UK brokers force ad to be dropped
18 July 2011
Zurich Municipal – the direct arm of the global giant’s UK operation – has dropped an anti-broking advertisement from a magazine following an outcry from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association…
International
HSBC sells UK motor insurer
18 July 2011
UK-based HSBC Insurance Services has sold its run-off motor underwriting business HSBC Insurance UK to Syndicate Holding Corp for £68.5 million ($103 million) in cash…
Flagstone in private equity approach
18 July 2011
Bermudian specialist catastrophe reinsurer Flagstone has rejected a takeover approach from a private equity firm, according to reports…
Starr takes 20% stake in Chinese insurer
18 July 2011
Starr International has taken a 20% stake in Chinese property insurer Dazhong Insurance Company…
Reinsurance price increases confined to catastrophe zones
11 July 2011
Reinsurance broker Aon Benfield says “meaningful rate changes” experienced for recent reinsurance renewals in loss-affected areas like Australia and New Zealand were not matched in other parts…
Global premiums are rising slowly, says Swiss Re
11 July 2011
General insurance premiums around the world rose by 2.1% last year, according to a new report by Swiss Re…
US market up slightly, says MarketScout
11 July 2011
A small shift in rates is under way in the US with the composite property and casualty rate improving by one percentage point in June…
Most European insurers pass latest Solvency II test
11 July 2011
Only 10% of European insurers would fail an adverse stress situation under the Solvency II capital requirement rules, according to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority…
Cheats named as industry tackles fraud
11 July 2011
The UK insurance industry will now “name and shame” fraudsters in a bid to stop the growing £2 billion ($2.9 billion) a year wasted on bogus claims…
Heath Lambert becomes Gallagher Heath following takeover
11 July 2011
UK broker Heath Lambert has changed its name to Gallagher Heath following its acquisition by Arthur J Gallagher & Co for £97 million ($144.7 million) in May…
New UK financial services regulator will be tougher, more interventionist
04 July 2011
The UK’s new financial services regulator will be tougher and bolder and will intervene earlier to prevent dodgy financial practices and products being sold to consumers…
JLT continues Latin America expansion
04 July 2011
JLT Group PLC is continuing its expansion into Latin America, buying a majority shareholding in Chile’s fourth-largest broker…
UK insurers act on referral fees as investigation begins
04 July 2011
Axa UK will no longer accept payments from personal injury lawyers for policyholders’ details, as the country’s Information Commission launches an investigation into whether the so-called…
UK regulator takes on life insurers
04 July 2011
UK life insurers and advisers are facing a much more aggressive regulator that is setting an agenda to “fix the industry”, according to local risk profiling expert Paul Resnik…
Earthquake claims cost Japanese insurers ¥1 trillion
04 July 2011
The Japanese insurance industry has so far paid out more than ¥1 trillion ($11.5 billion) in settling claims from the earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11…
New China typhoon model also measures flood risk
04 July 2011
Risk Management Solutions says a new typhoon model for China and Hong Kong provides significant advances in quantifying flood risk…
Global industry concerns revealed
27 June 2011
Participants at the International Insurance Society’s annual seminar in Toronto last week see competitive pricing and adequate profitability as the top global issue facing both the life and general…
UK executives say reputation is the greatest weakness
27 June 2011
British insurance executives believe the industry’s greatest strength is its ability to help customers when they need it, but say its greatest weakness is a poor reputation…
UK gets first look at new approach to insurance regulation
27 June 2011
The UK insurance industry has been given an insight into its future regulation with the release of a paper on how new regulatory body, the Prudential Regulation Authority, will approach…
Modeller sees $US15.5 billion in insured US weather losses
27 June 2011
Aon Benfield has estimated this year’s record-breaking tornado season and severe weather in the US have caused $US15.5 billion ($14.8 billion) of insured losses, three times the average rate…