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State funding vs private market solutions
The Homeowners Defense Act (H.R. 3355) legislation currently before the US Senate is an attempt by legislators to provide effective federal risk management and financial solution to the devastation caused by natural catastrophe events in the US..
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14 September 2007
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Mr Har Govind
Asia
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Aon disagrees with flood cover withdrawal proposal
Europe
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14 September 2007
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RI3K launches messaging service in London
Europe
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14 September 2007
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Subprime mortgage crisis halts insurers’ merger
North America
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14 September 2007
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South Carolina sees upswing in captives
North America
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14 September 2007
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Security
22.8, kidnapping, captives freed
Somalia: general cargo vessel Danica White
and its crew, hijacked by Somali pirates in June, were released after 83 days in captivity, after a ransom of $1.5mn was reportedly paid by a security firm, according..
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14 September 2007
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Aviation
22.8, emergency landing
Colombia: at least 15 people were injured when their plane made an emergency landing at an airport in southwestern Colombia. The accident occurred at the Antonio Narino airport in Chachaqui, a town in the southwestern..
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Natural catastrophes
21.8, Typhoon Sepat
Taiwan: Typhoon “Sepat,“ which subjected Taiwan to strong winds and torrential rain caused heavy losses for the country’s agricultural sector. Over 90% of pomelos in Hualian’s Hegang has been destroyed by..
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14 September 2007
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Marine
21.8, accident, fatality
Turkey: a security guard died and four people were injured as passenger ro/ro Ankara
, arriving at Istanbul from Bodrum, moved unexpectedly while being secured at the dock. The guard died at the scene when the ropes securing..
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Liability, awards and settlements
22.8, Exxon Valdez
, request for review of Supreme Court ruling
US: Exxon Mobil Corporation asked the US Supreme Court to review a federal court’s ruling that the company owes $2.5bn in punitive damages for the 1989 tanker Exxon Valdez
..
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Property damage and business interruption
23.8, tougher fines, slowdown
Russia: container shipment in the Novorossiysk Sea Commercial Port was significantly reduced after the introduction of tougher fines for excess weight for the carriage of cargo by truck out of the port. The fines for..
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14 September 2007
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The Oil Group of Companies
Utility companies were more adversely affected by the events of 2005 than any other group within OIL. Of the 12 shareholders or members which announced their intention not to continue their membership after the June 2007 renewals, nine were regulated utility companies, with little or no ability to absorb the cost of their losses. Very few utility companies benefited from the energy price leaps in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, unlike the great majority of OIL members
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14 September 2007
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Serving the needs of the tourism industry
In recent years international reinsurers have imposed substantial rate increases on Caribbean insurers, particularly for property catastrophe treaties, and rates in the USVI are amongst the highest in the Caribbean, although some amelioration has recently been experienced
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14 September 2007
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Market depressed by natural catastrophe and debt crisis concerns
Over the fortnight ending 6 September, the biggest falls occurred in the Asia-Pacific region where insurance sector stocks followed the rest of the financial services sector downwards as news of poor sales figures by Japanese motor manufacturers and..
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New players hope to benefit from health and crop insurance
Uruguay is unique in the region by having nearly half its population covered by private health insurance
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14 September 2007
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Claims rise to close gap on premium growth in first half 2007
Premiums recorded an increase of 56% but claims rose by 51%, resulting in losses for seven firms
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Investment income behind the growth in life market earnings
Recent heavy frost in central Chile has focused attention on crop insurance • New pension companies await legal changes
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14 September 2007
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Natural catastrophes take their toll on underwriting results
The industry was served a double whammy of low premium growth and high catastrophe losses during the fiscal 2006 year
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14 September 2007
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Underwriting profits defy marginal premium growth to rise 20%
Australia has a significant problem of non-insurance, with 23% of households failing to insure their structure or contents
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EC wary of more regulation to increase cross-border retail business
The remaining barriers to cross-border trade will be pinpointed in Commission proposals to be unveiled in November
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Generali’s India joint venture awarded operating licence
The Italian insurer has teamed up with retailer Future Group to house life and general insurance businesses based in Mumbai
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Storebrand bolsters Nordic life presence with Swedish buy
The acquisition will make the Norwegian group the largest life and pensions provider in the region
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AXA unit fined for inadequate supervision
Fee-based brokerage distributed mis-leading sales literature, says regulator • AXA completes sale of Dutch units
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14 September 2007
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The postcode as the strategic centre of insurance marketing
A survey conducted by Royal Mail recently revealed that customer data is one of the most neglected business assets by UK companies. Eighty-six per cent of accountants think that almost two thirds (60%) of organisations fail to exploit customer data to its full potential, with 96% believing that companies have lost competitive advantage as a direct result. Abi Wood
, Head of Financial Sector Marketing, Royal Mail looks at the statistics and considers the implications for the insurance industry
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State intervenes as savings companies fail
Ironically, the recent requirement of half yearly auditing for companies is not new. It was compulsory until 10 years ago when a law change inadvertently abolished it
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Profitability maintained as cycle turns
The Irish market’s performance is all the more remarkable given that in the last few years premiums have fallen in all the major lines of business. Despite a slight increase last year, total Irish net motor premiums fell by 12% compared to 2003. Liability and property premiums declined by 10.1% and 5.4% respectively
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14 September 2007
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Willis Japan appoints new executives
Asia
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28 September 2007
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UK brokers buoyed by financial results
Europe
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28 September 2007
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Storms exits Marsh
North America
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28 September 2007
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Soft market looms for Canadian insurers
North America
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28 September 2007
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Regulator backs calls for tax exemption
Asia
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Property damage and business interruption
10.9, explosion
Turkey: an explosion rocked a gas pipeline in the northeast of Turkey that supplies the country with gas from Iran. The explosion took place near the town of Dogubeyazit in the province of Agri, which borders Iran. The explosion..
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28 September 2007
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Price boost for Converium as Scor moves to take stake to over 97%
There was a visible improvement in the performance of insurance sector stocks over the two week period ending 20 September.
This was largely as a result of the larger than expected interested cut of 0.5% by the US Federal Reserve and the lifting of..
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28 September 2007
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Non-life market premium income double that of life market
The financial crisis of 2002 undid much of the profit accumulated in the boom years after the peso was fixed against the US$
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28 September 2007
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Natural catastrophes
5.9, Hurricane Felix
Nicaragua: Hurricane “Felix” killed at least 101 people on Nicaragua’s low-lying Caribbean coast and over 200 people were missing after the storm laid waste to thousands of flimsy homes. The Navy was trying to..
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28 September 2007
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Natural catastrophe claims forecast to triple in 2007
After an exceptionally good year for catastrophes in 2006, reinsurers are expected to withstand the increase in cat losses
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28 September 2007
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Munich Re houses London company market staff under one roof
Europe
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28 September 2007
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Munich Re Group
Many of the group’s key financial figures indicate that the five year process of consolidation and the restructuring of its risk profile is now pretty much completed and that the Munich Re Group is looking to re-expand the scope of its operations
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28 September 2007
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Motor market returns to losses after profitable 2005
Insurers that re-entered the motor market in 2006 after seeing the profits of 2005 have had their fingers burnt
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28 September 2007
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Measuring and valuing customer relationships
The general insurance sector in the UK should take note that the link between personalised communication and satisfied customers is critically important. Customers will always switch suppliers for a better price offer, but it is also clear that poor service and customer communications trigger an active desire to move. Andy Wood
, managing director of marketing communication consultancy GI Insight, argues that if insurers increase the relevancy of their customer communications, the result will be improved retention and a much more responsive community for carefully targeted additional offers
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28 September 2007
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Marine
4.9, sinking, fatalities
China: six Chinese fishermen are missing after their boat Zhe Dong Yu
7302 sank in a collision with a cargo ship from the Republic of Korea (chemical tanker Keoyoung Chemi
735 gt, built 1985) off the coast of eastern..
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28 September 2007
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Looking to Dublin
Ireland’s speedy adoption of the EU Reinsurance Directive has attracted a second major Bermudian reinsurer, PartnerRe, to follow the example of XL Re and base its European subsidiary in Dublin. However, it remains to be seen whether this development points to Dublin becoming a genuine reinsurance centre or merely a fiscally attractive location for capital
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28 September 2007
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Life premiums surge 38% to overtake non-life as largest sector
The growth has been attributed to the growing popularity of investment related (unit-linked) products
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Life insurance spending up 5.4 times since liberalisation
Insurance premiums as a percentage of GDP stands at 4.1%, comparable with the US at 4%
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28 September 2007
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Liability, awards and settlements
11.9, dangerous cargo, action
US: legal action has commenced in the New York courts against the Chinese shippers and forwarding agents of a dangerous cargo that was vouchsafed before shipment to be harmless, but which in fact caused a serious..
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28 September 2007
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Law reform bans new composite insurers in favour of separate life insurance companies
The finance minister of France visited Algeria and promised a resolution in early 2007 to the problem of disputed liabilities of French insurers; this could clear the way for French financial groups to enter the market
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28 September 2007
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Late reports
3.9, strike
Zambia: a huge consignment of Zambian copper destined for export was stuck in transit following a three-week strike by unionised employees of the Tanzania-Zambia Railways (Tazara), officials said. Tresphore Chileshe, the president of the..
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28 September 2007
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Insurance opportunities will see industry growth outpace economy
Increased international connections between industries mean risks will become more complex
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28 September 2007
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Insurance linked securities here to stay
The issuance of insurance linked capital market contracts in 2007 is set to surpass the record growth seen last year
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28 September 2007
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Healthcare deficit shrinks by €2.2bn in 2006
Expenditure on health services amounted to E166.0bn last year, while income for the schemes stood at E160.1bn • SCOR completes deregistration of its securities in the US
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28 September 2007
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HSBC Insurance Asia outperforms European division for first time
The insurer says it has applied for a license to expand into China • Insurers oppose credit card payments
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28 September 2007
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Crash compensation row
The insurers are believed to be under pressure from the Thai government to raise the level of compensation for aircrash fatalities
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28 September 2007
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China Pacific eyes two listings before year end
Asia
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28 September 2007
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Bush administration threatens to veto TRIA extension
The Senate is unhappy that a 15-year extension will make the terrorism backstop all but permanent
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28 September 2007
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Aviation
4.9, crash, fatalities
US: an aircraft carrying five Jehovah’s Witness ministers crashed in a remote area of eastern Tennessee, killing all aboard. The crash was not discovered until more than eight hours later, when another pilot spotted the..
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28 September 2007
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Adapt or die: brokers and the energy sector
The global energy sector is currently characterized by rapid and fundamental change. To catch up with the evolution faced by energy insurance clients, there will need to be something close to a revolution in how insurance brokers and underwriters..
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28 September 2007
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