- Home/Publications/World Insurance Report
Asia Pacific
Public liability insurance pool given trial period
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has given temporary permission for Allianz Australia Limited, QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited and NRMA Insurance Limited to collectively..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Europe
Swiss flood damage estimated at SF40mn
According to a statement by the Swiss Insurance Association, recent flood and land slide damage claims have exceeded 20,000 and the cost to the insurance sector was estimated at SF40mn. The association expects..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
North America
Farmers stays committed to homeowners’ insurance
Farmers Insurance Group will continue to provide homeowners’ insurance cover in Texas, despite suffering significant losses in this class of business over the last few years. The..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
World insurance stock prices
Company/group
Currency
31/12/01
14/11/02
28/11/02
Change from
14/11/02 %
Capitalisation US$ mn
* US prices as at close 27 November 2002
© World Insurance Report
Ace
US$
40.15
31.25
33.41
6.9
8,775
AIG..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Company profile: Labuan Re
Malaysian offshore reinsurer Labuan Re saw a substantial increase in its premium income in 2001, mainly due to the growth of overseas business, but its underwriting account continued to be unprofitable.
Gross premiums for foreign business amounted..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Gerling Global General & Re (UK)
London market reinsurer Gerling Global General & Re (GGGRe), part of the Gerling Global Re group, ceased underwriting new and renewal business with effect from 28 October. This followed the failure of several attempts to sell the loss-making..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Sector set for recovery as brokers’ combined revenue rises by 32%
These are tough but, on the whole, more prosperous times for the top 50 London market brokers.
According to the latest analysis by WIR
of London market brokers’ annual reports, the top fifty brokers increased their brokerage income by 32.4%..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Indian private sector insurers call on regulator to speed up market reforms
Private sector insurers in India are calling on the government to come up with more regulatory reforms to enable them to compete more effectively against the four public sector insurers.
Addressing the first technical session at a two-day insurance..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Scor increases 2002 loss figure to €400mn
Scor’s new president, Denis Kessler, has said that SCOR was likely to show a loss of €400mn (US$397.7mn) this year rather than the €250mn suggested by his predecessor, Jacques Blondeau, when the latter issued his last profit..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Czech flood losses
The heavy weather losses suffered by all property insurers in the Czech Republic are damaging the results of direct companies as well as their reinsurers, who in turn are implementing steep increases when the 2003 renewal season comes to pass.
The..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Hannover Re
Hannover Re has trimmed its operating profit forecast for this year to €500mn (US$497.1mn) from earlier forecasts of some €600mn. The company blames this on the poor performance of the financial markets.
In the course of the third..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Use of TPAs by Indian state insurers sparks protests
Indian public sector unions and insurance associations are protesting against the use of private sector third-party administrators by public sector insurers. Both the unions and the associations complain that the companies implemented the various..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
12–26 November 2002
Late reports
7.11, collision, fatality
U.S: the Coast Guard searched for a crewman missing from tug Thoroughbred
, which was sucked under a barge on the San Jacinto River, near Houston, Texas. The incident occurred near the Southwestern Ship..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Company profile: East Africa Re
East Africa Re, the first private sector reinsurer to be established in Kenya and East Africa, had a good year in 2001, recording increased pre-tax profits and strong premium growth, despite difficult business conditions in the markets in which it..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Corporate security concerns promise new lease of life for Caribbean catastrophe pool
With terrorism a possibility in the Caribbean as well as anywhere else in the world, leading regional general insurer, NEM (West Indies) Insurance (NemWil), is moving to revive its energy and chemical insurance pool to provide cover for oil, gas and..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
News roundup
Latin American airlines have until 11 February next year to take up liability cover arranged by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to insure passengers against war and terrorism hazards, according to ICAO president, Assaid Kotaite...
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Japanese life insurers struggle
Japan’s seven largest life insurance companies have witnessed a decline in the number of policies sold during the first half of this year.
This is the fifth consecutive year that Japanese life companies’ business volumes have fallen. The..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
New Zealand’s ACC under fire
The failure by New Zealand’s state-owned Accident Insurance and Compensation Corporation (ACC) to produce a satisfactory Code of Claimants Rights, as it was ordered by Parliament to do, is one of several criticisms of the Corporation over past..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Move to speed up European insurance sector reform
MEPs signalled last week that they might be prepared to give up some of the powers they enjoy under current, cumbersome ‘co-decision’ procedures in order to progress legislation for the major reform of the European Union’s system..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
When short-term gain equals long-term pain
Adopting a ‘quick-fix’ approach to FSA compliance issues could in the long run prove a disaster for insurers.
Adrian Cobb
, UK managing director of TOWER Technology, believes that too many companies are addressing..
Online Published Date:
06 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
702 - 06 December 2002
Europe
Howard Davies quits FSA
Howard Davies, chairman and chief executive of the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA), has resigned his post to become director of the London School of Economics. Mr Davies, who will replace Anthony Giddens at the..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Europe
Howard Davies quits FSA
Howard Davies, chairman and chief executive of the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA), has resigned his post to become director of the London School of Economics. Mr Davies, who will replace Anthony Giddens at the..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
North America
Pricing terror risks
Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, Michael Oxley, was not joking when he said that getting the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act 2002 on the statute books was the easy part. Insurers are now under great pressure..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
North America
Pricing terror risks
Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, Michael Oxley, was not joking when he said that getting the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act 2002 on the statute books was the easy part. Insurers are now under great pressure..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
World insurance stock prices
Company/group
Currency
31/12/01
28/11/02
12/12/02
Change from
28/11/02 %
Capitalisation US$ mn
© World Insurance Report
Ace
US$
40.15
33.41
32.16
(3.7)
8,447
AIG
US$
79.40
64.67
60.09
(7.1)..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
World insurance stock prices
Company/group
Currency
31/12/01
28/11/02
12/12/02
Change from
28/11/02 %
Capitalisation US$ mn
© World Insurance Report
Ace
US$
40.15
33.41
32.16
(3.7)
8,447
AIG
US$
79.40
64.67
60.09
(7.1)..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Company profile: NEM (West Indies)
Trinidad & Tobago nonlife insurer NEM (West Indies) Limited (NemWil) saw its pre-tax profits fall by 20% to TT$35mn (US$6mn) in 2001 as losses on its Lloyd’s operation and reduced investment income offset the increased profitability of..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Company profile: NEM (West Indies)
Trinidad & Tobago nonlife insurer NEM (West Indies) Limited (NemWil) saw its pre-tax profits fall by 20% to TT$35mn (US$6mn) in 2001 as losses on its Lloyd’s operation and reduced investment income offset the increased profitability of..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Company profile: Swiss Re Southern Africa
Swiss Re’s operations in South Africa, and in most other African countries, performed well in 2001. But its operations in Zimbabwe were seriously affected by the political instability and economic problems gripping the country and substantial..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Company profile: Swiss Re Southern Africa
Swiss Re’s operations in South Africa, and in most other African countries, performed well in 2001. But its operations in Zimbabwe were seriously affected by the political instability and economic problems gripping the country and substantial..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Le Mans Ré
French multiline reinsurer Le Mans Ré was set up by Bermuda-based XL Capital and French insurer Mutuelles du Mans (MMA) in 1999 as a joint venture in which MMA held 51%. But in January 2002 XL increased its shareholding in Le Mans Ré to..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Le Mans Ré
French multiline reinsurer Le Mans Ré was set up by Bermuda-based XL Capital and French insurer Mutuelles du Mans (MMA) in 1999 as a joint venture in which MMA held 51%. But in January 2002 XL increased its shareholding in Le Mans Ré to..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Insurance sector depressed by local investment market crisis
The insurance market in Cyprus saw a further sharp fall in premium income in 2001 as the poor performance of the country’s stock exchange continued to reduce demand for investment-related life products.
Total premium income fell by 20% to..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Insurance sector depressed by local investment market crisis
The insurance market in Cyprus saw a further sharp fall in premium income in 2001 as the poor performance of the country’s stock exchange continued to reduce demand for investment-related life products.
Total premium income fell by 20% to..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
South Korean authorities crack down on unfair practice by insurers
In preparation for the introduction of bancassurance in South Korea next year, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the insurance regulator, is gearing itself to stamp out unfair practices in the industry.
According to FSC vice chairman Yoo Jichang..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
South Korean authorities crack down on unfair practice by insurers
In preparation for the introduction of bancassurance in South Korea next year, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the insurance regulator, is gearing itself to stamp out unfair practices in the industry.
According to FSC vice chairman Yoo Jichang..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
AGF
Banque AGF, the banking offshoot of French insurer AGF, intends to offer more credit products – such as home loans – in an effort to increase the net banking product per customer from €100 (US$98.45) per year to €200.
These..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
AGF
Banque AGF, the banking offshoot of French insurer AGF, intends to offer more credit products – such as home loans – in an effort to increase the net banking product per customer from €100 (US$98.45) per year to €200.
These..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Hungarian insurers prepared for EU accession
The past ten years have brought such fundamental changes to the Hungarian insurance sector that EU accession will not present many new challenges to local insurers.
This is the view of Mihály Patai, chairman and chief executive of Allianz..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Hungarian insurers prepared for EU accession
The past ten years have brought such fundamental changes to the Hungarian insurance sector that EU accession will not present many new challenges to local insurers.
This is the view of Mihály Patai, chairman and chief executive of Allianz..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Germany’s HDI plans to demutualise by 2005
The German mutual group, Haftplichtverband der Deutschen Industrie VaG (HDI), which owns Hannover Re, is planning a stock market flotation in 2005. It is also planning to change its name to Talanx.
Details of the flotation have not been finanlised...
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Germany’s HDI plans to demutualise by 2005
The German mutual group, Haftplichtverband der Deutschen Industrie VaG (HDI), which owns Hannover Re, is planning a stock market flotation in 2005. It is also planning to change its name to Talanx.
Details of the flotation have not been finanlised...
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
French flood losses
The floods in south-eastern France in September of this year caused insured damages of some €700mn ($689mn), according to figures released by the Federation Francaise des Societes d’Assurances (FFSA). The floods, which affected the..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
French flood losses
The floods in south-eastern France in September of this year caused insured damages of some €700mn ($689mn), according to figures released by the Federation Francaise des Societes d’Assurances (FFSA). The floods, which affected the..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Berlin conference report: how medical progress drives insurance
R
ising life expectancy, rapid advances in medical technology and genetic testing were debated at a conference in Berlin entitled
How medical progress drives society and insurance
. The conference was organised by the international insurance think..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Berlin conference report: how medical progress drives insurance
R
ising life expectancy, rapid advances in medical technology and genetic testing were debated at a conference in Berlin entitled
How medical progress drives society and insurance
. The conference was organised by the international insurance think..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Asia Pacific
Australian pool
The Australian parliament is currently debating legislation to set up a A$10.3bn (US$5.8bn) terrorism insurance pool for property risks. The proposed pool will be funded by premiums collected from local insurers as well as bank..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Asia Pacific
Australian pool
The Australian parliament is currently debating legislation to set up a A$10.3bn (US$5.8bn) terrorism insurance pool for property risks. The proposed pool will be funded by premiums collected from local insurers as well as bank..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
27 November–9 December 2002
Property and business interruption
28.11, explosion, injuries
Mexico: an explosion at a Gulf coast refinery controlled by the state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) injured eight workers. According to a Pemex statement, a sudden..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
27 November–9 December 2002
Property and business interruption
28.11, explosion, injuries
Mexico: an explosion at a Gulf coast refinery controlled by the state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) injured eight workers. According to a Pemex statement, a sudden..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Company profile: Polskie Towarzystwo Reasekuracyjne (Polish Re)
Polish reinsurer Polskie Towarzystwo Reasekuracyjne (Polish Re) returned to profit in 2001 after posting its first ever loss in 2000. The company, which was established in 1996, recorded a pre-tax profit of Z3.6mn (US$1mn) in 2001 compared with a..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Company profile: Polskie Towarzystwo Reasekuracyjne (Polish Re)
Polish reinsurer Polskie Towarzystwo Reasekuracyjne (Polish Re) returned to profit in 2001 after posting its first ever loss in 2000. The company, which was established in 1996, recorded a pre-tax profit of Z3.6mn (US$1mn) in 2001 compared with a..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Peru insurance premium growth to slow down to 12% next year
Rafael Freire, chief executive of insurer Rimac Internacional, estimates that premium income in Peru might rise by 17% in 2002 after the increase in insurance costs following higher reinsurance prices.
However, his premium growth expectations for..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Peru insurance premium growth to slow down to 12% next year
Rafael Freire, chief executive of insurer Rimac Internacional, estimates that premium income in Peru might rise by 17% in 2002 after the increase in insurance costs following higher reinsurance prices.
However, his premium growth expectations for..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Mitsui Mutual Life turns to Sakura bank in bid to increase capital
Japan’s Mitsui Mutual Life said that it is seeking a capital injection of ¥130 to ¥150bn from Sakura Bank and other Mitsui Group firms. The news comes at a time when falling premiums and poor investment returns due to sliding stock..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Mitsui Mutual Life turns to Sakura bank in bid to increase capital
Japan’s Mitsui Mutual Life said that it is seeking a capital injection of ¥130 to ¥150bn from Sakura Bank and other Mitsui Group firms. The news comes at a time when falling premiums and poor investment returns due to sliding stock..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
India excludes stockbrokers from insurance business
India’s Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has barred stock brokers from acting as insurance brokers, and vice versa. The government wants each to exclusively focus on their core businesses and not stray into adjacent areas in the..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
India excludes stockbrokers from insurance business
India’s Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has barred stock brokers from acting as insurance brokers, and vice versa. The government wants each to exclusively focus on their core businesses and not stray into adjacent areas in the..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Merger to create fourth largest Polish insurer
The legal procedures have now been completed for the merger between Polish life insurance companies Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeniowe Compensa Zycie SA and Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen′ na Zycie Vienna Life SA.
Compensa Zycie and Vienna Life have been..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Merger to create fourth largest Polish insurer
The legal procedures have now been completed for the merger between Polish life insurance companies Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeniowe Compensa Zycie SA and Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen′ na Zycie Vienna Life SA.
Compensa Zycie and Vienna Life have been..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Uphill struggle for companies despite the hardest market in decades
How has the US reinsurance sector fared in recent months? The most obvious piece of good news in the Reinsurance Association of America’s (RAA), recently published survey of US reinsurers statutory results for the third quarter 2002 is that..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Uphill struggle for companies despite the hardest market in decades
How has the US reinsurance sector fared in recent months? The most obvious piece of good news in the Reinsurance Association of America’s (RAA), recently published survey of US reinsurers statutory results for the third quarter 2002 is that..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Be careful what you wish for
On 26 November 2002, President Bush signed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 into law. The legislation provides for a temporary risk-sharing mechanism among the Federal government, insurers and insurance policyholders for insured losses..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Be careful what you wish for
On 26 November 2002, President Bush signed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 into law. The legislation provides for a temporary risk-sharing mechanism among the Federal government, insurers and insurance policyholders for insured losses..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Central Bank supervision
Tighter regulation of the Trinidad and Tobago insurance industry – the second largest in the Caricom region – is finally on the cards and the first step will be bringing companies under the control of the Central Bank.
A little over two..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Central Bank supervision
Tighter regulation of the Trinidad and Tobago insurance industry – the second largest in the Caricom region – is finally on the cards and the first step will be bringing companies under the control of the Central Bank.
A little over two..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002
Doctors sue medical insurers
Providing third party liability cover to France’s doctors now involves more than just the usual risks. Two doctors’ associations, Afirm (Alliance pour le Financement de la Retraire des Medecins) and UCCSF-Alliance, have sued two mutuals,..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703 - 20 December 2002
Doctors sue medical insurers
Providing third party liability cover to France’s doctors now involves more than just the usual risks. Two doctors’ associations, Afirm (Alliance pour le Financement de la Retraire des Medecins) and UCCSF-Alliance, have sued two mutuals,..
Online Published Date:
20 December 2002
Appeared in issue:
703/704 - 20 December 2002