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Asia
Sony in talks with Aegon
According to a report in the online edition of Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper, Sony Corporation is looking to dispose of a 50% stake in its life insurance subsidiary to the Dutch insurance group Aegon NV for..
Online Published Date:
13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Europe
European Re settles with Trenwick
Trenwick Group Ltd and European Reinsurance of Zurich have settled their dispute over an option contract that required the Swiss Re subsidiary to purchase $55mn of Trenwick convertible preference shares (WIR
..
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13 September 2002
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North America
Hartford raises $600mn
Hartford Financial Services raised $600mn through a combined equity and convertible bond offering. The group will use half of the proceeds to support its property and casualty businesses. Hartford said that balance of the..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Company profile: International Insurance Company of Hannover
London Market insurer International Insurance Company of Hannover (Inter Hannover) saw an upsurge in its premium volume in 2001 following the successful launch of its new programme business account. Wholly owned by Hannover Re, Inter..
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13 September 2002
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Company profile: Commercial Risk Re
Bermuda-based ART provider Commercial Risk Re reported consolidated net income of US$24mn for 2001, down by 6% on the previous year. Commercial Risk, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of French reinsurer Scor, said its result benefited from $15.5mn..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Royal & SunAlliance
The UK’s second largest general insurer Royal & SunAlliance (RSA) had a difficult year in 2001. The company’s result was hit by substantial losses arising from the 11 September terrorist attacks in the US and the need to increase..
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13 September 2002
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New wave of consolidation as foreign groups descend on region
Asia is set to see a new wave of insurance consolidations some of which are already taking place. International insurance companies are rapidly entering Asian markets largely through mergers and acquisitions as several Asian countries are in the..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
China
German and Swedish insurers are making renewed efforts to enter the Chinese market. The growing interest of German insurers was confirmed recently by Bernd Michaels, president of the German insurers’ association. The association recently..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Tradition, innovation and the maintenance of service standards
For Ron Carlier, managing director of RK Carvill & Co, maintaining a low profile is very much part of the company’s commitment to deliver the best possible service to its clients. But this policy has not prevented the privately owned,..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Swiss Re and Munich Re results cast shadow over industry’s prospects
Munich Re’s and Swiss Re’s half year results suggest that the European insurance industry is still not out of the woods. Hopes that higher rates since the beginning of 2002 would produce encouraging results have been disappointed. Munich..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Hannover Re denies involvement in corporate bond guarantee market
Hannover Re has issued a statement denying that the German reinsurance group was involved in the issuing of insurance cover to the corporate bond offerings organised by investment banks. The statement was prompted by an article in the German edition..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Slovenia nonlife insurance market
According to the Slovenian Insurance Association, 2001 was a very successful year for its 16 members companies.
Companies in the market collected SIT230bn (€550mn) in premium income, with those in the life sector generating SIT49.2bn, a rise..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Axa splits up reinsurance and big risk division
The Axa group is underlining its commitment to reinsurance by splitting up its combined large risks and reinsurance division, Axa Corporate Solutions. The group’s reinsurance operations will be conducted under the revived Axa Re brand. Axa was..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
ZFS combines capital injection with jobs cuts to improve prospects
Zurich Financial Services faced up to its problems by announcing that it would increase its capital base by at least US$2bn, cut 4,500 job and refocus on its traditional business of insurance. These measures were revealed along with the..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Lack of terrorist insurance cover contributes to economic downturn
The US insurance and commercial real estate sectors have stepped up their campaign to reduce the considerable political resistance to the legislation which would permit the federal government to give financial support to the insurance industry in..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Electricity giant Edison files last minute World Trade Centre loss suit
Well over a thousand individuals and businesses filed law suits on 10 September to claim compensation for losses resulting from the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre last year.
The suits, against the Port Authority of New York and New..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Asian insurers resort to car repair analysis
Bangkok Insurance has become the third major insurer in the Far East to enter the motor insurance repair analysis business.
This business, which involves the analysis of claims of by customers on damages caused in vehicle accidents, is growing..
Online Published Date:
13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Vietnamese insurance market sees rapid expansion
Gross premium income written by the ten insurers in Vietnam jumped by 60% during the first half of 2002 to VND3,488bn (US$231mn), according to the Vietnam National Reinsurance Company.
The big rise is mainly due to a resurgence on the market’s..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Wake up call for London
The last five years have produced largely unsatisfactory results for London Market insurers. Poorly controlled exposures have forced many London market organisations to re-examine the operational basis of risk, reward and value management...
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Hungary frees up motor TPL
The Ministry of Finance in Hungary has decided to fully liberalise the pricing of compulsory third party motor insurance from the beginning of next year, following the gradual easing of control in previous years.
This class of business, which has an..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
20 August–2 September 2002
Late reports
17.8, robbery
France: robbers armed with explosives and a rocket launcher attacked an armoured delivery van in southeastern France, making off with up to $1mn in euros. Five or six attackers, driving several vehicles, stopped the truck..
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13 September 2002
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World insurance stock prices
Company/group
Currency
31/12/01
22/8/02
5/9/02
Change from 22/8/02 %
Capitalisation US$ mn
© World Insurance Report
Ace
US$
40.15
34.00
30.77
(9.5)
8,074
AIG
US$
79.40
67.50
58.32
(13.6)..
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13 September 2002
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Company profile: Egyptian Re
Egyptian Re, Egypt’s sole domestic professional reinsurer, saw a further reduction in its premium volume during the year ending 30 June 2001. Total gross written premiums for the company’s combined nonlife and life operations fell by 4%..
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13 September 2002
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Company profile: London Life & General Re
Based in Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre, London Life & General Re (LLGRe) provides traditional and finite life and property/casualty reinsurance products to the UK, continental European and Asian markets. The company,..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Company profile: GE Frankona Re (Denmark)
Danish reinsurer GE Frankona Re saw a further decline in its pre-tax profits in 2001 as a reduction in capital gains offset an improvement in its underwriting result. The decrease in capital gains reflected the company’s withdrawal from the..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Chinese firms enter into collaborative arrangements with each other as foreign competition in financial services market increases
Faced with rising competition from foreign firms in the Chinese financial services market, local companies are increasingly entering into collaborative arrangements with each other. The latest such association involves the country’s largest..
Online Published Date:
13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Indian public sector insurers look to cut war premiums to see off competion in oil market
India’s nonlife insurers are seriously considering a cut in the war risk premium rates which they imposed on oil installations in the aftermath of 11 September as the possibility of an India-Pakistan war recedes.
Such a move was indicated by..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
French market reluctant to extend global liability cover to sporting federations
The French rugby federation was disappointed to receive just one offer of global cover for its players before the current season started on 31 August. The federation had applied for quotes from some 36 mutual companies, but only Garantie Mutuelle..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
US Reinsurers
Market’s prospects put in perspective by 117.6% combined ratio
The heady sense of optimism inspired by the Reinsurance Association of America’s (RAA) survey of US reinsurers’ statutory results for the first quarter of this year..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
Mild El Niño season spells mixed results for insurers
With only three months of the hurricane season left, the ‘El Niño effect’ has so far treated the Caribbean extraordinarily kindly this year, with no hurricanes having yet made land fall in the region.
But Caribbean insurance..
Online Published Date:
13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
India looks to scrap foreign insurers’ investment limits
Direct investment restrictions on foreign insurers operating in India might soon be withdrawn. The indication has come from a senior official of the finance ministry in New Delhi. At present, foreign companies are allowed to take no more than a 26%..
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13 September 2002
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696 - 13 September 2002
North America
Montpelier IPO
Montpelier Holdings, the parent company of Montpelier Re, one of the Bermudian start ups formed to take advantage of the hard reinsurance market after 11 September, will offer 9.5mn shares at $20 to $22 each in a public offering. The..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Africa
Alexander Forbes gives 30% stake to black group
The international insurance intermediary, fund manager and benefits consultant, Alexander Forbes will sell a 30% stake in its South African listed business to a black empowerment company, Millennium..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Europe
Moody’s strips Munich Re
In a move of great symbolic significance to the insurance industry, rating agency Moody’s downgraded the insurance financial strength rating of the world’s biggest reinsurer, Munich Re from its top rating..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
World insurance stock prices
Company/group
Currency
31/12/01
5/9/02
19/9/02
Change from 5/9/02 %
Capitalisation US$ mn
© World Insurance Report
Ace
US$
40.15
30.77
31.60
2.7
8,292
AIG
US$
79.40
58.32
57.50
(1.4)..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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Company profile: New Re
Geneva-based reinsurer Nouvelle Compagnie de Réassurances (New Re), which is majority-owned by Munich Re, posted a pre-tax loss of SF51mn (US$30mn) last year as a negative life result and unrealised capital losses offset an improved non-life..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Company profile: Alea Group
Multi-line reinsurer/insurer Alea Group reported a pre-tax loss of US$28mn in 2001, its fourth year of operation. This compared with a deficit of $26mn for the previous year. Alea’s annual report said the company’s result was worse than..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Venezuela
Buoyant market constrained by political and economic problems
The Venezuelan insurance market grew by 31% to Bs1,981bn (US$2.6bn) in 2001, according to a report published by the country’s insurance regulator, the Superintendencia de..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
France
AZF explosion and 11 September losses blamed for fall in earnings
The French insurance market had a difficult year in 2001. Earnings declined for both the life and nonlife sectors and the growth in premium income slowed down compared with 2000...
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27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Reinsurance costs increase by 800% in Argentina
Buying reinsurance in Argentina has become prohibitively expensive. The two main causes are the peso devaluation (almost all treaty and facultative business is placed abroad) and the hardening of the international market.
The problem affects mostly..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Japanese market braced for the introduction of bancassurance
There are high hopes in Japan that bancassurance will take off from October 1 when commercial banks will be allowed to sell life-insurance products over the counter.
Banks and life insurers are signing up distribution deals and 3,000 bank branches..
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27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
R&SA capital requirements: correction
A company profile of Royal & SunAlliance which appeared in the last issue of World Insurance Report mistakenly noted that RSA had announced “that it had secured the support of its biggest institutional shareholders for a £750mn..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Swiss Life/Scor
Swiss Life has had to tighten its belt again. The beleaguered life insurer announced the loss of a further 700 jobs between now and 2004. This is in addition to the 800 job cuts the company announced in April of this year. The company is hoping to..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Aegon
Dutch insurer Aegon is dismantling its capital structure, originally designed to protect the group from hostile takeovers, to boost its balance sheet. The group’s principal shareholder, the Aegon Association, which took control of the company..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
French flood losses
The recent floods, mainly in the Gard region of south-eastern France, could cost insurers some €450mn ($442mn), the French insurers’ association, Federation Francaise des Societes d’Assurances, has estimated. The FFSA are expecting..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
SAI/La Fondiaria merger reaches final stages
The merger of Societa Assicuratrice Industriale (SAI) and La Fondiaria Assicurazioni is finally being finalised following the approval of the shareholders of both companies. Approval is still needed from the country’s competition authorities,..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Bernheim is once more president of Generali
The Frenchman Antoine Bernheim is once again president of Generali. In the three and a half years since Mr Bernheim was last at the head of the Italian insurer, the group has seen off two presidents. Equally, the post has become more ceremonial. In..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
IUMI conference: marine rates still too low
Even before 11 September, marine insurers were starting to pull out, slowly, from the six-year trough of rock-bottom pricing which led to a great deal of consolidation among Lloyd’s syndicates and companies and the disappearance of many..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Czech insurance market
Premiums written by the 43 insurance companies active in the Czech Republic in 2001 reached CKr79.2bn ( 2,506mn), an increase of 14.3%, against a 11.5% growth in the previous year.
While non-life insurance maintained the same rate of growth (10.5%)..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Czech floods
While most businesses are getting back to normal after the record-breaking August floods in the Czech Republic, Czech-based insurance companies are still working out what the future might hold for their industry. Insurers such as Kooperativa, and..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Chinese insurers rush to capital markets
A new opportunity beckons for foreign investors in China as the country’s leading insurers rush to restructure themselves for a listing on the stock exchange. Once listed, shares of these companies will be available for purchase by foreign..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Asia
Hanwha closes Korea Life deal
After a year of negotiations, the Korean government has finally accepted an offer of W823.6bn (US$868.3mn) for a 51% stake in Korea Life from a consortium of local and foreign investors led by Korean industrial group,..
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27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
3–16 September 2002
Property and business interruption
3.9, explosion, fatalities
China: thirty-three miners were killed when a gas explosion tore through a coal mine in the central Chinese province of Hunan. Six miners were missing after the explosion which ripped..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Company profile: Russian Re
Russian Re’s gross premium income jumped by 135% to R516mn (US$16.9mn) last year, considerably exceeding the premium growth of 61% for the Russian insurance market, according to the company’s annual report. Russian Re, which was founded..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Company profile: Central Re
Central Re, Taiwan's only domestic reinsurer, became a fully privatised entity earlier this year when Taiwan’s government sold a 23.1% stake in the company to private investors. The sell off by Taiwan’s finance ministry reduced the..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Bancassurance set to explode in Chile
In April this year, Chilean regulators authorised insurance companies to offer their customers credit cards and consumer loans in a bid to increase competition and reduce interest rates in the consumer lending market. Insurers see this as a positive..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Malaysia tries to avert crisis in health insurance system
Malaysian insurers offering medical cover are in crisis because some of their accredited managed care organisations (MCOs) have defaulted on payments to clinics and hospitals for treatment rendered.
The Malaysian central bank, Bank Negara, which..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
PZU share of polish market drops below 50%
For the first time in its history, the market share of Poland’s leading life insurance company, PZU Zycie, has dropped below the 50% mark. The company is still the market leader but it is significant that it has dropped under the..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
AZF explosion shakes up industrial cover
On the first anniversary of the explosion of the AZF chemical plant in Toulouse on 21 September, the French insurers’ association, Federation Francaise des Societes d’Assurances (FFSA) noted that the accident had caused damages of some..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
Hungarian funeral insurer sees rapid growth
Hungary’s only funeral insurer, Agrupacion Funeuropa Biztosito Rt (AFB), established in 1999, is growing rapidly, albeit from a small base.
AFB’s gross premium income reached Ft75mn (US$301,700) in the first half of 2002, 44% up on the..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
CDB puts emphasis on risk management in Caribbean
The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is stepping up its disaster mitigation program in order to safeguard as many as possible of the public sector infrastructure projects it helps to fund throughout the region.
Public sector assets..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
EC moves to rationalise life insurance legislation
EU legislation on life insurance, somewhat behind schedule, is about to be tidied up.
Back in June 2000, the European Commission proposed that the “scattered” texts of successive life insurance directives should be brought together in a..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002
The limits of insurability
It is clear that the 11 September terrorist attacks have led to a shift in conceptions of the sheer magnitude of a potential loss. The losses involved extraordinary cumulative consequences. According to the international insurance think tank, the..
Online Published Date:
27 September 2002
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697 - 27 September 2002