Equitable Life is today transferring fifty thousand with-profits policies to the Prudential, in line with a £1.7 billion agreement drawn up in early 2007. The policyholders have been trapped with Equitable since its virtual collapse in 2000 and over the years have seen the value of their investments dwindle. The policies pay an income in [...]
Friends Provident, which earlier this year failed in its plans to merge with Resolution, is undertaking a strategic review that could lead to a sale of all or part of the company. Sir Adrian Montague, the executive chairman of the life insurer, is reported to be opposed to an outright sale of the business but [...]
Berkshire Hathaway, the US insurance group, has acquired the NRG reinsurance business of ING Group NV, for $441 million. ING will use the proceeds of the sale to fund operations, previously announced acquisitions and a share buyback programme. The transaction is expected to complete in the first-half of 2008, subject to regulatory approval. The purchase [...]
Household insurers will be comparing the number of claims made over the festive period to see whether Boxing Day is continuing to establish itself as high risk period. According to Sainsbury’s Home Insurance, household insurance claims for incidents on Boxing Day alone represented 12% of the total claims received in December of last year. Many [...]
AXA, the French insurance group, is acquiring a 36.7% share of RESO-Garantia, the Russian insurance company, for $1.16 billion. The transaction is expected to complete during the first half of 2008 and to be earnings enhancing within three years. RESO is Russia’s second-largest insurer, with a 7% share of the domestic market. The company employs [...]
Munich Re estimates that the cost of natural disasters rose to just under $30 billion during 2007, double the figure for 2006 and $5 billion more than an estimate published by Swiss Re last week. The group, which is the world’s second-largest reinsurer, acknowledges that there have been no “mega-catastrophes” in 2007 but points out [...]
The chief executive of the International Underwriting Association (IUA), which represents international and wholesale insurance and reinsurance companies, is to begin a weblog that will provide an insight into the London market and the work of the IUA. Dave Matcham’s blog will appear on the IUA’s main website and will focus on topical issues facing [...]
The Norwich Union’s Pay as you Drive scheme, which was launched just over one year ago, is being hailed as a breakthrough for young drivers. The motor policy uses new technology to lower accident rates by changing motorists’ driving patterns. Policyholders have a global positioning system fitted in their vehicles and premiums are based on [...]
Insurance group Friends Provident has today announced that investors in its property fund will be unable to gain access to their funds following poor market conditions, as a result of a move to prevent an asset firesale in light of falling property values. The move today from Friends Provident was designed to prevent investors from [...]
Insurance group Towergate has today cemented its approach for intermediaries Broker Network, according to a report to the London Stock Exchange earlier on today, confirming the latest step in its aggressive expansion programme designed to increase overall revenues. Following an unconditional acceptance by a majority of the Broker Network shareholders over the course of yesterday [...]
The search has begun to find a replacement for Michael Cherkasky, chief executive of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC). He has held the post, and that of president, since 2004. Whilst efforts to find a successor are underway Cherkasky will retain his position. Choosing a new leader for the firm was decided to be the [...]
Equitable Life, the mutual assurance company that collapsed in 2000 after being unable to pay its policyholders’ bonuses, is putting itself up for sale. The company, which is UK’s oldest mutual life assurer, was worth around £26 billion before its demise but today its assets stand at around £7 billion and policyholders number approximately 500,000. [...]
Prudential has introduced incentives to help insurance customers maintain a healthy lifestyle. The company’s PruHealth division has joined forces with a number of organisations that can help policyholders increase the amount of exercise they take, lose weight and stopping smoking. Under the scheme, Cannons, LA Fitness and Virgin Active gyms will offer discounted membership to [...]
Friends Provident has altered the terms of withdrawals and switches from its £1.2 billion property funds. This year has seen a sharp decline in demand for UK commercial property and from now on withdrawals and switches will be deferred for up to six months from the date of request. All existing automatic lifestyle switches within [...]
Insurance group Hiscox has today successfully won injunctive relief at the High Court against the contractors building the Pinnacle building over a site access dispute that had arisen between the two parties involved. The Pinnacle project, which has been billed as creating an iconic addition to the London landscape, has been the subject of much [...]
Global insurance group Willis have today been the subject of praise from Chinese insurance regulators after receiving the highest rating during a recent quality review process by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, putting it in the top 9% of brokers analysed. Willis was awarded a 5 star rating overall in the study conducted into the [...]
SBJ’s chairman and chief executive, Jim Clark, is to retire from the SBJ and SBJ Group boards. He will remain an expansions opportunities consultant until the end of 2008. The responsibility of SBJ Group’s insurance broking will be taken on by Howard Steeples, currently chairman and chief executive of SBJ UK. In so doing Steeples [...]
The chairman of Resolution, the closed life fund consolidator being acquired by Pearl Group, is selling his 3% stake in the business. Clive Cowdery founded Resolution in 2003 with a loan of £500,000; he went on to transform the business into a FTSE 100 company, via a series of acquisitions and mergers. This autumn Resolution [...]
Insurance group Aon has today forecast the the airline insurance industry as a whole will report a loss for the first time in over seven years, based on figures released today by the Aviation & Aerospace division of the Aon business as a result of lingering problems within the market. After the majority of the [...]
Insurance giant Ace Group has today announced that its sub-prime exposure is under control, with a view to allaying shareholder worries of the current extent of its liability to the now defunct sector, according to its earnings report for the last period released today. According to the offshore insurance giant and its earnings report for [...]
