British insurers to challenge asbestos ruling
16 March 2009
British insurers are considering legal action over a Scottish Parliament bill that threatens to expose them to hefty asbestos liabilities...
International
Anger follows clean-up of AIG mess
09 March 2009
The US Government’s third bailout of AIG has left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Feds, investors, the rest of the insurance world, and AIG itself...
US considers multiperil insurance bill
09 March 2009
Legislation introduced in the US House of Representatives last week could see homeowners buy multiperil insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program...
Third exec sentenced over AIG/Gen Re reinsurance scam
09 March 2009
Former Gen Re Senior VP Christopher Garand has been jailed by a US district court for 366 days and fined $US150,000 ($232,818) following his conviction in the AIG/Gen Re reinsurance scam...
Outlook downgrade for Zurich
09 March 2009
Fitch Ratings has changed its outlook on Zurich Insurance Company, the main operating company of Zurich Financial Services, from positive to negative, but kept the company’s...
Guy Carpenter acquires major competitor
09 March 2009
Global reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter is buying competitor John B Collins Associates, the world’s seventh-largest reinsurance intermediary...
Europe to regulate ratings agencies
09 March 2009
The European Union has reached a deal to introduce compulsory registration and direct supervision of credit ratings agencies...
Economic downturn squeezes Berkshire Hathaway
09 March 2009
Berkshire Hathaway boss Warren Buffett has told shareholders in his annual letter that the US economy will be “in shambles” throughout this year, but declined to speculate on whether...
FM Global proves popular
09 March 2009
Commercial property insurer FM Global is looking happy with its US rankings in the latest independent research by financial services surveyors Greenwich...
Munich Re’s insurance portfolio slips
09 March 2009
Munich Re’s primary insurance business has reported a drop of 62% in its operating result to €477 million ($934 million)...
AIG faces three-way split: reports
02 March 2009
International media reports say AIG is in talks with US authorities to discuss a possible restructure of the company that could see it split into three divisions to stay afloat...
Post-disaster loss estimates flawed: Munich Re
02 March 2009
Loss estimates undertaken immediately after complex natural catastrophes are fraught with uncertainty, according to Munich Re...
Allianz records €2.4 billion loss as Dresdner proves a drag
02 March 2009
German insurer Allianz has recorded a full-year loss of €2.4 billion ($4.7 billion) as discontinued banking operations punched a €6.4 billion ($12.6 billion) hole in the insurer’s balance sheet...
Power shifts from UK ratings agencies to insurers over creditworthiness
02 March 2009
UK credit insurers have leapfrogged ratings agencies to become the key determinants of company credit quality, brokerage Aon Trade Credit claims...
Chubb coughs up over US fees dispute
02 March 2009
US-based insurance giant Chubb Corporation has agreed to pay $US239,000 ($369,162) to settle compensation disclosure allegations brought by the Massachusetts Attorney-General...
RSA to sack 1200 despite sound results
02 March 2009
It might have returned solid full-year financial results, but global insurer RSA (until last year known as Royal & SunAlliance) still intends to cut 1200 staff in the UK...
Payment protection crackdown in UK
02 March 2009
Britain’s Financial Services Authority has banned insurers from selling single-premium payment protection insurance with unsecured loans...
… as FSA releases draft remuneration code
02 March 2009
The FSA has introduced a draft code of practice for remuneration that sets minimum risk management standards for pay policies...
Future uncertain, but RBS Insurance turns a record profit
02 March 2009
Royal Bank of Scotland Insurance illustrated continued viability last week, turning a 15% operating profit despite the parent company recording the worst result in UK corporate history...
Financial crisis drives sophisticated futures modelling
02 March 2009
The financial crisis is likely to drive more insurers to use state-of-the-art scenario analysis to evaluate future risk, a Swiss Re report claims...