bois attacked plans to release the 10,000 tonne phosphoric acid cargo of sunken acid tanker Ece
into the English Channel as “deliberate..
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Liability, awards and settlements
27.7, anti-trust settlement
US: Visa International, MasterCard, and banks including Citigroup agreed to pay $336mn to their customers to settle antitrust lawsuits over currency conversion fees charged on foreign transactions. MasterCard will pay..
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Road and rail
27.7, derailment, injuries
South Africa: more than 86 people were injured when a passenger train derailed in Durban. One coach left the tracks near the Duffs Road Railway Station in KwaMashu. It appeared that most of the injuries occurred when..
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Property damage and business interruption
25.7, birdflu
Asia and Europe: Thailand was struck by its first outbreak of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in eight months when laboratory test results confirmed that 31 chicken samples collected from Pichit province had the H5N1 virus. Tests also..
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Brit Insurance Holdings
Brit did not renew any of its catastrophe retrocessional business, even though it is now priced much more attractively. However, this is not a permanent exit. Brit’s management is looking at the opportunities offered by a ‘side car’ arrangement
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Labour law ensures that market is dominated by group life business
Contrary to the non-admitted regulations, it is estimated that between US$20mn and US$25mn of life business is placed offshore each year in the US and British markets
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
European stocks resilient despite market volatility
But better than expected second quarter results served as a direct boost to Hannover Re and Converium
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Industry faces record claim for copper mine closure
International reinsurers will pick up the bill • Santander to enter general insurance • Credit insurance growth • Pension reform
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Firms accused of using tick box approach to risk management
Businesses are failing to appreciate the value of risk management as anything other than a necessary compliance function
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Private non-life insurers increase cessions to foreign reinsurers
With solvency margins and capitalisation squeezed, private insurers need to bolster financial strength • Actuaries Bill passed
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Non-life premiums return to period of growth
Low catastrophe losses compared to 2004 signal a turnaround in the fortunes of Japanese insurers
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Private Equity in the German Insurance Industry
The German insurance industry is still largely regarded as a closed shop, strategically controlled by the big insurance company groups, but there are now signs that the private equity industry is turning its attention to the insurance sector. Dr. Johannes Schulte and Sebastian Kost, respectively partner and associate at Munich based law firm Hogan & Hartson, outline the legal and regulatory considerations that would govern private equity investments in the German insurance sector.
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Slovakians spend one-third less on insurance than Czechs
Life insurance proved to be the driver of market growth last year as liability and health insurance tipped for future success
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Hannover Re CAT bond reduces European windstorm exposure
The reinsurer’s strategy to reduce peak exposures means Hurricane Katrina would cost it 40% less today than last year
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Converium gets closer to ratings upgrade
Operating on a BBB+ rating has not affected strong half-year figures but Inga Beale still has a higher rating in sight
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Changes in energy industry present opportunities for insurers
The development of new technologies will be a key feature of future progress in the energy industry. All these issues will impact on energy providers and, consequently, on their insurers
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Insurers need a better way to plan for impact of pandemic flu
The number and rate of change of the key variables surrounding bird flu makes it impossible for insurance companies to lay down fixed continuity plans but, according to Donna Mayo and Malcolm Stokes of PA Consulting Group*, by modelling the risk and planning dynamically, insurers can influence the impact of a bird flu pandemic on their own businesses and greatly improve their chances of survival in a subsequent recession.
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
A generation of change in a blink of an eye
If you had slipped off on that long promised, well-earned 12 month sabbatical, you would, quite naturally, expect to come back to a business that had changed. New faces, new products, new ideas, new acronyms. New catastrophes, new capital, new..
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006
Results boosted by investment income
While most of its peers benefited handsomely from the volatility in the financial markets, PartnerRe’s feeble investment performance was the main reason for its relatively mediocre results
Online Published Date:
18 August 2006
Appeared in issue:
794 - 18 August 2006