US Government seeks new powers over insurers
30 March 2009
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wants the Government to be given new powers to regulate large financial companies like AIG that threaten the economy if they fail...
International
Chartered Insurance Institute banks £1.9m profit
30 March 2009
Just a few months after ditching a merger deal with ANZIIF and blasting its financial performance, the UK Chartered Insurance Institute has reported an annual net profit...
Europeans pull back from insurance acquisitions
30 March 2009
The number of insurance company acquisitions plummeted 76% across Europe last year...
Maritime insurance feels flow-on from economic crisis
30 March 2009
The global economic crisis and its stifling effect on world shipping is proving a mixed blessing for maritime insurers...
US insurer profits tumble
30 March 2009
US general insurers’ net profits have been overwhelmed by investment losses, according to a Fitch Ratings report...
Insurance could help unlock capital: British PM
30 March 2009
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says insurance could play an important role in unlocking capital reserves and restoring world financial stability...
Allianz proposes new cat bond
30 March 2009
German insurer Allianz is looking to a new $US150 million ($214 million) catastrophe bond – its fourth such transaction this year...
AIG slammed over executive bonuses
23 March 2009
AIG has agreed to restructure corporate bonuses after coming under fire over the payment of $US165 million ($244 million) to employees in its financial products division...
Last year’s catastrophe losses total $US52.5 billion
23 March 2009
A new report from Swiss Re shows global insurers paid $US52.5 billion ($79.3 billion) in catastrophe-related property claims last year...
Reinsurers take the heat off insurers
23 March 2009
Reinsurers are taking on more risk as insurers face up to the worst financial crisis in recent history...
… as Swiss Re counts the cost
23 March 2009
New Swiss Re CEO Stefan Lippe says the reinsurance giant will cut expenses by at least CHF200 million ($260 million) this year by revamping IT and using fewer consultants...
Professional negligence claims soar in England and Wales
23 March 2009
The number of professional negligence cases in England and Wales soared 137% last year, putting increased pressure on PI insurers...
Regulator calls for controls on credit ratings agencies
23 March 2009
The chairman of UK’s financial services regulator, the Financial Services Authority, has put his weight behind European efforts to regulate credit ratings agencies...
Investment shift limits pain for Liberty Mutual
16 March 2009
Diversified global insurer Liberty Mutual saw a 25% drop in net profit for the year to December 31 compared with 2007, despite a 12% lift in the fourth quarter...
Hannover Re shares slump on €127 million loss
16 March 2009
German reinsurer Hannover Re has posted an annual loss of €127 million ($250.6 million) due mainly to a €641 million ($1.26 billion) writedown in equity losses...
UK broker groups outraged at rising cost of regulation
16 March 2009
The UK regulator’s latest fee proposal is unacceptable and forces the insurance industry to shoulder the burden of the failed banking sector, according to UK insurance broker groups...
China mulls over catastrophe insurance plan
16 March 2009
Regulators have urged the government of China to establish a national catastrophe insurance plan after recent disasters revealed non-insurance continues to plague the nation...
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...
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...