Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) is warning companies that when they come to renew their directors’ and officers’ (D&O) liability insurance, they should expect a much more intrusive underwriting process than in previous years. According to the broker and risk management specialist, D&O insurers may now be seeking to pass on tougher conditions from their reinsurers, [...]
A new company has been formed to provide a subscription service on European catastrophe insurance data. Perils AG is a Zurich-based business that will aggregate industry-wide data from European-based insurers and catalogue it by risk type and CRESTA zones (the defined European geographical zones for natural catastrophe insurance). Founding shareholders include: Allianz, AXA, Groupama, Guy [...]
Willis Group has announced that eight new members have signed up to Willis Networks since the beginning of the year. The division includes Willis Commercial, which is open to brokers placing annual premiums from £3 million to £25 million and the group describes it as an alliance between the company, independent brokers, a panel of [...]
Insurance Services Office (ISO) has launched a Personal Injury Claims Assessment Service (PICAS), which has the capacity to entirely digitise the personal injury claims process. According to the risk data provider, benefits of the new system include speedier contacts between lawyers and insurers and fairer settlements. Parties can then process claims using an integrated system [...]
Lloyd’s has appointed Bin Yang as chief representative in its Beijing representative office. Ms Yang has over 15 years experience in insurance and reinsurance, most recently as vice president of client markets at Swiss Re’s Beijing office. She has extensive contacts in the Chinese insurance market. Jose Ribeiro, Lloyd’s director of international markets, said: “I [...]
AIG vice chairman for external affairs Frank Wisner has announced plans to retire. Wisner, 70, joined AIG in 1997 after retiring from the US Foreign Service, for which he served as US ambassador to Zambia, Egypt, the Philippines, and India. He served on the AIG board of directors from 1997 to 2003. A spokesperson for [...]
Lancashire Holdings posted its 2008 results this week, with pre-tax profits down 75% at $97.6 million (£68.6 million). This is compared to 2007 pre-tax profit of $392 million. Chief executive Richard Brindle said 2008 was “one of the toughest years that many of us have experienced in the insurance industry”. The group reported a $150 [...]
Legal & General (L&G) has announced that it is increasing its capital cushion by £650 million, to £1.2 billion. The move follows yesterday’s sharp fall in the insurers share price on concerns that the group needed an extra £1.9 billion to cover potential losses on its corporate bond portfolio. The company has today stated: “The [...]
Open GI has developed a new tool to enable insurance providers to compare rates. The software specialist has been working with Business Insight to produce Premium Insight, which will be marketed to insurers, underwriters and wholesale brokers. The firm claims that users can improve profitability using the new system because they are able to benchmark [...]
MMA Insurance has relaunched its commercial combined policy for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The firm says it is keen to develop its commercial lines business and that policy changes have been applied according to feedback from both brokers and their SME clients. Enhancements include the addition of cover for refrigerated stock, loss of [...]
Liberty International Underwriters Europe (LIU Europe) has launched a new environmental impairment liability underwriting unit to cover the UK, Ireland, Continental Europe and the Middle East. The company, which is a London-based subsidiary of US insurance giant Liberty Mutual Group, says the division will underwrite a wide range of environmental risks. In doing so it [...]
Endurance Specialty Holdings has released its fourth quarter results following a ‘challenging’ 2008, with net income down 89% on year to $16.9 million, or $0.22 per share. Net income in the fourth quarter of 2007 was $152.5 million. For the full year 2008, net income dropped 81% on year to $98.6 million, or $2.18 per [...]
Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Limited has announced its results for the fourth quarter of last year and its annual performance for 2008. The firm made a net income of $62m during the fourth quarter, equivalent to $0.37 per diluted share, down from $95m from Q4 in 2007 (partly due to the acquisition of [...]
European insurer and reinsurer Glacier Group has named Andreas Zdrenyk as the new head of Group Risk Management. In his new post Zdrenyk will be directly responsible to chief executive officer Robbie Klaus, and is to be based in the firm’s Swiss HQ in Pfäffikon. He brings with him over a quarter of a century [...]
Assistance insurance brand, Theft Protect, has announced that over 400 brokers have signed up for access to its product. The cover has been launched by Nice 1 Ltd on the HSBC Platform 24 broker platform, as a stand alone policy that can provide an immediate replacement vehicle for the victims of vehicle theft and certain [...]
The UK’s heaviest snowfall in 20 years left car insurance firms with 45,000 claims worth £63 million, according to estimates by Sainsbury’s Car Insurance. The week of the snowfall saw 45% more car insurance claims compared to the same week in 2008, the supermarket insurer said. Joanne Mallon, Sainsbury’s Car Insurance manager, said: “Last week [...]
Fortis shareholders have voted against proposals to sell the bank’s Belgian assets to French bank BNP Paribas. The Belgian government said the decision puts Fortis in danger of total collapse. Shareholders ignored warnings from acting Fortis chairman Jan-Michiel Hessels that Fortis would face potential bankruptcy if the sale to BNP was blocked. Following the vote, [...]
Bupa International, which specialises in expatriates insurance, has appointed two new advertising agencies to assist in its global expansion plans. FBH Incite has picked up the online creative brief and MediaVest will handle the company’s online advertising strategy. Both companies will work alongside Bupa International’s offline agency, Total Media. London-based MediaVest will focus on promoting [...]
