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…
International
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…
US brokers see ‘flattening’ in some classes
11 November 2003
Much the same impression of the state of the market comes from a new report by the US Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers…
BI claims bug 9/11 insurers
11 November 2003
Nearly 770 business interruption claims associated with the 9/11 disaster – with a loss exposure of about $12 billion – remain to be settled by insurers…
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…
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…