American International Group (AIG) has announced that it is selling its Canadian life insurance business to BMO Financial Group (BMO), also known as Bank of Montreal. AIG Life Insurance Company of Canada, (AIG LICC) is based in Toronto and will be changing hands for around US$305 million once regulatory approval is secured. The acquisition will [...]
Brit Insurance has appointed Nick Forti as divisional director for financial risks within its Global Markets unit. In his new position Forti will be responsible Brit’s Financial Risks and Financial Institutions accounts, providing strategic direction and management. Forti will report to Stephen Moss, portfolio director for Brit Global Markets’ long tail business. Forti moved to [...]
Insurance firm Amlin said premium rates are up 4% this month – the time when companies traditionally renew their cover – compared to January 2007. In January 2008, premium rates fell 8%. Premium income so far this month is £389 million, an increase of 30.6% compared to the same period last year. The rate environment [...]
The European Commission has launched legal action against US business information group Standard & Poor’s (S&P) for breach of EU regulations. EU regulators believe that S&P could be abusing its monopoly position by charging EU-based financial groups a license fee to use international securities identification numbers (ISIN) that allow access to information from services such [...]
The Market Reform Group (MRG) plans to make London the ‘market of choice’ for global insurance. MRG, which sets priorities for London’s insurance industry, said it is implementing plans for a major ‘growth spurt’ that will cement London as the home of the international insurance market. The three year plan, starting 2009, includes full use [...]
HSB Engineering Insurance has today launched a new computer policy which it claims can provide superior protection for the computer operations of a business, under a single policy. The company has applied a broad definition of the term “computer equipment” allowing cover for a range of technology, from telecommunications, electronic access equipment and credit card [...]
Kwik Fit Insurance (KFI) has reported a sharp rise in sales of motor and home insurance. In the traditionally quiet month of December, the intermediary recorded a 12% year-on-year rise in motor business, writing close to 18,000 new policies, in what it describes as a highly competitive market. Meanwhile, sales of home insurance policies rose [...]
Chubb Insurance, the high net worth specialist, has selected ARAG as its new legal expenses provider for its products in the mid, high and ultra net worth range. Policyholders will the insurer will benefit from improved protection, which applies to those holding the Initial (mid net worth), Masterpiece (high net worth) and Signature (ultra net [...]
According to a new survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers, job losses in the financial sector will rise sharply during the first quarter of 2009. The industry employs around one million people and in the three months to the end of December, approximately 10,000 posts were cut. The CBI expects the [...]
Heath Lambert Group has formed a partnership with East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) to provide a new insurance scheme for the families of children and young people with life threatening conditions and complex healthcare needs. The independent broker says it has worked with EACH to understand the specific challenges faced by families and carers to [...]
Lloyd’s of London insurer Advent Capital announced an increase in its estimated losses for Hurricane Ike from £15 million before tax to £42 million before tax. The figures – which are net of reinsurance recoveries and reinstatement premiums – mean the company will incur a full-year loss for 2008, because the increased claims have exhausted [...]
Aviva subsidiary Delta Lloyd and Dutch government-owned ABN Amro Bank will continue their joint venture in the Netherlands, known as ABN AMRO Insurance. Britain’s biggest insurer announced the news after the Dutch government intervened to reverse a decision by ABN Amro’s previous owner that would have ended co-operation between the two companies. The Netherlands government, [...]
New private equity bidders may emerge for Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) insurance business. The bank has been blowing hot and cold over the sale of the division, which includes the Churchill, Direct Line, Privilege, UKI and NIG brands, and reportedly rejected an offer from CVC Capital Partners in December, raising speculation that the auction [...]
Friends Provident has cut bonus rates on its with-profits policies by up to 20%. The life and pensions provider has attributed the move to a weak investment performance by its with-profits fund, which lost 10.5% during last year. Around 1.2 million policyholders are affected. Typically, the payout for someone investing £50 a month into a [...]
Edward Fyfe has been named as the new managing director of Willis’s growing reinsurance operations in Latin America. Based in Lima, Peru, Fyfe will report to Willis Latin America CEO Eugenio Paschoal. Fyfe started working for Willis’s London offices when he graduated in 1984. According to Willis, Fyfe has played an ‘integral’ role in building [...]
The fourth quarter of 2008 was the worst for shareholder payouts since 1956, Standard & Poor’s have revealed. The number of publicly listed companies reducing their dividend in the fourth quarter increased fivefold compared to the fourth quarter of 2007. Two hundred and eighty eight of 7,000 publicly listed companies reduced their dividend in the [...]
Philip Gibbs, fund manager at Jupiter Financial Opportunities, has said that shares in many insurance companies are currently available at a bargain price. According to Gibbs, certain insurance stocks are historically cheap. Gibbs said that despite the recession, there are still opportunities for investors to make money. However, he also warned that there are only [...]
