US insurance executives believe market outlook is positive
06 February 2012
A survey of leading US insurance industry executives has revealed that the majority believe the industry is in the early stages of a hard market…
International
Women to pay the price under EU gender changes
06 February 2012
Younger female motorists could suffer premium hikes of 11% or more after a European Union ruling preventing insurers from using gender when risk rating comes into effect later this year…
UK insurance sector views 2012 with pessimism
06 February 2012
UK insurance companies and brokers are expecting a bleak start to 2012 after profits and business volumes declined in late 2011…
UK flood risk could hit 200,000 households
06 February 2012
More than 200,000 houses in the UK could lose their flood cover if the insurance industry and the Government fail to negotiate a special agreement in the next 18 months…
Hannover Re reports significant price increases at January renewals
06 February 2012
Hannover Re has obtained significant price increases at the January treaty renewals, with average rises of 60% in Australian premiums…
UK to crack down on whiplash claims
06 February 2012
A UK parliamentary report into the cost of motor insurance has blamed the rise in premiums in recent years on a surge in whiplash claims…
BIBA calls for intermediaries under one roof
06 February 2012
Brokers, managing general agents and aggregators should be brought under the umbrella of an expanded insurance intermediaries’ association, according to the British Insurance Brokers Association…
2011 nat cats set new record, say reinsurers
30 January 2012
Economic losses from natural catastrophes in 2011 were the highest on record, according to global reinsurers…
Reinsurance rate rises ‘fragmented’
30 January 2012
Reinsurance rates have not risen uniformly despite a year of severe natural catastrophe losses, according to the latest renewals data…
Aon moves to London
30 January 2012
Major broker Aon has decided to move its global headquarters from Chicago to London…
Business has ‘head in the sand’ over risk, says Ward
30 January 2012
Risk is poorly understood and must be a priority for business leaders after the most devastating economic losses on record, Lloyd’s CEO Richard Ward has warned…
Larger losses loom from Thai floods
30 January 2012
Insurance losses from flooding in Thailand could reach $US20 billion ($18.8 billion), although a final figure won’t be known until all business interruption policies are processed…
Swiss Re gets a new CEO
30 January 2012
Swiss Re has appointed current Global Partnerships Chairman Michel Liès as the successor to outgoing CEO Stefan Lippe…
Insurers mop up after Costa Concordia grounding
30 January 2012
Liability claims from the grounding of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia could be the single largest insurance loss in maritime history…
Bermuda market ‘will retain its position’
30 January 2012
Bermuda will retain its leading position among global insurance markets despite regulatory pushes from Europe, rising catastrophe losses and a soft underwriting cycle, according to AM Best…
Buffett’s son to succeed – sort of
30 January 2012
Warren Buffett has named his preferred successor at the helm of US investment and (re)insurance giant Berkshire Hathaway, but the man tapped to inherit the billionaire’s vast empire will not serve…
Asian life and non-life markets tipped to grow faster
12 December 2011
The growth of life and non-life insurance in Asia will outpace developed markets next year, according to Swiss Re Chief Economist Asia Clarence Wong…
MarketScout sees end of soft market
12 December 2011
US electronic insurance exchange MarketScout has heralded the end of the enduring soft market cycle, with all classes recorded in the US market in November now either flat or up slightly…
Estimated losses from Thai floods keep rising
12 December 2011
Insurance losses from the Thai floods could reach as high as $US20 billion ($19.66 billion), according to US insurance guru Bill Berkley…
UK motor ratios set to break even
12 December 2011
The troubled UK motor insurance market could rebound as much as 20% this year after a string of shocking results…