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Latin America
Mexican storm losses
The Association of Mexican Insurers (AMIS) is predicting a growth rate for the local insurance market of only 4%, representing a 1% to 2% fall in real terms. According to AMIS chief executive Recaredo Arias, this is due to the..
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02 December 2005
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777 - 02 December 2005
Middle East
Regulator concerned about conflict of interest
Oman’s insurance regulator, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), has tightened the rules for insurance brokers. One of the main objectives of the CMA ruling, which took over the regulation of the..
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02 December 2005
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777 - 02 December 2005
Asia
Watson Wyatt opens Shanghai office
Insurance and financial services consultancy Watson Wyatt, which has serviced the Chinese insurance market through its offices in Hong Kong, is setting up a consulting presence in Shanghai in early 2006. Watson..
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02 December 2005
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777 - 02 December 2005
Europe
Marine disputes to increase
Disputes between marine insurers as to which policy year should pay for long term damages are likely to increase, if the market’s consensus on how to deal with such claims is allowed to break down. Assureds will be..
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02 December 2005
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North America
Greenberg will not face criminal charges
The New York Attorney General Office confirmed that no criminal charges would be brought against Maurice Greenberg, the former chairman and chief executive of AIG, but that the Office would expand its civil..
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02 December 2005
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777 - 02 December 2005
Security
10.11, explosion, fatalities
Jordan: at least 57 people were killed and about 300 injured in explosions at hotels in the Jordanian capital, Amman. The Grand Hyatt, Radisson and Days Inn hotels were hit in near-simultaneous blasts by suicide bombers...
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02 December 2005
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Aviation
10.11, Ogun State air crash
Nigeria: more than 80% of the entombed Bellview aircraft (Boeing 737-2L9 5N-BFN) that crashed in October at Lisa Igbore village in Ifo area of Ogun State, have been excavated. The 117 people on board the aircraft died...
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02 December 2005
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777 - 02 December 2005
Natural catastrophes
12.11, Pakistani earthquake damage estimates
Pakistan: according to the latest estimates, the cost of the devastating earthquake would be to the tune of US$5.2bn according to a Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment done by the World Bank and..
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02 December 2005
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777 - 02 December 2005
Marine
9.11, capsize, fatalities
China: the death toll from the capsizing of cargo vessel Liaopuyun-777
in the Yellow Sea near north-eastern China’s coastal city of Dalian rose to 18, with one other person still missing. The vessel overturned while..
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02 December 2005
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777 - 02 December 2005
Liability, awards and settlements
7.11, toxic mould, settlement
US: a family who claims toxic mold in their home caused brain damage in their baby has reached a $22.6mn settlement against a lumber company and 16 other defendants. The parents of the baby claimed that he became..
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02 December 2005
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777 - 02 December 2005
Road and rail
9.11, train crash, fatalities
India: eight people were killed and 16 people injured in a train crash in eastern India. Three coaches of a packed passenger train were badly damaged after a collision with a freight train. The accident took place near..
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02 December 2005
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Property and business interruption
9.11, explosion, fatalities
China: at least 11 miners were killed, 14 injured and three others missing when 500kg of dynamite stored in a room near a coal mine exploded in China’s westernmost Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The incident..
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02 December 2005
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Late reports
4.11, building collapse, fatalities
Egypt: eight people were killed in Alexandria when part of a four-storey building collapsed. Eight other people were injured and nine were rescued by emergency services using ladders.
4.11, kidnapping,..
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02 December 2005
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XL Capital Limited
The impressive results achieved by the group in 2004 are in marked contrast with XL Capital’s fortunes in 2005
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02 December 2005
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The suspension of the 2001 insurance law continues to hamper development of local market
The market is already deregulated to a considerable extent, although the insurance law of 2001 had been intended to strengthen the hand of the superintendency regarding the regulation of participants in the insurance sector
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02 December 2005
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777 - 02 December 2005
Investors firmly focused on the commercial potential of the next property catastrophe hard market
The Swiss Re-GE Insurance Solutions deal is a significant admission of defeat by a diversified group whose core, unshakable belief is that careful planning and operational discipline are the keys to success in any enterprise.
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02 December 2005
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Metlife interested in opportunities for Chilean pensions business
Pensions part of Metlife strategy • Cruz del Sur could use proceeds of R&SA non-life deal to expand life operations
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02 December 2005
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Ecuador’s insurers record bumper growth since 2000 dollarisation
Nine-month premiums up 15% • Penetration levels remain low in the smaller regional markets of Uruguay and Paraguay
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02 December 2005
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On again-off again privatisation plan still hangs in the balance
Market regulator says a decision still has to be made although government is thought to favour new restructuring plan
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02 December 2005
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Private insurers move to protect investments against depreciation
Public insurers’ investments perform better than private • IRDA reiterates support for higher FDI limit • NIC profits up
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02 December 2005
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France prepares to announce details of terrorism reinsurance
The cost of a new terrorism scheme is just one of the many issues that have yet to be revealed to insurers
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02 December 2005
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EU membership sees insurance market grow 12% in 2004
Foreign players see little advance in Polish market share but gain from profitable year in both life and non-life
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02 December 2005
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Groupama eyes potential acquisitions outside France before listing
Groupama interested in Turkish insurer • Aegon buys 50% in Spanish life insurer • EC adopts fair value option for IFRS
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02 December 2005
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Swiss Re set to become world’s largest reinsurer via GE deal
General Electric offloads its reinsurance business but Swiss Re takes no chances and secures US$3.4bn for reserves
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02 December 2005
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‘Convergence’ products here to stay
Products will have critical impact on competitiveness of insurers and reinsurers
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02 December 2005
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Call for change in UK work patterns
A savings rate of 6% is much less than is necessary for a comfortable retirement
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02 December 2005
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Nanotechnology to have dramatic impact on risk assessment
Unknown effects of new technology on public health and the environment will make it harder for insurers to set reserves
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02 December 2005
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Captives and the traditional insurance market
In recent years, the captive insurance industry has witnessed a tightening of tax regulations, which have decreased the overall profitability of the captive vehicle. In light of this changing environment, it is critical that the modern captive adds strategic, as well as financial value, to its parent company. Chris Charman
, managing director, Thomas Miller Risk Management (UK) Ltd, says it is increasingly important that captives are more effectively integrated in the parent company’s overall risk management strategy, instead of being used mainly as a means of funding deductibles.
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02 December 2005
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Lloyd’s and the rest of the world
The £1.4bn profit posted by the Lloyd’s market in 2004 was the third in a row. The market achieved a combined ratio of 96.9% in a context (as it was back then) of the most costly hurricane season ever. According to
Lord Levene
, the..
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02 December 2005
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Aviva enters FDI fray
Savings growth at risk if further foreign capital is not allowed into the market
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02 December 2005
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Ready to privatise IRB?
During the first two years, 60% of reinsurance has to be placed with locally registered companies which could be either Brazilian or foreign owned
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02 December 2005
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