International property/casual insurer and reinsurer Catlin Group Limited has announced the appointment of Michael Hansen as Catlin Canada Inc’s president. He brings to the role more than a quarter of a century of experience in aviation, as both an underwriter and a broker. For the last six years he has worked for Catlin, previously having [...]
IGI Group, the Nottingham-based specialist general insurer, has acquired legal expenses firm, Complete Claims. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed but the move will bolster IGI’s legal expenses book and provide an opportunity for the company to expand its presence in the outsourced claims management sector. Complete Claims was established in 2001 [...]
As insurance companies take stock after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the last minute rescue of AIG, estimates of exposures are emerging. Friends Provident calculates that its exposure to Lehman Brothers is around £18 million but the life and pensions provider expects any loss to fall well short of this amount when taxes and [...]
Lloyds TSB today acquired troubled British rival Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) for £12.2 billion. The all-share takeover is being seen as a bailout rescue for HBOS, Britain’s biggest mortgage provider. HBOS’s share price fell dramatically this week following numerous crises in banks around the world. Before rumours of a takeover spread, HBOS’s share price [...]
As American International Group (AIG) begins to sell its assets, Prudential and Aviva have both been mentioned as companies likely to be showing a strong interest in the auction. The US Federal Reserve rescued AIG on Tuesday night, lending the group up to $85 billion to prevent a collapse that would have impacted on markets [...]
Internet travel insurer, InsureFor, has launched a new policy aimed at independent travellers. The recent collapse of airline, XL, highlighted the vulnerability of travellers whose bookings are not made through a travel agent and are therefore not covered by the Civil Aviation Authority’s Atol scheme. However, InsureFor has responded to uncertain times in the travel [...]
Landmark Information Group, which specialises in property and environmental risk intelligence, is advising homeowners to become proactive in protecting their properties form flooding. According to the group, 55,000 homes and businesses were flooded in summer 2007 and two-thirds of residents hit by last year’s events believe they are likely to see further flooding on the [...]
JML Insurance is now collaborating with Questor Insurance, by operating as introducers offering car hire and My Driving Licence online. The car hire insurance policy is available on a daily or annual basis, and has been created specifically to cater to those renting cars without wanting to take on the policies, frequently sold by car [...]
Insurance Services Office (ISO), which specialises in personal injury claims services and solutions, has teamed up with medico-legal software provider, WARP Technologies. The company has integrated its Claims Outcome Advisor system with WARP’s medical reporting software and says it has created the first solution to entirely digitise the medical reporting process between doctors and insurers. [...]
American International Group (AIG) has been rescued from the brink of collapse by the US Federal Reserve. As investment bank, Lehman Brothers, began bankruptcy proceedings on Monday, it emerged that the biggest insurer in US had approached the central bank for a $40 billion loan. The Fed redirected the group to Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan [...]
Munich Re, one of the largest reinsurers in the world, has announced that its exposure to the collapsed Lehman Brothers bank totals €350 million. Lehman filed for bankruptcy on Monday, prompting its insurer AIG to request assistance from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the state of New York. A spokesperson for Munich Re confirmed that [...]
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. yesterday reported the acquisition of Oxygen Insurance Managers (OIM) Ltd. Gallagher acquired the London-based underwriting agency from its parent company, Oxygen Holdings for an undisclosed sum. OIM is a specialist in international classes of insurance such as property, extended warranty, liability, accident, and travel. Authorised by the Financial Services Authority [...]
Recent research from price comparison website, moneysupermarket.com, has revealed that motorists who are keen to offset their carbon emission by buying eco-friendly car insurance may end up paying 105% more for cover than with a standard policy. According to the website, premiums on hybrid cars such as the environmentally-friendly Honda Civic, can vary enormously. For [...]
Thomas Buberl has been named by Zurich Financial Services Group as the new chief executive officer of Zurich Switzerland. He leaves behind AXA’s Swiss insurance branch, AXA Winterthur, where he had a seat on the Executive Board and was head of Distribution. Buberl is to join Zurich on 1 November of this year, and after [...]
Randall & Quilter (R&Q) has acquired KMS, a London-based provider of insurance run-off services. The acquisition has been made through KMS holding company, Continuum Holdings, for £1.78 million in cash. R&Q’s is an AIM-listed run-off management service provider that acquires solvent insurance companies in run-off and KMS is a London-based provider of insurance run-off services. [...]
Cathie Bruce, distribution and customer service director with Groupama Insurances, is to move within the UK Group to take up a new position. Bruce is to become managing director of specialist broking subsidiary ChoiceQuote Insurance Services Limited, acquired by Groupama earlier in the year. She will be based at the firm’s head office in Liverpool, [...]
Bank of America yesterday reported that it has agreed terms to acquire struggling financial services provider Merrill Lynch in a deal worth $50 billion. The all-stock transaction will see Bank of America pay a 70% premium on Merrill Lynch’s book value. The deal sees Bank of America trading 0.8595 shares of its common stock for [...]
America’s subprime mortgage crisis has reached an unprecedented level according to a report released this week. Navigant Consulting reveal in a report that more federal lawsuits have been filed as a result of subprime mortgages than were filed during the savings and loans (S&L) crisis of the 1980s and 90s. S&L lawsuits in the early [...]
The Countrywide network has launched CountrywidePlus, designed to support member brokers expand their business and boost their income by providing expert assistance. Through CountrywidePlus, significantly better commissions are available from a panel of leading insurers, as well as a wide range of other business services including HR, IT, and Compliance. Current members will have the [...]
