US rate reductions slow during August
14 September 2009
The price war among the US property and casualty market appears to be losing intensity after rate reductions slowed during August…
International
Ratings agencies face scrutiny over insurer assessments
14 September 2009
The US National Association of Insurance Commissioners will hold a public hearing next week to examine the role ratings agencies played in assessing insurers’ creditworthiness…
Global industry outlook still negative
07 September 2009
The global insurance industry is unlikely to improve enough in the near future for a revision from its negative outlook, according to Fitch Ratings…
Judge sides with Greenberg in AIG case
07 September 2009
The frosty relationship between AIG and its former CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg could be set to thaw, with the two parties launching binding arbitration procedures to settle various legal disputes…
UK claims complaints on the rise
07 September 2009
UK regulator the Financial Services Authority has released fresh statistics that show complaints about general insurance products have more than doubled in the space of two years…
Reserve releases mask true UK motor loss
07 September 2009
The £493 million ($960 million) underwriting loss reported for last year by the UK private motor insurance industry is more like £1 billion ($1.95 billion), a new report from consultants…
Ecclesiastical turns loss around
07 September 2009
The British owner of Australia’s Ansvar Insurance turned loss into profit in the first half of this year…
Coface loss highlights credit crisis exposure
07 September 2009
Paris-based global trade credit insurer Coface has recorded a €103 million ($173 million) first-half loss…
Californian bushfires set new records
07 September 2009
Bushfires raging in California have been described as some of the biggest in the state’s history…
Competition prevails in offshore energy market
07 September 2009
A forecast 15-20% rise in offshore energy insurance rates has failed to materialise, and October renewals should stay generally flat, according to Aon…
Reinsurer wants national risk officers
07 September 2009
Global reinsurer Swiss Re has urged governments to appoint “national risk officers” to help close the gap between economic and insured losses when disaster strikes…
Marine market tested as piracy doubles
31 August 2009
Piracy attacks have more than doubled, creating headaches for marine insurers…
Capital flows back to reinsurers
31 August 2009
Some reinsurers have regained half or more of the capital they lost last year in the financial crisis and through windstorms, thanks to gains in underwriting and calmer investment markets…
US insurers reduce investment risk
31 August 2009
Interest rates and inflation pose the biggest long-term risk for US property and casualty insurers, according to reports by two ratings agencies…
New storm emerges after Bill and Danny fizzle
31 August 2009
North America’s hurricane season is in full swing, with category-four Jimena looking a threat to Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula on the west coast…
AIG income plummets 27%
24 August 2009
The world's largest insurer, AIG, has reported net income of $US3.09 billion ($3.32 billion) for the third quarter, a 27% decrease on the corresponding period last year…
Brokers boost claims amounts
24 August 2009
New British research shows 87% of brokers regularly negotiate an increase of up to 20% on claim payment offers made by insurers…
AIG appoints $7 million man
24 August 2009
Rescued insurance giant AIG will pay new CEO Robert Benmosche a package worth $US7 million ($8.46 million) a year…
Canada braces for Hurricane Bill
24 August 2009
As the eye of a weakened Hurricane Bill nears Canada's east coast, residents are battening down in preparation for damaging winds, pounding seas and heavy rain - and insurers…
Insurers warned over pricing
20 August 2009
Insurers engaging in price wars are gambling with their future, according to a paper by Liberty International Underwriters that calls into question the industry's financial health…