Zurich Financial Services Group has announced that it has reduced its stake in New China Life Insurance from 20% to 15%. The 5% was sold to undisclosed buyers, with the sale price moderately exceeding the respective book value at year-end, and Zurich is to retain its 15% stake in New China Life Insurance (NCI). NCI’s [...]
Specialist loss adjuster QuestGates has announced that it has bolstered its Counter Fraud Division with the appointment of Robin Hayward as senior investigator. Hayward brings to the firm nearly three decades of operational investigative experience, including more than 10 years with Kent Police. His appointment adds knowledge of forced entry situations to the team, as [...]
Amlin plc has announced the appointment of Andreas Luberichs to the newly created post of group head of Underwriting. Luberichs will be tasked with ensuring that all divisions within the group adhere to Amlin’s culture, standards and philosophy of underwriting, particularly with regards to new ventures/acquisitions. Luberichs, who is formerly of Chubb Europe, joins the [...]
Specialist insurer Hiscox has reported its latest financial results, which saw pre-tax profits drop by a third from £320.6m to £211.4m. Profits after tax declined by a similar margin, down from £280.5m to £178.8m, with earnings per share dropping from 75.2p to 47.2p. However, profits were hit by specific catastrophe claims worth a total of [...]
The European Court of Justice’s ruling on the Gender Directive, due 1st March, could mean that the UK insurance industry will need to raise nearly £1 billion in additional capital. Unchallenged, the Directive means that UK insurers can no longer offer premiums based on gender and according to Open Europe, UK insurers will need to [...]
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) recorded a 15% increase in new complaints in the second half of 2010, compared with the previous six-month period. Complaints involving payment protection insurance (PPI) accounted for over half of the new workload, with 24,955 such cases lodged in the final quarter of 2010 alone. The Service received a total [...]
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has appointed Carlos Montalvo as its first executive director. In his new role, the 38-year-old will presides over the day-to-day management of EIOPA, serving a term of five years that can be renewed only once. Mr Montalvo is currently acting secretary general of EIOPA, and since November [...]
Zurich has announced that it will be collaborating with innovative Swiss car manufacturer, Rinspeed, on initiatives to develop a better understanding of how people will drive in the future and how this will change insurance needs. The insurer is also involved in the development of “BamBoo”, a community platform that aims to help users carpool [...]
Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings has announced the appointment of Toby Wemyss to the post of chief executive officer of its Global Markets International (GMI) division. Wemyss, who assumes his new position with immediate effect, is to be based in London and will be directly responsible to Dominic Samengo-Turner, CEO of Willis’ London Market [...]
Brit Insurance has reported its preliminary results for 2010, including pre-tax profits, excluding the effect of foreign exchange on non-monetary items, of £119.2m, down substantially from the £171.3m made in 2009. However, profits after tax rose substantially, increasing from £87.5m by 26% to £110.5m, with earnings per share up from 113.2p to 142.4p. Headline return [...]
American International Group, Inc. has announced its financial results for the quarter and the year ended 31 December 2010. In the fourth quarter, the firm made a net income of $11.2bn, equating to diluted earnings per share of $16.60, in stark contrast to the $8.9bn net loss ($16.50 per share) incurred during the same quarter [...]
FTSE 100 investors have been handed a watching brief on diversity in Lord Davies’ review of gender in the boardroom. The government-sponsored study is recommending that UK listed companies in the FTSE 100 aim for a minimum of 25% female board members by 2015, while FTSE 350 companies should be setting their own “challenging” targets. [...]
Bermuda-based specialty provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. has announced the election of William H. Bolinder as chairman of the Board of Directors. Bolinder, who assumes his new post with effect from 3 March, has held a seat on the Board of Directors for the last 10 years and [...]
LV= Broker has announced the appointment of Michael White to the newly created position of director of strategy and broker performance. White will report directly to Phil Bunker, managing director of LV= Broker. He will be tasked with responsibility for the development and review of the firm’s network of brokers, including strategy and compliance as [...]
RSA has reported its financial results for 2010, during which net written premiums rose by 11% from £6.7bn to £7.5bn. Emerging markets managed to exceed the net written premium target of £1bn, and net written premiums in India recorded strong growth, rising by 35% to £116m. RSA also predicted strong growth during 2011, with international [...]
Cooper Gay has appointed Jeremy Austen as head of broking at its Singapore office. Reporting to Asia Pacific regional managing director, Stephen Britten, Mr Austen will focus on business development throughout the region, having joined from Talbot Asia, where he held the post of principal underwriting officer of the Lloyd’s syndicate. Commenting on the appointment, [...]
PartnerRe Ltd. has announced a number of leadership changes in its Catastrophe business unit, with effect from 1 April. Chief Underwriting Officer and Deputy Head, Catastrophe, Brian Secrett has been appointed to become leader of the firm’s Catastrophe business unit. In his new role Secrett will take on responsibility for PartnerRe’s global catastrophe reinsurance business [...]
Aviva is making it easier for people to understand the value of benefits provided by their employer. The insurer is launching Total Reward Statements alongside its group personal pensions, providing employees with an online personal statement of their benefits package including salary, bonus, pension, medical insurance, health screening, life and critical illness insurance, car allowance [...]
