WTC mediation called as death toll falls by 40
04 November 2003
A New York judge wants World Trade Centre leaseholder Larry Silverstein and the Swiss Re-led consortium of insurers to meet on November 6 for mediation intended to break…
International
Asbestos: $161 billion settlement near
04 November 2003
The US Senate has reached an agreement with the American Insurance Association to put up $161.7 billion to fund asbestos claims for the next 27 years…
Smaller insurers celebrate profit turnaround
04 November 2003
Higher premiums are beginning to bite…
Lloyd’s boots out big loser
04 November 2003
Lloyd’s has summarily closed loss-making Syndicate 102, operated by Goshawk Insurance…
Chinese insurers go for IPOs
04 November 2003
China’s largest property insurer, PICC Property and Casualty Co, has raised $978.5 million in an interim public offering…
Munich, Allianz drift apart
28 October 2003
The untangling of Germany’s confusing cross-ownership arrangements continues, with Munich Re and Allianz the latest to announce that they will cancel a “principles of co-operation”…
Democrats block US tort reform
28 October 2003
Democrats in the US Senate have succeeded in blocking passage of a reform bill that would have put the brakes on frivolous class actions…
Silverstein gets the rent
28 October 2003
World Trade Centre leaseholder Larry Silverstein has had a very small victory in his ongoing battle against the insurance industry…
Earnings follow rates upward
28 October 2003
They might fret about premium rates, but major broking organisations stand to do even better than the small fry when it comes to making money out of the hard market…
US brokers discuss growing problem of mould
30 September 2003
Mould was a standout topic at this year’s Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America Convention and InfoXchange in Las Vegas…
Lloyd’s escapes EC scrutiny
30 September 2003
The European Commission has decided to close its investigation into the ability of British law to adequately supervise Lloyd’s, effectively scuttling the last hopes…
WTC case goes to a jury
30 September 2003
World Trade Centre leaseholder Larry Silverstein will have to plead his case against his insurers in front of a jury…
R&SA gets the go-ahead to build up reserves
30 September 2003
Royal & SunAlliance, the once-mighty insurer now struggling to retain its status as a significant international player, is going ahead with a $2.3 billion rights issue after shareholders…
RGA to buy Allianz Life
30 September 2003
Reinsurance Group America will acquire, through coinsurance, the US life reinsurance business of Allianz Life…
Fortis takes an arm from US
30 September 2003
Dutch financial services company Fortis will float its US operation next year as it moves to concentrate on its “core business” in Belgium and the Netherlands…
Isabel-type storms will hurt insurers
23 September 2003
While the damage bill from Hurricane Isabel has been cut from $5.8 billion down to around $1.4 billion, the storm and other more potentially damaging storms are going to put…
Levene attacks compensation culture
23 September 2003
Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Levene is continuing to act as a convincing frontman for the market, raising big issues wherever he goes…
UK regulator worries brokers
23 September 2003
The release last week of the British Financial Services Authority’s final rules for brokers under the impending financial services reforms – PS174 and PS159, which cover prudential…
Airline exposure no concern, says Greenberg
09 September 2003
AIG Chairman and CEO Maurice Greenberg seems unfazed by the threat of a possible downgrade from its untarnished AAA rating…
US property and casualty insurers reap huge capital gains
09 September 2003
Property and casualty insurers in the US enjoyed a $1.7 billion increase in capital gains during the first quarter of 2003, thanks to a reduction in underwriting losses…