Economic downturn squeezes Berkshire Hathaway
09 March 2009
Berkshire Hathaway boss Warren Buffett has told shareholders in his annual letter that the US economy will be “in shambles” throughout this year, but declined to speculate on whether...
International
FM Global proves popular
09 March 2009
Commercial property insurer FM Global is looking happy with its US rankings in the latest independent research by financial services surveyors Greenwich...
Munich Re’s insurance portfolio slips
09 March 2009
Munich Re’s primary insurance business has reported a drop of 62% in its operating result to €477 million ($934 million)...
AIG faces three-way split: reports
02 March 2009
International media reports say AIG is in talks with US authorities to discuss a possible restructure of the company that could see it split into three divisions to stay afloat...
Post-disaster loss estimates flawed: Munich Re
02 March 2009
Loss estimates undertaken immediately after complex natural catastrophes are fraught with uncertainty, according to Munich Re...
Allianz records €2.4 billion loss as Dresdner proves a drag
02 March 2009
German insurer Allianz has recorded a full-year loss of €2.4 billion ($4.7 billion) as discontinued banking operations punched a €6.4 billion ($12.6 billion) hole in the insurer’s balance sheet...
Power shifts from UK ratings agencies to insurers over creditworthiness
02 March 2009
UK credit insurers have leapfrogged ratings agencies to become the key determinants of company credit quality, brokerage Aon Trade Credit claims...
Chubb coughs up over US fees dispute
02 March 2009
US-based insurance giant Chubb Corporation has agreed to pay $US239,000 ($369,162) to settle compensation disclosure allegations brought by the Massachusetts Attorney-General...
RSA to sack 1200 despite sound results
02 March 2009
It might have returned solid full-year financial results, but global insurer RSA (until last year known as Royal & SunAlliance) still intends to cut 1200 staff in the UK...
Payment protection crackdown in UK
02 March 2009
Britain’s Financial Services Authority has banned insurers from selling single-premium payment protection insurance with unsecured loans...
… as FSA releases draft remuneration code
02 March 2009
The FSA has introduced a draft code of practice for remuneration that sets minimum risk management standards for pay policies...
Future uncertain, but RBS Insurance turns a record profit
02 March 2009
Royal Bank of Scotland Insurance illustrated continued viability last week, turning a 15% operating profit despite the parent company recording the worst result in UK corporate history...
Financial crisis drives sophisticated futures modelling
02 March 2009
The financial crisis is likely to drive more insurers to use state-of-the-art scenario analysis to evaluate future risk, a Swiss Re report claims...
D&O rates shoot higher in the UK
23 February 2009
Broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson has foreshadowed rises of between 10% and 40% in UK directors’ and officers’ liability insurance premiums following tough reinsurance renewals this year...
Catastrophe insurance data to prepare Europe for risks
23 February 2009
Powerful European insurers and reinsurers have joined forces to form a new company that will provide European catastrophe insurance data industry-wide...
Swiss Re profits tumble on bad investments
23 February 2009
Swiss Re has confirmed the worst, last week announcing a net loss of CHF864 million ($1.14 billion) for 2008 – driven largely by bad investment strategies...
… as S&P lowers its credit rating
23 February 2009
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has scaled back its long-term credit rating on Swiss Re from AA- to A+ after the reinsurance giant leaked capital throughout last year...
Proposed US federal regulation bill divides the insurance industry
23 February 2009
Proposed legislation for an optional US federal insurance charter has firmly divided the US insurance industry as advocates seek to modernise the existing state-based regulatory system...
Coface adds two firms to credit insurance network
23 February 2009
Global credit insurer Coface has boosted its credit insurer network by snapping up firms in Argentina and the Netherlands...
US insurance industry profit takes 80% hit in 2008
16 February 2009
Poor underwriting and investment results combined to erode US property and casualty market net profit by 80% last year, according to ratings organisation AM Best...