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Middle East
New Islamic insurer
Bahrain-based Arab Insurance Group (Arig) has set out plans to open the region’s first Islamic reinsurer by the third quarter of 2005. The unit will aim to address the refinancing needs of local Islamic insurers, which..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Asia
Asia’s challenges
Lloyd’s chairman Lord Levene has said that he expects Asia to be the major driving force in the global economy in the decades ahead and urged that international insurers participate fully in meeting the regulatory..
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10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Europe
London-market companies reach asbestos settlement
A group of solvent London-market insurers and an unnamed US carrier have agreed to pay $76.5mn to settle all asbestos claims filed by subsidiaries of US engineered-products group EnPro Industries...
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10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
North America
CNA denies liability in sex-abuse case
Five units of Chicago-based commercial p/c group CNA Financial have filed a lawsuit in a Washington state court in an effort to avoid liability for sex-abuse claims brought against the Catholic diocese of..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Groupama
Groupama’s foreign premium income topped €2bn for the first time in 2003, accounting for 17%of total gross income
During the last two years Groupama, France’s leading mutual insurer and the country’s non-life market leader,..
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10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Cologne Re
Despite its success in limiting losses on current accounts, Cologne Re suffered from the run-off of earlier years’ business
German reinsurer Cologne Re expects its property/casualty premium income to fall by up to a fifth in 2004 as it..
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10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
P&I market stages financial recovery, but solvency still an issue
In the UK, the FSA has already indicated that clubs will be expected to maintain higher levels of capital than previously
The recovery in the investment markets during 2003 has done much to help the Protection and Indemnity (P&I) clubs (the..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
£766mn underwriting loss transformed into profit of £789mn
The turnaround in property and non-proportional treaty results and lower liability losses helped market’s return to profit
Non-life premium income for the UK company market grew by 10% in 2003, according to World Insurance Report’s..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Insurance stocks buoyant despite SEC/Spitzer investigations
Potential damage of investigations to insurers’ franchise value is widely seen as limited
The insurance stocks tracked by WIR, particularly those of European and Asian entities, continue to perform strongly. As noted in WIR752, this in part..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Change in tax law prompts surge in life insurance sales in October
Removing the tax advantages is likely to force German life insurers to concentrate on the development of new products.
Allianz Leben, the market leader in the German life sector, has seen its sales double in October, as people rushed to take out..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
6 – 26 NOVEMBER 2004
Property and business interruption
6.11, 130 year ine fire finally extinguished
China: a fire at a Chinese coal mine that began in 1874 has finally been extinguished after four years of concentrated firefighting efforts. The fire broke out at the..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Poor performing motor sector responsible for fall in market income
There was a small rise in the claims paid to premiums ratio for the market as a whole to 46.4%
Direct domestic business written by Japan’s 54 non-life companies showed a 1.7% decline in premium income, to ¥8,748bn (US$84.93bn) mainly due..
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10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Hong Kong and China signs agreement on insurance supervision
The new agreement is largely aimed at foreign insurance companies with regional bases in Hong Kong
The integration of the insurance markets on the island of Hong Kong and the cities in mainland China are no longer a purely insurance industry driven..
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10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
PZU breakthrought?
State likely to hold majority stake but promise not to intervene in running of PZU
There are indications that the long-running dispute between the Polish Treasury and the Dutch holding company Eureko over their respective future shareholdings in..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Court upholds special status of life cover
If a life policy is to be considered an asset rather than an insurance indemnity, such policies would have to be included in the estate of the deceased
France's life insurers applauded the decision of the Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation, literally..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Unfair business practices directive set to become law
Insurers’ reluctance to settle legitimate claims is listed as one of 28 “prohibited practices” in the EU draft law
Upcoming EU consumer legislation will prohibit insurers from making unreasonable demands for evidence in support of..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
The UK Run-Off Market – Reality or Myth?
Peter Abbott, a member of the Executive Committee of ARC, reviews the evolution of the UK run-off market
Market / mahkit / n.
a meeting together of like-minded people for the purpose of trade or other commercial activity
If one thing is certain..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
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753 - 10 December 2004
Is this the end of the direct marketing opt-out?
Alex Walsh
, head of Mailing Agents and Trade Associations at the UK’s Royal Mail describes direct marketing as a vital tool for many organisations, which, if used correctly, can instigate and maintain strong and profitable relationships..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2004
Appeared in issue:
753 - 10 December 2004