Munich Re forecasts a good year
19 March 2012
Munich Re says it remains on target to increase profit to €2.5 billion ($3.1 billion) this year after a relatively benign start to the catastrophe season and improving global markets…
International
Hannover upbeat on 2012
19 March 2012
Hannover Re is looking to 2012 “with optimism” despite posting a 19.1% fall in net income in a year marred by a high number of natural disaster claims…
Solvency II criticised as Prudential threatens to quit UK
19 March 2012
The UK Prime Minister and the head of the Association of British Insurers have joined the debate about the proposed Solvency II rules…
UK regulator warns industry over potential potholes
19 March 2012
The UK’s Financial Services Authority has identified three areas of potential consumer detriment in the general insurance market, and has warned the industry it will act to…
Insurers’ cost cutting to continue
19 March 2012
Low investment income is putting pressure on insurers to cut costs more aggressively, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers…
BIBA sends UK Government its wish list
19 March 2012
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association continues to lobby the UK government to expedite a review of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme after the mis-selling of credit insurance…
MarketScout expands into personal lines
19 March 2012
US information exchange MarketScout has begun monitoring personal lines premiums and coverage terms…
IAG’s Equity faces auditing investigation
12 March 2012
The past troubles at IAG’s UK subsidiary, Equity Red Star, continue to haunt the business with its auditor now under investigation…
QBE faces US lawsuit over ‘forced’ insurance
12 March 2012
The US operations of QBE have come under fire over insurance policies forced on homeowners struggling to pay their home mortgages…
US market slowly turning
12 March 2012
US electronic insurance exchange MarketScout says the commercial market is starting to turn after the composite rate rose by 2% in February…
Up to $US2 billion in US tornado claims
12 March 2012
Eqecat has estimated claims of $US1-$2 billion ($94 million to $1.9 billion) from the tornadoes that hit the US Midwest and southern states in the first week of this month…
Nat cat events soar in February
12 March 2012
Several large weather events in February have pushed global economic losses from natural catastrophes to more than $US2 billion ($1.87 billion)…
AIG sells down controlling stake in AIA
12 March 2012
AIG has sold a stake in its Asian life insurance subsidiary AIA, raising $US6 billion ($5.6 billion) to repay more of its debt to the US Government…
Record catastrophe losses hit Liberty Mutual
12 March 2012
Liberty Mutual incurred record catastrophe losses in 2011, with the Thai floods dragging down its fourth-quarter result…
New trial date for Gen Re and AIG managers
12 March 2012
The US District Court in Connecticut has set a retrial date for former executives of Gen Re and former AIG VP Christian Milton who had faced charges over a sham reinsurance agreement…
Industry still costing latest US tornadoes
05 March 2012
The US Insurance Information Institute says it is too early to assess the damage bill from tornadoes that hit the states of Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee last week…
JLT maintains profit in challenging market
05 March 2012
Global broker JLT Group maintained profit at £95.27 million ($140.4 million) last year, saying challenging conditions in mature markets have been offset by growth in Asia and Latin America…
UK wrestles with flood cover question
05 March 2012
The availability and affordability of flood insurance in the UK is causing heated debate as the Government and insurers have failed to agree a new deal to provide cover to at-risk homes…
Munich Re buys into cat bonds
05 March 2012
Munich Re is the latest group to seek sanctuary in capital markets as rising catastrophe claims force insurers to seek alternative means of transferring risk…
Thai floods endanger Asian insurers’ ratings
05 March 2012
Higher than estimated losses from the Thai floods could put “significant” pressure on Asian insurers’ capital, Standard & Poor’s has warned in a new report…