S&P says UK insurers are stable
09 December 2003
The British general insurance industry might be experiencing negative business trends, but its outlook remains stable, says ratings agency Standard & Poor’s…
International
Hotelier settles on WTC damage
09 December 2003
US hotel chain the Marriott Group has settled with its insurers for the destruction of one hotel and damage to another during the attack on the World Trade Centre towers…
Asbestos Bill loses momentum
02 December 2003
The contentious Asbestos Bill has been put on hold in the US Senate, with the Democrats forcing it off the order paper until next year…
Trade Centre battle nears climax
02 December 2003
A New York judge has set February 9 next year for the first in a series of trials intended to resolve the World Trade Centre claims dispute…
Kann can’t: now a new Gerling Re suitor emerges
02 December 2003
Gerling Global Re still hasn’t been sold, thanks to the refusal of the New York Insurance Commissioner to ratify it…
US industry under-reserved, says ratings agency
02 December 2003
The US general insurance industry had an estimated reserve deficiency of between $63 billion and $106 billion at the end of last year, according to Fitch Ratings…
The St Paul solution: buy big
25 November 2003
The merger and acquisition game is on again in the US, with Minnesota’s The St Paul Companies reaching agreement to buy the much larger…
Lloyd’s jumps into GAAP
25 November 2003
Lloyd’s has made another big step towards moving to modern financial accounting by deciding to adopt the generally accepted accounting principles from January 1, 2005…
… and slips out a new principle
25 November 2003
Lloyd’s has also announced that a new form of slip for writing risks will come into operation in January…
Zurich leads Europe’s insurer recovery
25 November 2003
Higher premiums are slowly bringing the European insurance market back to profitability. Zurich Financial Services has reported a $1.9 billion profit for the first nine months of 2003…
R&SA is still struggling
25 November 2003
But it wasn’t all joy for the major European insurers. Struggling British insurer Royal & Sun Alliance has reported a $336.5 million after-tax loss for the first nine months…
GE wants out of insurance
25 November 2003
US conglomerate General Electric is getting rid of most of its life insurance and mortgage insurance businesses, with analysts suggesting it would be happy to see the rest go, too…
Buffett finds insurance a handy investment
18 November 2003
The insurance companies of US investment company Berkshire Hathaway are returning to profit after a difficult couple of years, says billionaire Warren Buffett…
California claims the most expensive bushfires
18 November 2003
Insurers in California say claims arising from the bushfires which swept through the state a few weeks ago are now expected to be the costliest in US history…
Financial services jobs going offshore
18 November 2003
Outsourcing of financial services jobs to Third World countries is going to increase over the next six years, according to British management consultancy Troika…
Insurers slow to fix risk and capital controls
18 November 2003
Major insurance companies are still dragging the chain over organising better controls over risk measurement and capital management…
UK assesses impact of reforms
11 November 2003
Two years after the British Government began the overhaul of its financial services sector, it is already planning a wide-ranging review of the legislation that brought it into effect…
UK companies tipped to undergo transformation
11 November 2003
British financial services companies are likely to move away from the distribution end of the business to concentrate on manufacturing products…
Scor goes for a rights issue
11 November 2003
After increasing reserves to accommodate some long-term claims, French reinsurer Scor has reported a net loss of $565 million for the first nine months of 2003…
Some US commercial rates softening
11 November 2003
The Risk and Insurance Managers Society says commercial insurance buyers in the US reported many insurance premiums showed signs of stabilising in the third quarter…