Syndicates at Lloyd’s of London have been defeated in a legal battle with the Korea National Insurance Corporation (KNIC), which is owned by the Government of North Korea. The case centred on a claim made by KNIC, which reinsurers had resisted settling because they suspected fraud. The three syndicates have now agreed to pay out [...]
Independent retail and wholesale insurance and re-insurance brokers firm R K Harrison Holdings has completed its takeover of Lloyd’s broker Bowood Holdings, supported by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). R K Harrison has been assisted with a debt facility from RBS, created by the bank’s Financial Institutions Group (FIG) and Corporate Leveraged Finance team. [...]
The Government has once again disappointed Equitable Life policyholders by delaying its response to a report by the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, for a further month. In 2000, over one million investors in the UK’s oldest mutual insurance company lost up to 50% of the value of their pension funds when Equitable Life came close [...]
AEGON Scottish Equitable has launched a new website for financial advisers and their clients grappling with inheritance tax (IHT) planning. The facility can be used to help reduce the level of clients’ IHT liability and includes tips on the subject, such as the importance of using a Will to maximise an individual’s IHT nil rate [...]
MMA Insurance plc, the broker-only insurer, has announced that it is bolstering its Business Development Team with a number of key appointments. The move comes as the firm continues its strategic drive to develop its Commercial Lines. Claire Ephgrave becomes UK Business Development manager, responsible for MMA’s UK Development managers, an instrumental task in driving [...]
Insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh has called on food manufacturers and retailers to review their product recall strategies and supply chain risks. The call comes in the wake of the Irish pork debacle, which has affected some 25 countries. A survey held at a Marsh product risk seminar revealed that two-thirds of those surveyed [...]
Specialist insurer Hiscox has commissioned a survey which reveals that just 16% of small business entrepreneurs have purchased protection against cyber risks. The small figure comes as technological attacks on UK companies continue to grow, with the potential dangers of such an assault being severe. With technology continuing to increase in important for firms, the [...]
Aon Corporation has announced the appointment of Jim Finnamore as regional director for Aon Environmental Services Group, Asia-Pacific. Finnamore, who joins the firm in January, will be based in Singapore and tasked with the co-ordination of service delivery to clients in the APAC region. He brings with him more than 15 years of industry experience, [...]
Stricken US insurance giant AIG is to hold back from selling some of its assets, CEO Ed Liddy said at a speech in Hong Kong today. AIG is currently selling off units to pay back a $150 billion bail-out by the US federal reserve. In his speech today, Liddy said the US government has given [...]
HSBC is alerting insurers to the likelihood that severe cost pressures and fierce competition could result in mergers and consolidations across the industry, in the months ahead. In a recent report, the bank’s analysts explain that in the coming months there is likely to be increasing differentiation between underwriters that focus strongly on cost and [...]
Lloyds TSB yesterday won an important victory in its bid to take over Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) The competition appeals tribunal (CAT) ruled in Lloyds’ favour. CAT’s tribunal panel ruled that a complaint brought against the Lloyds’ acquisition by the Merger Action Group (MAG) had ‘no merit’ and ‘no basis’. The MAG – a [...]
The number of companies going insolvent is set to rise at an annual rate in excess of 25% for the next two years. World leading credit insurer Euler Hermes, hit hard by the Woolworths collapse, issued the warning this week. According to the company’s ‘Global Insolvency Index’, corporate insolvencies will increase by 25.1% this year [...]
ClimateWise – the climate change initiative representing 42 of the world’s leading financial services companies – has called upon the United Nations to ensure that the concerns of the insurance industry are considered in the successor to the Kyoto Protocol. The insurance industry wants a clear climate change adaptation programme so that it can accurately [...]
Chubb Group has pledged to help businesses stay green with a new move in its insurance policy approach. Peter Thompson, worldwide energy manager for Chubb Commercial Insurance, has stated that businesses with commercial property insurance policy from the firm can enjoy having their green investments automatically protected even if there is a loss. For the [...]
Marsh has launched a public sector division in Scotland, which is dedicated to servicing a range of the firm’s clients in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The broker and risk specialist is enhancing its offering to the region’s local authorities, fire and police authorities, social landlords, central government and government agencies. The new practice is headed [...]
Insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh has announced that it is opening a Scottish Public Sector Practice. The new practice will cater to the unique risk and insurance issues belonging to various public sector organisations. The practice has a broad range of clients throughout Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, including fire and police authorities, local authorities, [...]
Ironshore’s chairman, Ron Sandler, has announced that Kevin Kelley has been appointed as chief executive officer of the firm, with Bob Deutsch assuming the role of president. Kelley leaves behind his post as CEO of Lexington Insurance Company, where he built the organisation into the world’s largest excess and surplus lines insurer. Deutsch, who was [...]
Peter Eastwood has been named by AIG to serve as the new president of Lexington Insurance Company, a unit of AIG Commercial Insurance. He first joined AIG 17 years ago and has occupied a number of senior posts within AIG Executive Liability, AIG Risk Finance, AIG Reinsurance Advisors and Lexington Insurance Company. Most recently he [...]
Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance specialist, Miller, has warned that with regard to the health scare over pork produced in Ireland, insurance policies purchased to indemnify the costs of recalling consumer products may not pay out. Kieron Russell, a member of the firm’s special risk team, explains that underwriters of product recall insurance typically include policy [...]
