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JLT opens for business in China
Asia
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Marsh appoints UK chief executive
Europe
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Florida Senate calls emergency insurance session
North America
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08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Bermuda reinsurers on track for record profits
International
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Aviation
16.11, emergency landing
South Korea: over 20 people aboard a Taiwanese airliner were hurt when the aircraft changed course to avoid another jet just prior to landing at an airport on South Korea’s Cheju Island. Some of those on board the Far..
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Natural catastrophes
16.11, floods, fatalities
Kenya: floods in Kenya’s northeastern and coastal areas killed 23 people and displaced more than 80,000, according to the Red Cross. It also warned that heavy rains would take a toll on the flood prone western region...
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Marine
16.11, accident, fatalities
Sweden: one crew member was found dead and five injured in an accident on bulk carrier Saga Spray
(29381 gt, built 1994) as a result of discharging wooden pellets into the carrier’s bulk while berthed in..
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Liability, awards and settlements
15.11, libel
US: a jury ordered a suburban Chicago newspaper to pay $7mn to the chief justice of the state Supreme Court for a series of articles that he alleged were untrue and damaged his reputation and career. The jury ruled against the Kane..
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Road and rail
14.11, collision, fatalities
South Africa: up to 20 farm workers were killed when a commuter train collided with a truck near a railway. The accident occurred when the truck carrying the workers stalled at a crossing near the Eerste River station..
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Property and business interruption
14.11, bird flu
Indonesia: a two-and-a-half year-old Indonesian boy died of bird flu, taking the country’s human death toll from the virus to 56, according to the country’s health ministry. The boy, from Karawang regency in West Java..
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Amlin Plc
The group’s reinsurance cover reduced Amlin’s hurricane gross losses of $860.9mn to a net loss of only $236.7mn. Indeed, Amlin only retained 27% of the KRW related business it wrote. This compares to a catastrophe retention rate of 53% in 2004
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08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
New legislation may permit foreigners to invest in insurance sector
When the BNP coalition government came to power in October 2001 it declared its intention to carry out a programme of privatisation, but it has since decided not to pursue any more sales of state assets until after the general election in 2006
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
RenaissanceRe bucks trend with 7% gain
With few exceptions, US and European reinsurance stocks lost ground over the fortnight ending 30 November. Most notably bucking the trend was Bermuda based RenaissanceRe which gained 7.1% over the period. RenaissanceRe gained even further after 30..
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
FIDES approves strategic plan to improve local insurance market
Illegal operations are on FIDES’ hitlist • S&P raises rating of Argentine debt • Premiums up in Venezuela • Chile’s economic outlook improves for 2007 • Glacier Re receives licence in Ecuador and Colombia..
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Pension fund managers allowed to invest more overseas
AFPs can invest a maximum of 12% of their portfolios in foreign markets after cap is raised by central bank
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Profits dented by volatile stock exchange market
Insurers stay in the black at P343bn but this is a marked deterioration on the P1.2trn reported last year
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
IRB Brasil Re profits up by 11%
IRB’s profits reach $105mn • 11.5% of insurance claims are fraudulent • Money laundering on the rise • EMB opens office
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Fortis joins forces with local banking partners to launch life venture
Fortis will own 26% of the new company, which will start trading in mid-2007 • GIC wants greater selection of risks
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Investors raise $565mn to capitalise new regional reinsurer
However, the ability of the new company to effectively build and retain market acceptance will only be proven over time
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Shortage of domestic marine expertise is a major challenge
The education of local insurance practitioners needs to be addressed if Asia is to establish itself as a marine insurance centre
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Life market expands by 33% during first half of 2006
The rapid increase in mortgage demand as well as for investment type life policies lies behind the spectacular increase
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Spanish insurers record 5% premium rise led by Mapfre Group
Non-life and life insurers both recorded increases in the first nine months of 2006 • Premium income fell in Portuguese market
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08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Renewed interest in cat bonds sparked by energy sector demand
The effects of a shortage of traditional catastrophe cover are still being felt • CEA advocates risk-based Solvency II
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Natural catastrophe insurance scheme reform courts controversy
Insurers are not happy with the proposed changes which they argue undermine the scheme that has worked well since 1982
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Hurricane losses could rise by up to 40% over next five years
RMS forecast remains high • Employers pay more on medical renewals • Health costs to increase at lowest level since 2001
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08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Islamic insurance: the opportunities and the challenges
More licences are being awarded in key takaful markets such as Malaysia and the Middle East but there are many strategic and operational challenges facing potential providers of insurance and technology services to the market. Catherine Stagg-Macey
, senior analyst in the insurance practice of financial services research and advisory firm Celent, outlines the key issues
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
Contract certainty: tackling the other 15%
For Alex Letts
, chief executive of electronic trading service RI3K, those who believe that the London insurance market will never change should ponder the following statistic: from less than 10% in 2005, 85% of all contracts will now meet the new..
Online Published Date:
08 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
802 - 08 December 2006
BUPA loses risk equalisation challenge
Company describes court decision as bad day for Irish consumers
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08 December 2006
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802 - 08 December 2006
Axa granted first general insurance licence in Qatar
Middle East
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
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803 - 22 December 2006
Motif opens second BPO centre in Philippines
Asia
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Rates fall in TMT sector
Europe
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
NAIC moves forward on collateral issue
North America
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Security
29.11, kidnapping
Mexico: US and Mexican authorities searched for three Americans and two Mexicans kidnapped by dozens of armed men who swarmed a Mexican hunting ranch near the U.S. border. Thirty to forty armed men entered the La Barranca ranch and..
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Aviation
6.12, air traffic disruption
Brazil: virtually all takeoffs from three major airports in Brazil were cancelled after an air traffic communications system broke down, making it difficult for controllers to communicate with pilots and creating air..
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22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Natural catastrophes
6.12, tropical storm, fatalities
Vietnam: the death toll from tropical storm Durian rose to 59 as authorities began cleaning up the country’s south coast where more than 120,000 houses were destroyed. The worst damage was in Ba Ria-Vung Tau..
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Marine
28.11, collision, damage
Croatia: authorities begun an investigation after a vessel ran into the Sjeverna Luka port in Split and caused damage worth an estimated $1.3mn. The 14-year-old refrigerated general cargo vessel Chiquita Bremen
(10842..
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Liability, awards and settlements
28.11, asbestos induced illness, award
US: a retired police officer and brake repairman whose right lung was removed because of cancer caused by asbestos won a $20.0mn verdict from car marker, the DaimlerChrysler Corporation. A jury in..
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Road and rail
3.12, bridge collapse, fatalities
India: Thirty five people were killed when a 150-year-old bridge collapsed on an overcrowded super fast train in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district. Huge slabs of metal and cement fell on a sleeper class carriage of..
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Property damage and business interruption
28.11, bird flu
South Korea: the farm ministry announced that it had found a second suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu at a poultry farm, three days after it had its first outbreak in three years of the H5N1 strain. The ministry said the..
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
The Generali Group
By radically restructuring most of its loss making non-life portfolios and tightening up its underwriting procedures, the Italian insurance group posted a pure non-life underwriting profit in 2005, the first time in six years
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Market struggles after excellent recovery in 2004
The major life insurers are part of larger financial services groups. But some of the smaller insurers are still either family-owned or owned by individuals. This is expected to change in the next few years as M&A activity in the insurance market continues
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Praetorian sale boosts both Hannover Re and QBE stock
Almost all of the insurance and reinsurance stocks tracked by WIR posted notable gains for the fortnight ending 14 December.
In the US, financial services stocks benefited benefited from the prospects of merger and acquisition activity in other..
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Hannover Re upbeat about Takaful opportunities
The retakaful market is ripe for growth, says Hannover’s Wilhelm Zeller as his company begins operations in Bahrain
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Motor insurance premiums poised for sizeable drop
Fierce competition will lower rates in deregulatory regime • Swiss Re enters healthcare joint venture
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Increasing longevity creates healthcare challenge
Insurers are providing more information on healthy living but are also finding new business opportunities
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Broker survey reveals mismatch between risks and insurance
Marsh says that while many companies in the region are aware of the risks facing their firms, few are managing the exposure
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Mapfre Re opens new Munich office
The Spanish reinsurer said it needs to be closer to its clients • Hannover Re sells US primary unit Praetorian Financial
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
French market buoyed by 19% increase in life insurance sales
Business totalled €142bn in first nine months of 2006 • S&P revises risk rating of Swiss life insurance sector to moderate
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Accident reduction plan calls for greater co-operation with insurers
An EP action plan is to tackle the 7 million accidents that result in hospital admissions and account for 20% of sick leave
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Annuity sales in 2006 expected to top record levels
Another strong period of growth in the third quarter puts sales figures 9% higher than 2005 according to LIMRA
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
III forecasts first fall in premium rates since 1999
Policyholders will pay less for motor cover in 2007 as a result of fewer claims, safer vehicles and changing demographics
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Lobby for federal regulation steps up pressure for new Congress
The current state-by-state system of regulation in the US is affecting insurers’ competitiveness, say supporters for an OFC
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Spitzer contingent commission ban sparks industry backlash
Brokers are up-in-arms over the knock-on effect that Mr Spitzer’s fee investigation has had on personal lines
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Study highlights pension pressure on multinationals
Experts believe that a global pension scheme can reduce administrative costs by 6% to 10%. However, disparate tax laws and budget constraints were cited as barriers to developing a global pension arrangement
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Investor interest in non-traditional markets fuels growth speculation
Sigma predicts securitisation market worth up to $44bn in 10 years • Alternative risk transfer will define future of insurance, Fitch • Aspen protects itself from reinsurance default with $420mn policy
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Reconciling the PBR with the Varney recommendations
Insurers have made their feelings about the UK tax regime abundantly clear this year: they want a reduction in corporation taxes and other benefits in order to compete with the tax efficient markets of Bermuda and Ireland. Andrew Green
, a partner at London law firm, Mazars, considers the implications of Gordon Brown’s Pre-Budget Report for the insurance industry
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Improving IT security: is it too late for you?
Internal controls for privileged user access rights and controls has been abandoned, or in many cases only given lip service in many organisations, says
Calum Macleod,
European director of IT security consultancy, Cyber-Ark. Mr Macleod believes..
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006
Light regulation for EU chemical industry
The REACH legislation includes a reference to a duty of care in the declaratory preamble, rather than the body of the text, where it might have carried more weight in cases before the European Court of Justice
Online Published Date:
22 December 2006
Appeared in issue:
803 - 22 December 2006