Tag: Insurance Journal
Insurers Suspect Fraud, Sue Phillips Asbestos Trust
Six insurance companies are suing an asbestos personal injury trust set up by a U.S. unit of Philips that the insurers suspect has been...
P/C Insurers’ Profit Dipped in Q1
Private U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes fell to $13.8 billion in first-quarter 2014 from $14.3 billion in first-quarter 2013. Insurers’ pretax operating income...
Swiss Re Agrees to Purchase RSA’s Sun Alliance in China
Swiss Re, the world’s second – largest reinsurer, agreed to buy a Chinese unit of RSA Insurance Group Plc as it shifts capital to...
Brokers Say Reinsurance Prices under Pressure at Mid-year Renewals
Reinsurance prices fell by as much as 25 percent in key markets mid-year as pension funds poured in money and demand for cover from...
European Insurance Federation Opposes Compulsory Environmental Liability
“An EU-wide compulsory environmental liability insurance system would not benefit customers and so should not be introduced,” according to Insurance Europe, the European insurance...
ING Said to Price Insurance Unit at Midrange in $1.9 Billion IPO
ING Groep NV, the biggest Dutch financial-services company, is likely to price the initial public offering of its European insurance arm at €20 ,...
AIG Ex-CEO Greenberg Loses Supreme Court Appeal in Suit Against Bailout
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by former American International Group Inc. Chief Executive Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, who accused the Federal...
Polish Insurer PZU Selling Eurobonds to Buy RSA Units
PZU SA, Poland’s biggest insurer, is selling 500 million euros ($681 million) of five-year bonds to help finance an acquisition. The state-controlled insurer is tapping...
U.S. Ambassador Presses China Over Cyber Theft, Investment Treaty
Cyber theft of trade secrets by China is a threat to U.S. national security, U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus said on Wednesday in...
Japan’s MS&AD Planning on Insurance Acquisitions for Growth in Southeast Asia
MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc., Japan’s largest non-life insurer, will seek acquisitions in Southeast Asia to expand its overseas business, said President and Chief...
Allstate Estimates $440M Catastrophe Losses for May
Allstate Corp. estimated that it had $440 million in pre-tax catastrophe losses for the month of May 2014 —or $286 million after taxes. The Northbrook, Ill.-based...
Marsh Interested in Alexander Forbes of South Africa: Report
Marsh Ltd., the insurance unit of New York-based Marsh & McLennan Cos, has expressed interest in bidding for closely held Alexander Forbes Ltd. of...
Marsh to Acquire Majority Stake in Panama Broker Semusa
Marsh announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Panamanian insurance broker and advisor Semusa, Marsh’s long-standing local...
ING Seeks as Much as $2.1 Billion from NN Insurance Offering
ING Groep NV, the biggest Dutch financial-services company, is seeking as much as €1.54 billion ($2.1 billion) in the first and what may be...
Cat Bond Buyers Listening to Storm Forecasters, Not Buffett
Bond buyers are betting more than ever on the mercy of Mother Nature as they seek to boost yields being suppressed by central banks. Demand...
QBE Reorganizing to Create Emerging Markets Division for Lat.Am.-Asia Pacific
Australia’s QBE Insurance Group Limited has announced “a strategic change to ensure its business is positioned for profitable growth.” QBE said that after a...
Lloyd’s Tallies Collective Insurable Value’ of World Cup Teams at $10.5 Billion
Lloyd’s has released research with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) that ranks each team in the FIFA World Cup based on...
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Jumps Into Surety with Zurich’s Delisio
Continuing with its rapid expansion, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance is moving into the surety market, focusing on contract surety business. The company has appointed...
AIG Invests $1.5 Billion in Commercial Lending With Oak Hill
American International Group Inc., the largest property/casualty insurer in the U.S. and Canada, joined private-equity firm Oak Hill Capital Management to help start a...
Under New CEO Hancock, Smaller AIG Expected to Focus on Growth
American International Group Inc. promoted Peter Hancock to chief executive officer as the company focuses on growth after his predecessor stabilized the insurer and...
Storm Kills Six in Germany as Hottest Holiday Ends in Tragedy
A thunderstorm that swept through large parts of Germany on Monday night left as many as six people dead and 30 seriously injured as...
Cyber Theft, Already a $445 Billion Business, to Grow Bigger
hat’s the main message from former U.S. intelligence officials, who in a report today outlined scenarios for how $445 billion a year in trade...
S&P Panel Urges Insurers to Seek Better Returns Globally
“Continuing low interest rates and soft economic growth are contributing to a tough investment climate for insurance companies, but they’re still finding opportunities for...
Disaster Cost Has Quadrupled Since 1980s: EU Commissioner
The average annual cost of natural disasters has quadrupled over the last three decades and it makes economic sense to boost spending on preparedness...
UN Report: Global Warming Damages Coral Reefs Vital to Islands
Global warming is causing trillions of dollars of damage to coral reefs, aggravating risks to tropical small island states threatened by rising sea levels,...
MetLife Unwavering in Battle Over Systemic Risk Rules
Steven Kandarian got MetLife Inc. out of banking to escape Federal Reserve oversight. Now, the insurer is fighting again to avoid the central bank’s...
Falling Reinsurance Rates by Cat Bond Competition Eroding Primary Prices: Zurich
A slide in reinsurance rates under competition from catastrophe bonds is starting to weigh on prices that companies like Zurich Insurance Group AG charge...
German Insurers Say Schaeuble Amendment Will Scare off Investors
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has deflected complaints from insurers worried that his revamp of how they meet obligations to policy holders will scare...
Savage to Leave; Lloyd’s Announces Changes in Finance, Operations
Luke Savage, who has been Lloyd’s Director of Finance and Operations for ten years, will be stepping down from Lloyd’s later this summer, to...
S&P Report Finds Companies Are Starting To Assess Climate Risks
A report – “Dealing With Disaster: How Companies Are Starting To Assess Their Climate Event Risks” – from Standard & Poor’s London office points...
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Enters Travel Insurance Business
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, part of Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, has launched the first product in its new travel-insurance line designed for travelers, travel...
Record Flooding Impacts Southeast Europe: AIR Analysis
According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Southeast Europe is experiencing record levels of flooding after three months’ worth of rain fell in just...
Lower Cat Losses Helped Home Insurers to First Profit Since 2007: SNL
The U.S. homeowners insurance industry benefited from lower catastrophe activity in 2013 and became profitable for the first time since 2007, according to an analysis by...
How Technology Is Revolutionizing Insurance Distribution: Swiss Re
Technology is changing the way insurers and consumers interact and giving insurers access to considerable data so they can better understand their customers, says...
AIG Completes $7.6 Billion ILFC Sale to AerCap
AerCap Holdings NV completed its $7.6 billion purchase of International Lease Finance Corp., creating the largest independent jet-leasing firm and a windfall for seller...
AIG Could Gain Extra $2 Billion in Sale of Plane Leasing Unit
American International Group Inc. stands to get an extra $2 billion from the cash-and-stock sale of its plane-leasing unit after acquirer AerCap Holdings NV...
China Insurance Regulator Warns Insurers on Investments in Debt
Chinese insurers face increasing risks from their investments in property and local government debt as the nation’s economic growth slows, according to a senior...
Has Online Shopping for Auto Insurance Peaked?
Shopping over the internet for auto insurance is down for the second year in a row, says a survey by a company that tracks...
Foreign Insurers’ Role in U.S. Tax Evasion Under Scrutiny
A Swiss asset management firm, Swisspartners Group, agreed to pay $4.4 million to the United States to settle a probe into whether it helped...
Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting Highlights U.S. Losses in April Cat Report
Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting’s latest edition of its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, Highlights the “multi-day outbreak of severe weather and flash flooding in...
Allstate Q1 Profit Drops on Weather Losses
Allstate Corp. reported that higher losses from catastrophes due to severe winter weather cut into profits in the first quarter while higher premiums helped...
AIG Profit Falls 27% in Q1; Hurt by Catastrophes, Severe Losses
Global insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG) reported net income of $1.6 billion for the first quarter, a 27 percent drop compared to $2.2...
AIG, Prudential Financial on Federal Reserve’s List of 15 Firms for Extra Supervision
The Federal Reserve released a list of 15 firms that merit an extra layer of supervision because they pose heightened systemic risks, including JPMorgan...
Berkshire Hathaway 1Q P/C Re/Insurance Results Down from Last Year
Berkshire-Hathaway’s primary property/casualty operations recorded double-digit gains in premiums and pre-tax earnings in the first quarter, but P/C reinsurance results contributed to a 6.6...
Speculation on Buffett’s Successor Heats Up Before Berkshire Annual Meeting
Two years ago, Warren Buffett, then 81, announced that the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. board had chosen his successor as chief executive officer. The board, he...
Hartford to Sell Japan Operation to Orix in $895 Million Deal
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. agreed to sell its Japanese operation to Orix Corp. as Chief Executive Officer Liam McGee narrows the U.S. insurer’s...
Healthcare Industry Lacks Adequate Cybersecurity, Says FBI
The FBI has warned healthcare providers their cybersecurity systems are lax compared to other sectors, making them vulnerable to attacks by hackers searching for...
Chubb Reports Drop in 1Q Profit Due to Winter Weather, Fire Losses
The Chubb Corp. reported a drop in net income in the first quarter of 2014 to $449 million, compared to $656 million in the...
Customers Switching Auto Insurers Unhappy with New Prices: J.D. Powers
Customers who switch auto insurance carriers due to poor service often end up sorry they did because they end up paying more with their...
Everest Re Posts $293.9 Million Q1 Net Income
The Bermuda-based Everest Re Group, Ltd. reported net income of $293.9 million, or $6.21 per diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2014,...
China Regulators Draft Rules for Insurer Trusts
Collective trusts that insurers are allowed to invest in are confined to those backed by financing assets and non-listed equity assets, according to draft...
Marsh Report Finds Continued Demand for Terrorism Risk Insurance; Urges Renewal
Demand for terrorism insurance remains strong and the existence of the federal terrorism risk insurance program plays a key role in making coverage available...
2013 P/C Insurers’ Results Show Net Gain on Underwriting- First Since 2007
U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income after taxes grew to $63.8 billion in 2013 from $35.1 billion in 2012, with insurers’ overall profitability as measured...
1 in 7 Cars on Road Have Unrepaired Defect
Even with U.S. auto recalls on pace to reach the highest level in a decade this year, there’s a good chance many of the...
XL’s CEO McGavick Says He’s Open to Deals for Life Reinsurance Unit
XL Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Michael McGavick said he’s open to proposals for the company’s life reinsurance business as investment firms expand their...
Hartford CEO McGee’s Pay Up 58% to $17.7 Million As Stock Surges
Liam McGee, the chief executive officer of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., had his compensation increase 58 percent last year as he presided over...
Willis Highlights Coverage Gap of $100 Million in Uninsured Cargo Losses
“In recent years cargo losses worth more than one hundred million dollars have not been recovered under traditional cargo insurance policies due to critical...
Global Reinsurer Capital at All-Time High of $540 Billion: Aon Benfield
The latest edition of the Aon Benfield Aggregate (ABA) report estimates that global reinsurer capital totaled $540 billion as of December 31, 2013, an increase of...
Axa Eyes Sale of U.S. Reinsurer
Axa SA is exploring the sale of a U.S. subsidiary that shoulders risks tied to variable annuities, as Europe’s second-largest insurer narrows its focus...
Forecasters See Quiet Atlantic Hurricane Season
Rising heat in the equatorial Pacific Ocean portends the quietest Atlantic hurricane season in five years, Colorado State University researchers said. Nine named storms, with...
AIG Still Has Work To Do, Says Chairman Miller
American International Group Inc. must do more to win over Wall Street, even after rallying 51 percent in the past two years, Chairman Steve...
Hannover Re Says Capital Allows Steady Dividend, Potential Acquisitions
Hannover Re, the world’s third- biggest reinsurer, has sufficient capital to offer investors a steady dividend and pursue potential purchases, Chief Executive Officer Ulrich...
European Insurers Shifting Investments Into Loan Market, Acting Like Banks: Moody’s
European insurers such as Allianz SE and Axa SA are shifting investments into the loan market, taking business from banks that are being forced...
Allstate, Bank of America Agree to End Lawsuit Over Mortgages
Allstate Corp. and Bank of America Corp.’s Countrywide unit have agreed to dismiss a lawsuit stemming from $700 million of toxic mortgage debt, according...
70% Chance of El Nino Extreme Weather Event in 2014: Australian Meteorologists
The chance of an El Nino weather event developing in 2014 now exceeds 70 percent, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday, raising the...
Arthur J. Gallagher: Q1 Revenues Up 20%; 10 Mergers in Pipeline
Illinois-based global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported 20 percent growth in total revenues for its brokerage and risk management units combined...
Allianz Expands in Canada to Energy, Mining Markets
Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, is expanding in Canada, targeting protection for the energy and mining industries. The insurer, which offers corporate property and casualty...
Bank of America Settles Forced-Place Insurance Claims for $228M
Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay $228 million to settle claims the bank overcharged for insurance homeowners were forced to accept when their...
Cyber Coverage Demand Increased in 2013, Trend to Continue in 2014: Marsh
Demand for cyber insurance rose by 21 percent across all industries in 2013 compared to 2012, and early indications in 2014 are that the...
Zurich CFO’s Widow to Confront Insurer at Annual Meeting; Company Defends Probe
Seven months after the suicide of Zurich Insurance finance chief Pierre Wauthier, his widow is set to confront the company over its handling of...
Reinsurers Spared from Large Cat Losses in 1Q: Fitch
Reinsurers will report solid underwriting profitability for the first quarter of 2014 as catastrophe loss events were limited. According to Fitch Ratings, global reinsurers’...
Top 5 Riskiest States for Employee Lawsuits: Hiscox
Four states – California, Illinois, Alabama and Mississippi – along with the District of Columbia, are the top five riskiest places in the country...
Italy, France Threaten European Growth: Swiss Re Economist Kurt Karl
The lack of structural measures in large economies including France and Italy present the biggest threat to growth in the euro area, Swiss Re...
2013 Floods Prove Positive Results from Defense Measures: Munich Re
A study from Munich Re notes that although natural catastrophe losses in 2013 were dominated by floods, “detailed analyses have shown that protective measures...
April Renewals Confirm Reinsurance Rates Continue to Fall: Willis Re Chairman
“Reinsurance rates began to fall last year,” said Willis Re’s Chairman James Vickers in a telephone interview. The January renewals “saw more reductions, and...
Insurance Study Shows Vehicle Recalls Matter
How seriously should a vehicle owner take a recall notice? A new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) shows that at least one...
Lloyd’s Stands Ready’ to Pay Claims from Malaysian Airlines Flight 370
Lloyd’s of London, the world’s oldest insurance market, has said it stands ready to pay out claims arising from the presumed loss of Malaysian...
Old Mutual Sells Skandia Units as It Pares European Operations
Old Mutual Plc, Africa’s biggest insurer, is selling its Skandia units in Germany and Austria for €220 million ($303 million) in cash. The two businesses,...
Lloyd’s Profits for 2013 Near $5.3 Billion
Lloyd’s announced a profit of £3.2 billion for 2013, compared to a profit of £2.8 billion in 2012. Gross written premium income...
Malaysia Jet’s Mystery Disappearance Leaves Liability Riddles
As the final hours of Malaysian Air Flight MH370 remain wrapped in mystery, the question of who bears full liability for the jet’s disappearance...
Insurers Warned on Rise in Fraudulent Car Rental Schemes
In the last 12 months, Kraig Palmer he has seen rental car schemes “rise faster than any other auto fraud trend.” Palmer, an investigator with...
ING to End Majority Stake in U.S. Business in $1.2 Billion Sale
ING Groep NV, the biggest Dutch financial-services company, will end its majority stake in its U.S. insurance unit with another share sale as it...
How Is Obamacare Affecting Competition Among Health Insurers?
A snapshot of Obamacare enrollment in seven states suggests the law hasn’t significantly increased competition in health insurance markets, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported. In...
Aon Acquires UK’s Lorica Employee Benefits
Aon announced that it has agreed to acquire, subject to regulatory confirmation, Lorica Employee Benefits, one of the UK’s most experienced and well-respected consultancy...
P/C Reinsurance Market Softer Due to Alternative Capital: Execs
A new survey from Towers Watson confirms that more than half (55 percent) of property/casualty insurance chief financial officers believe the property reinsurance market...
China’s Ping An Declines after Profit Trails Estimates
Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., China’s second-biggest insurer, fell to the lowest in more than a month in Hong Kong trading after reporting profit...
Hannover Re Q4 Net Income Rises 48% after Tax Gain
Hannover Re, the world’s third- biggest reinsurer, posted a 48 percent increase in fourth- quarter profit, beating analysts’ estimates. Net income rose to €265 million...
Rise in Auto Injury Medical Costs Tops Inflation While Severity Declines
Medical expenses reported by auto injury claimants continue to rise faster than the rate of inflation, in spite of the fact that the severity...
Increase in Cyber Attacks Costing Millions, Stressing Internet
Crashing websites and overwhelming data centers, a new generation of cyber attacks is costing millions and straining the structure of the Internet. While some attackers...
Febuary Stoms Caused $1 Billion Insured Losses: Aon Benfield’s Cat Report
Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, has released its latest edition of its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report,...
Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting Releases Updated European Windstorm Model
Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, has launched its new European windstorm model. The model, which has been...
The Hartford Cut Workforce by 3,700 in 2013
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. cut its staff by 16 percent last year as Chief Executive Officer Liam McGee narrowed the insurer’s focus. The insurer...
Ward Named to Head New ACE Eurasia & Africa Business Region
The ACE Group announced that it has established a new business region, Eurasia & Africa, as part of its Overseas General division – the...
Winter Claims Cost Insurers $1.5 Billion Thus Far
Near-record snowfall and prolonged extreme cold throughout many parts of the country have caused insurers to pay more than $1.5 billion to more than...
Direct Line Says Cost of U.K. Floods Could Reach $183.6 Million
Direct Line Insurance Group Plc, seen as one of the insurers most vulnerable to losses from the recent U.K. storms, said weather claims may...
Liberty Mutual Swings to Profit; 2013 Full-Year Income Rises 110% to $1.74B
Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc. and its subsidiaries today reported net income of $496 million for its 2013 fourth quarter, improving from a net...
Aviva, RSA, Direct Line Face Heaviest Losses from UK Floods
Aviva Plc, RSA Insurance Group Plc, and Direct Line Group Plc are poised to bear the brunt of losses from flooding in Britain that...
Greenberg’s Post-AIG Empire Looking Like Mini-Berkshire
Since his ouster from American International Group Inc. in 2005, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg has been quietly building an insurance and investment conglomerate that people...
Allianz Signs on to UN’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI)
Germany’s Allianz SE, Europe’s largest insurer, announced that it has signed the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) of the United Nations Environment Program Finance...
Judge Refuses AIG Bid to Delay Bank of America $8.5B Settlement
Bank of America Corp.’s $8.5 billion settlement with mortgage-bond investors won’t be delayed after American International Group Inc. and other objectors asked for a...
Liberty Mutual Entering Malaysia with $113 Million Acquisition
Liberty Mutual Insurance Group in Boston announced the company’s entry into Malaysia’s $4.6 billion non-life insurance market with its planned acquisition of a 68.9...
Global 2013 Cat Losses at $40 Billion Were Below Average’ – Guy Carpenter
Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, the leading global risk and reinsurance specialist and member of Marsh & McLennan Companies, 2013 Catastrophe Review concludes that...
MMC’s Marsh 4Q Revenue Jumps 4% to $1.4B
Marsh & McLennan Cos. reported $303 million in net income for its 2013 fourth quarter, up 17 percent from $259 million posted during the...
P/C Insurers’ Net Income Up 60%, Combined Ratio at 97.6 for 2013: A.M. Best
A relatively quiet year for catastrophes helped the U.S. property/casualty industry achieve an underwriting profit for the first time in four years, according to...
Snowy, Cold January Was Deadly and Costly: Aon
The various winter storms that brought snow and bitter cold to the United States in January took more than 50 lives and are expected...
Court Denies AIG Ex-CEO Greenberg Bid to Remove Judge From New York AG Case
Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, the former chairman of American International Group Inc., lost his bid to remove a judge from a lawsuit brought in 2005...
Automaker Recalls Hit 22 Million in 2013
Automakers recalled 21.9 million cars and trucks in the U.S. last year, a nine-year high. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said automakers initiated 632...
Munich Re Raises Dividend as Profit Beats Estimates
Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, plans to boost its dividend after fourth-quarter profit beat estimates on lower catastrophe-related costs. Net income rose to about...
Insurer to Give Away $1.5M in Twitter Contest
Direct car insurance provider Esurance is giving consumers a chance to win $1.5 million in a Twitter sweepstakes. Actor John Krasinski announced Esurance’s Twitter sweepstakes...
Lloyd’s Launches Volume Claims Service’
Lloyd’s announced the launch of its new shared service, Volume Claims Service (VCS), which it said is “part of its overarching Claims Transformation Program,...
Super Bowl Madness: Insuring Kick-Offs, Touchdowns and More
By Stephanie K. Jones When it comes to contests, promotions and prizes, the Super Bowl hasn’t always been kind to Dallas-based SCA Promotions. Over the...
Chubb Reports 4Q Profit Surge a Year After Sandy
By Alexandria Baca Chubb Corp., the insurer of corporate boards and high-end homes, said profit surged as margins improved a year after Superstorm Sandy. Fourth-quarter...
Best Affirms Swiss Re, Europe Affiliates A+’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
January 31, 2014 A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR)...
Near Record $7.1 Billion in Cat Bonds Issued in 2013: Willis Capital Markets
Last year saw a record number of 29 catastrophe bond deals, according to Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), the capital markets division of...
ACE Reports Q4 Net Operating Income of $824 Million; FY $2.317 Billion
ACE Limited reported net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, of $998 million, or $2.90 per share, compared with $2.22 per share...
Oasis Consortium of 21 Insurers, Brokers Launches Independent Cat Model
The Oasis Loss Modelling Framework has unveiled what it describes as “the most significant development in the modelling of natural catastrophe losses for 20...
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance to Acquire MyAssist and Insure America
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance said it has agreed to purchase the assets of MyAssist Inc., a live-agent personal concierge and telematics service provider, and...
Progressive Reports 20% Profit Gain in Q4
Progressive Corp., the fourth- largest U.S. auto insurer, said profit climbed 20 percent in the fourth quarter as margins improved a year after Superstorm...
S&P Reinsurance Report Warns of Negative Rating Actions’
Standard & Poor’s latest report – “Past The Tipping Point: Competition And Soft Pricing Could Lead To Rating Pressure For Global Reinsurers” – on...
Berkshire Hathaway Insures $1 Billion Prize for Predicting NCAA Winners
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is backing a $1 billion prize offered by Quicken Loans Inc. if a contestant predicts the winner of each...
Philippine Floods Kill 34 People
At least 34 people were killed in flooding and landslides in the southern Philippines in the past week, as the national weather service issued...
Top 10 Corporate Risks in 2014: Allianz Risk Barometer
Business interruption (BI) and supply chain, natural catastrophes and fire/explosion top the list of company risks in 2014, according to the third annual Allianz...
ACE Buying 69% Stake in Thai Insurer
ACE Limited (ACE) said it has agreed to purchase a 60.9 percent stake in The Siam Commercial Samaggi Insurance PCL, a general insurance company...
Policing the Dark Side’ of Internet of Things
The futuristic world of self-driving cars, eyeglasses that e-mail and trash cans that call for pickup is running into the old-fashioned pace of doing...
Global Natural Disasters Cost Insurers $45B in 2013: Impact Forecasting
In 2013, there were 296 separate natural disaster events that produced total economic losses of $192 billion – four percent below the 10-year average...
Top 3 Trends for P/C Insurers: Deloitte
Property/casualty insurers should be thinking about transforming how they do business and how they can better deploy technology if they want to pursue long-term...
Nationale Suisse Granted Singapore Insurance License
Nationale Suisse announced that its new Singapore branch has received a license from the local authorities allowing it to insure risks directly and to...
Digital driving licence scheme could lead to lower car insurance
By Sarah Neville, Alistair Gray and Robert Cookson Motorists could see their annual insurance premiums fall £15 under government plans to put all driving records...
Munich Re’s Review of 2013 Cat Losses Focuses on Weather-Related Events
In its annual review of loss events in the past year, Munich Re emphasized the “exceptionally high losses from weather-related catastrophes in Europe and...
RSA Shares Soar on Report Irish Unit May Need No More Fresh Capital
RSA Insurance Group Plc rose the most in almost five years in London trading amid a report that the insurer’s Irish unit may require...
Companies More Vulnerable to Cyber Breaches Around New Year
A string of cyber attacks over the holidays — involving Snapchat Inc., Microsoft Corp.’s Skype and Target Corp. — underscore how companies tend to...
Capital Capacity Softens January Renewal Rates up to 25%: Willis Re Report
According to Willis Re’s January 2014 Reinsurance Renewals Report, “a heady cocktail of converging factors has fuelled a soft buyers’ market in nearly all...
CoreLogic Acquires Catastrophe Modeling Firm Eqecat
CoreLogic, an Irivine, Calif. company that provides the insurance, financial services and real estate industries with data and analytics, has acquired catastrophe modeling firm...
Allstate Settles Lawsuit Against Deutsche Bank Over Mortgage Securities
Deutsche Bank AG and Allstate Corp. settled a suit the insurer brought that accused the bank of misrepresentations and omissions in connection with loans...
Allstate Reports Q4 Pension Settlement Charge of $100-125M
The Allstate Corp. reported that it expects to report a fourth-quarter 2013 settlement charge of $100 to $125 million, after-tax, related to the annual...
Standard & Poor’s Report Reviews Global Insurance Ratings
A report from S&P’s rating services notes that “after revising its insurance criteria earlier this year”, the rating agency “affirmed more than 91 percent...
AIG to Sell Aircraft Leasing Unit ILFC for $5 Billion
American International Group Inc. agreed to sell the world’s second-largest aircraft lessor to AerCap Holdings NV for $5 billion after a group of Chinese bidders...
AIG in Talks to Sell Aircraft Leasing Unit ILFS to AerCap
Insurer American International Group is in talks to sell its jet-leasing finance business to AerCap Holdings NV, according to reports. Netherlands-based AerCap, the world’s largest...
2013 Had Lowest Hurricane Count since 1982: Willis Re
The 2013 Atlantic storm season has proved one of the quietest in decades with the lowest number of hurricanes since 1982 and none of...
Best Downgrades QBE and Subs’ Issuer Credit Ratings; Affirms FSR
A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has downgraded the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a” from “a+” and affirmed the financial strength ratings...
U.S. Insurance Broker Sector Outlook Positive for 2014: Fitch
Revenue and earnings growth for U.S. insurance brokers in 2014 is expected to improve modestly over 2013, according to a report by Fitch Ratings. Fitch...
Tokio Marine Europe to Combine Operations with Kiln Group
Tokio Marine Europe and Kiln, both of which are part of the Tokio Marine Group, announced their intention yesterday to join forces to form...
Reinsurers to Lower Prices Following Weak Hurricane Season: Fitch
The quietest U.S. Atlantic hurricane season in decades will lead to a low double-digit fall in related catastrophe reinsurance pricing in the key 2014...
Swiss Re’s Insurance Outlook for 2014/15 Sees Emerging Market Growth
In an assessment of the prospects for insurance market in 2014/15, Swiss Re’s latest report concludes that “global economic growth will continue to strengthen...
Best Affirms Munich Re and Subs A+’ Ratings; Outlook Stable
A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-”...
Swiss Re to Buy Stake in Brazil’s Sul America
Swiss Re Ltd., the world’s second- largest reinsurer, agreed to buy an 11 percent stake in Sul America SA from ING Groep NV to...
Investors to Double Catastrophe Bonds by 2018: BNY Mellon
The amount of insurance-linked securities outstanding may reach $150 billion by the end of 2018 as institutional investors including pension funds search for yield,...
Philippine Typhoon Haiyan Takes 10,000 Lives, Ravages City, Villages
One of the most powerful storms ever recorded killed at least 10,000 people in the central Philippines, a senior police official said on Sunday,...
AIR Estimates Insured Losses from Europe Windstorm at $2-$3 Billion
Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide has estimated that insured losses from Windstorm Christian (known as St. Jude in the UK) will range between €1.5 billion...
MMC’s Marsh Insurance Brokerage Unit Q3 Revenue Rises 4% to $1.24B
Marsh & McLennan Cos. (MMC) reported today its 2013 third quarter net income of $253 million, a 4.98 percent increase from $241 million income...
Willis Unit Places $300 Million Cat Bond for Catlin
Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), the capital markets and advisory business of Willis Group Holdings, the global risk advisor, insurance and reinsurance broker,...
Buffett Looking For Acquisitions as Berkshire’s $40B Cash Pile Deemed Too Much’
Warren Buffett, who aims to have $20 billion in cash at his Berkshire Hathaway Inc., isn’t investing fast enough to keep money from piling...
Munich Re Stresses Need for Nat Cat Coverage in Emerging Markets
According to a scientific study conducted by the University of Würzburg on the basis of loss data from Munich Re’s NatCatSERVICE database, “emerging countries...
Europe Battered by Winter Storm Christian: AIR Worldwide Analysis
Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide reported that “winter storm ‘Christian’ (known as ‘St. Jude in the United Kingdom) battered the western shores of southern...
Marsh & McLennan Climbs to Post-Spitzer High
Marsh & McLennan Cos., the biggest insurance broker by market value, has climbed to a 9-year high, bouncing back from the plunge that followed...
Atlantic Hurricane Season Quietest in 45 Years, Experts Say
The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season looks set to go down as a big washout, marking the first time in 45 years that the strongest...
ACE Posts Record Q3 Operating Income of $857 Million; $916 Million Net
ACE Limited reported net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, of $916 million, $2.66 per share, compared with $640 million, $1.86 per...
Travelers Posts $864M Q3 Profit, Consistent With Prior Year Quarter
The Travelers Companies Inc. today reported its third-quarter net income of $864 million, unchanged from the same period a year ago. Travelers showed a...
Europe a Reinsurance Buyer’s Market Says Willis Re; Rates Down 5-10%
In a report from Baden-Baden, Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of Willis Group Holdings plc, notes that “increased capacity, competition and changing market dynamics have...
Allianz CEO Says New Regulation to Create Room for Acquisitions
Allianz SE’s CEO Michael Diekmann said tougher financial regulation will create takeover opportunities for Europe’s biggest insurer. “If Solvency II and Basel III mean more...
MAPFRE Enters Indonesian Market with 20% Stake in ABDA
Spain’s MAPFRE announced that it has acquired a 20 percent stake in the Indonesian insurance company Asuransi Bina Dana Arta (ABDA), and “has established...
Best Europe Affirms AVIVA and Subs Ratings
A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+”...
Swiss Re in Pact with Pacific Century for Asia Life Investment
Swiss Re announced that it has entered into an agreement with Pacific Century Group to invest up to $425 million in FWD Group, describing...
Best Europe Affirms SCOR and Main Subs Ratings; Outlook Stable
A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+”...
D&O Liability Insurance Rates Fell in Q2: Marsh
U.S. publicly-traded clients paid 4.9 percent more on average for their primary directors and officers liability (D&O) coverage in the second quarter, according to...
Forecast for 2014 Commercial P/C Pricing: Willis
Commercial property insurance buyers could see prices fall from 10 to 20 percent on non-catastrophe risks in 2014 thanks to the influx of alternative...
September Economic Loss from Nat Cats $15 Billion: Aon Benfield Report
Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, has released its latest monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report for September, which...
Swiss Re’s Head of Casualty Jayne Plunkett Explains Why It’s a Social Science’
Jayne Plunkett, possibly the second most well-known person from Iowa after Bill Bryson, heads Swiss Re’s International casualty reinsurance operations. In the interview she...
Taiwan Insurers Have $10 Billion to Invest in Foreign Property
Taiwan insurers have the financial capacity to invest at least $10 billion in overseas properties after the island’s government relaxed rules in April on...
Lloyd’s CEO Richard Ward Reflects on Nearly 8′ Eventful Years
Lloyd’s CEO Richard Ward is stepping down from the post at the end of the year. He will be missed, but, despite the catastrophes...
Improving Meadowbrook Ends Reinsurance Deal with Swiss Re
Meadowbrook Insurance Group Inc. and Swiss Re have mutually agreed to terminate a quota-share reinsurance agreement that was put in place late last year, Meadowbrook said...
Michael Jackson Wrongful Death Case to Change Tune for Entertainment Insurance
When Britney Spears takes the stage this December for the first of a heavily hyped 100-show two-year residency at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas,...
Willis’ Report Sees Energy Market Softening’
“Too much capacity chasing an insufficient amount of premium in both the downstream and upstream energy markets will cause a general softening of the...
Billions at Stake as BP Oil Spill Trial Enters Next Phase
By Terry Wade and Andrew Callus BP will battle to hold down fines that could hit $18 billion in a new phase of the Gulf...
Lloyd’s Posts $2.215 Billion 1st 6 Months Profit; Investment Returns Down
Lloyd’s announced a profit of £1.38 billion for the six-month period ending 30 June 2013. “The market continued to grow with gross written...
Vote on Prudential Systemic Risk Designation Was 7-2
Prudential Financial Inc., the second-largest U.S. life insurer, was designated systemically important in a 7-to-2 vote by a council of regulators charged with preventing...
S&P Report Says Global Multiline Insurers in Good Shape
A report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services says that overall, “it considers global multiline insurers (GMIs) to still display better credit quality than...
Zurich Ad Campaign Seeks to Restore Insurer to Normality
By rolling out television, print and billboard marketing campaigns on Monday, Zurich Insurance is aiming to advertise business as usual after a suicide and...
Insurers Expect Increase in Personal Lines, Workers’ Compensation Fraud
One in three U.S. and Canadian insurers does not feel adequately protected against fraud and more than half expect personal lines and workers’ compensation...
Former Zurich Chair Ackermann Quits Siemens, Refutes Influence in CFO Suicide
Josef Ackermann will step down from Siemens AG’s supervisory board, two weeks after he resigned as chairman of Zurich Insurance Group AG following his...
AIG Not Renewing Reinsurance with Rival Berkshire: Source
American International Group Inc. has decided against signing new reinsurance contracts with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. after Warren Buffett’s company started a commercial insurer competing...
Hannover Re Agrees: No Change in Most Reinsurance Rates in 2014 Renewals
Hannover Re, the world’s third- largest reinsurer, said it expects reinsurance rates at price negotiations for January renewals to remain little changed. Pricing will be...
New Capital in Reinsurance Industry Could Reach $100B in 5 Years: Aon
The reinsurance industry may attract about $100 billion of new capital from alternative sources over the next five years as pension and hedge funds...
Insurers back fund with focus on Asia and Africa
By Alistair Gray in Monte Carlo Six of the world’s leading insurers are to invest in a new $400m private equity fund being set up...
U.S. Reinsurance Sector’s Profit Jumps 32% to $4.76B for 2013 First Half
The Reinsurance Association of America (RAA)’s latest survey shows a group of 18 U.S. property/casualty reinsurers posted $4.756 billion net income in aggregate for...
EU Insurers Spent $6.5 Billion on Regulation in 2012: Deloitte Estimate
Europe’s 40 largest insurers spent as much as €4.9 billion ($6.5 billion) last year complying with new regulations, according to estimates by Deloitte LLP. The...
Global Reinsurer Capital Reaches $510 Billion: Aon Benfield Survey
The latest edition of the Aon Benfield Aggregate (ABA) report, which analyses the financial results of the world’s leading reinsurers in the first half...
Lloyd’s Internal Probe Said to Be Focus of New York’s Iran Sanctions Inquiry
A New York regulatory investigation of Lloyd’s of London for possible violations of Iran sanctions law has led to a government request for files...
Moody’s Expects Commercial P/C Rates to Continue Rising in 2013
Moody’s said it expects U.S. property/casualty (P/C) insurance rates to continue to rise during the remainder of 2013 for the major commercial lines, following...
Zurich Insurance CFO Wauthier Committed Suicide: Police
Pierre Wauthier, chief financial officer of Zurich Insurance Group AG, probably committed suicide at his home, according to police. He was 53. An autopsy to...
AIG to Get $905 Million From Brookfield to End Rate-Swap Dispute
American International Group Inc., the insurer that repaid a U.S. rescue last year, agreed to accept $905 million from Brookfield Asset Management Inc. to...
China’s PICC Group’s Profit Rises as Premiums, Investment Income Climb
People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd., parent of the nation’s biggest non-life insurer, said profit rose 53 percent in the first half as...
Assured Guaranty, JPMorgan Settle Mortgage Litigation
Assured Guaranty Ltd. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to settle lawsuits filed by the bond insurer accusing the bank’s EMC Mortgage and Bear...
Swiss Re Plays Key Role in Oxfam’s Bangladesh Flood Insurance Program
The global charity Oxfam has announced the launch of a flood insurance program for poor and vulnerable people in the river basin areas of...
$56 Bn Economic Loss; $17 Bn Insured: Swiss Re’s 1st HY Disaster Report
According to preliminary sigma estimates from Swiss Re, “total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were $56 billion in the first half...
QBE Net Income Falls 37% on Claims, Lower U.S. Premiums
QBE Insurance Group Ltd., Australia’s largest insurer by market value, posted a 37 percent fall in first-half net income as premiums fell in North...
U.S. Presses Japan to Open Insurance, Auto Markets
The United States urged Japan on Monday to open its auto and insurance markets more to foreign companies as the two countries pursue bilateral...
U.S. Asks Court to Block Bernanke Testimony in Greenberg’s AIG Lawsuit
The U.S. Justice Department on Friday asked an appeals court to reverse a judge’s ruling last month that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke must...
Rates Up Moderately in U.S. in Q2 But Down Elsewhere: Marsh
Insurance rates in most major regions including Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the UK and continental Europe declined modestly in the second quarter of 2013, while...
Hartford’s Q2 Loss Widens to $190M; P/C Earnings Show Improvement
The Hartford Financial Services Group reported a net loss of $190 million for the 2013 second quarter. The quarterly loss widened compared to the...