… and Munich Re also renews business
21 February 2006
Munich Re Group renewed 66% of its treaty business in property and casualty reinsurance at the beginning of the year for a premium volume of about €8.9 billion ($14.4 billion)…
International
Zurich profits high despite catastrophes
21 February 2006
Zurich Financial Services Group recorded a business operating profit of $US3.9 billion ($5.3 billion), an increase of 32% on 2004…
Executives plead not guilty
21 February 2006
General Re Corporation and American International Group executives entangled in a 2000 loss-portfolio transaction have pleaded not guilty to charges laid against them on February 2…
Loss of contingency payments leave Willis flat
14 February 2006
Fifteen months after abandoning its controversial contingency payment arrangements with insurers, London-based global broker Willis Group has posted a lower fourth quarter result…
AIG forced to pay up
14 February 2006
US insurance giant American International Group has settled with US federal and state regulators for charges relating to fraud amounting to $US1.64 billion ($2.2 billion)…
…and puts a halt to Greenberg’s business
14 February 2006
AIG has won a preliminary injunction against former CEO Chairman Maurice “Hank” Greenberg that bars his insurance business, Starr Technical Risks Agency, from writing policies…
US asbestos bill in limbo
14 February 2006
The US Senate bill for the $140 billion fund to pay asbestos victims may still be defeated after a test vote where 26 of the Senate’s 55 Republicans voted to abandon the bill…
Lloyd's sues brokers for $766 million
07 February 2006
Lloyd’s of London plans to sue brokers Aon Corporation and Benfield Group for £325 million ($766.2 million) for payment of a claim related to the September 11…
US fraud worth $US500 million
07 February 2006
The US Government has charged four former reinsurance executives with fraud for their alleged involvement in a 2000 loss-portfolio transaction with AIG…
Hurricane Katrina claims clean-up begins
07 February 2006
Nearly 70% of claims in Louisiana and Mississippi from people who lost their homes as a result of Hurricane Katrina have already been settled by insurers…
Lloyd’s earmarks Asian market options
07 February 2006
Lloyd’s has released new research on key developments within Asia, earmarking four growth opportunities – marine cargo, product liability, directors’ and officers’ and professional indemnity…
Hurricanes still on everyone’s mind
31 January 2006
Despite Australian insurers continuing to drive most commercial rates down as the competitive urge grows, they should be prepared for rises in the next 12 months as reinsurers…
Job cuts for Swiss Re
31 January 2006
Swiss Re is likely to lay off up to 15% of its workforce when its acquisition of GE Insurance Solutions is complete…
AIG to pay big bucks to settle probe
31 January 2006
American International Group is expected to pay more than $US1 billion to settle civil investigations by federal and state authorities into its financial reporting woes…
US hurricane season causes some pain, but not too much
31 January 2006
European insurers enjoyed good profitability in 2005, despite bearing some of the fallout from US Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita…
US bird flu outbreak could cost $US133 billion
31 January 2006
A bird flu pandemic in the US would kill as many as 1.9 million people and cost US life insurers $US133 billion ($176.8 billion) if past pandemic trends are anything to go by…
Asbestos claims stopped in UK
31 January 2006
The Court Of Appeal in London has stopped thousands of industrial disease sufferers from claiming personal injury compensation for pleural plaques, the scars that form around…
Industry welcomes TRIA extension
13 December 2005
The US insurance industry has welcomed the approval by Congress of legislation which will see the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act extended by at least two years…
Hurricanes push Lloyd’s into loss
06 December 2005
Hurricane Katrina has pushed Lloyd’s into the red, with the market announcing it’s heading for a loss in 2005…
UK regulator goes soft on principles
06 December 2005
The UK Financial Services Authority has been given the message by its government: cut the cost of compliance…