Asbestos confusion stalls legislators
22 November 2005
Will $US140 billion be enough to pay for US asbestos victims, or will claimants soon eat their way through that…?
International
Lloyd’s drawing up high-stakes survival plan
22 November 2005
Lloyd’s is drawing up a three-year plan on how it will deal with increasing foreign competition for its traditional markets…
Willis takes control in China
22 November 2005
British-based global broker Willis Group has been given permission to take a majority interest in its Chinese joint venture with Pudong Insurance Brokers…
Lloyd’s moves into China
15 November 2005
Lloyd’s has been given permission to establish a reinsurance operation in China…
US considers extending terrorism law
15 November 2005
It’ll be a close-run thing, but the US Congress is moving ponderously to addressing the need to extend the 2002 Terrorism Risk Insurance Act – which expires at the end of December…
One more time – AIG checks the books
15 November 2005
Giant US insurer AIG has raised its estimate of net income for the past few years by $US500 million as it re-examines its accounts for the second time this year…
Berkshire takes a belting from Katrina, Rita
08 November 2005
Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company run by business guru Warren Buffett has suffered a 48% quarterly profit fall as a result of some $US3 billion claims…
Reinsurers rattled
08 November 2005
As the claims for the damage caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita become clearer, the next few weeks are likely to be very rough for reinsurers with exposures to…
… and insurers drop hurricane states
08 November 2005
Major US insurers are beginning to scale down their exposures in the devastated gulf states, especially in the city of New Orleans…
Chubb judged the best
08 November 2005
And just to keep you up with all the awards: the Brussels-based International Insurance Brokers Association has named Chubb as the best international insurer for 2005…
Lawyers reined in
08 November 2005
The US Congress has passed a small but significant new bill into law…
Hurricane No 13 spares US insurers
01 November 2005
Hurricane Beta swept across the Central American countries of Nicaragua and Honduras at 135kmh yesterday, rapidly degrading into a tropical storm as it dumped 38cm of rain…
Jury blames authority for bombing
01 November 2005
A terrorist bombing in the basement of the World Trade Centre in 1993 has been found by a jury to be the fault of the building’s owner, the New York Port Authority…
Equitas does deal with General Motors
01 November 2005
Lloyd’s run-off reinsurer Equitas has settled all the asbestos-related claims of giant US car maker General Motors for an undisclosed amount…
Post-hurricane property premiums skyrocket
25 October 2005
US insurers are raising property premiums as much as 20% in the wake of the hurricanes which have hit the US gulf states this year…
FM Global moves into Singapore
25 October 2005
US commercial and industrial property specialist FM Global is following the example of many of its clients and expanding into the Singapore market…
Brokers protest direct market move
25 October 2005
More ructions among UK brokers as the country’s regulator, the Financial Services Authority, moves to redefine its consumer protection procedures for insurance…
Aon cuts 750 staff in UK restructure
11 October 2005
Aon will sack up to 750 of its UK staff in the next two years as part of a new restructure aimed at realigning the business around clients’ needs…
US market is up, even after Katrina and Rita
11 October 2005
Net income for the US general insurance industry increased 29.1% on the previous year, with a record $US30.93 billion earned in the first half of 2005…
Outsourcing ruling hits UK insurers
04 October 2005
Insurance companies in the UK will pay up to £200 million more tax a year after a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice on outsourced insurance services…