Insurers calculate exposure to Lehman Brothers and AIG
by Gill Montia
Story link: Insurers calculate exposure to Lehman Brothers and AIG
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 recoveries […]
Swiss Re reveals $178m AIG exposure
by David Masters
Story link: Swiss Re reveals $178m AIG exposure
Swiss Re has declared its exposure to struggling US insurance firm American International Group as $178 million (£100 million), whilst its exposure to the failed Lehman Brothers bank is $45 million (£25 million).
AIG, the primary insurer of Lehman Brothers, was this week rescued from the verge of bankruptcy by an $85 billion loan from the […]
Federal Reserve rescues AIG with $85bn loan
by Gill Montia
Story link: Federal Reserve rescues AIG with $85bn loan
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 Chase to […]
Munich Re declares €350m exposure to Lehman
by David Masters
Story link: Munich Re declares €350m exposure to Lehman
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 its exposure […]
AIG seeks up to $75bn from Golman Sachs and JPMorgan
by Gill Montia
Story link: AIG seeks up to $75bn from Golman Sachs and JPMorgan
Reports that American International Group Inc. (AIG) had approached the Federal Reserve for a $40 billion loan have been followed by the news that the insurer is now seeking up to $75 billion of support from investment banks, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.
According to Bloomberg, the Federal Reserve has urged AIG to seek private capital to […]
AIG seeking $40 billion Federal Reserve loan
by Gill Montia
Story link: AIG seeking $40 billion Federal Reserve loan
American International Group Inc. (AIG) is reported to have turned to the US Federal Reserve for a $40 billion loan.
The group is in danger of having its credit rating downgraded and according to a report in the New York Times, has shunned private-equity investment in the company because of control issues.
The insurer is believed to […]
AIG expected to post third-quarter loss
by Gill Montia
Story link: AIG expected to post third-quarter loss
Analysts are expecting AIG, the largest insurer in the US, to post a loss in the third-quarter of 2008.
According to a report by Bloomberg, financial services group Credit Suisse is predicting that mortgage writedowns could result in a $2.41 billion loss for the group in the three months to the end of September.
The insurer’s […]
Omega reports $25m H1 profit
by David Masters
Story link: Omega reports $25m H1 profit
Omega Insurance Holdings Ltd has reported its first half results, posting a pre-tax profit of $24.5 million on revenues of $118.7 million.
The Lloyd’s of London insurer reported profit after tax for the six months ending 30th June of $21.78 million, or $0.14 per share. This is a 34% increase compared to the first half […]
Abbey Protection profits up 17%
by David Masters
Story link: Abbey Protection profits up 17%
Abbey Protection Plc this week posted its results for the first half of 2008 with profit up 17% on year and revenues up 8% on year.
Profit for the period ending 30th June 2008 was £2.82 million, or 2.81 pence per share. This is an increase of 17% compared to first half profit in 2007, […]
Lloyd’s chairman turns focus to emerging markets
by David Masters
Story link: Lloyd’s chairman turns focus to emerging markets
Lloyd’s of London, the biggest insurance market in the world, must seek to increase operations in emerging markets, according to Chairman Peter Levene.
Speaking last night at the annual London City dinner, Levene said the balance of world power is moving from the West to emerging markets in Latin America and Asia, and to oil rich […]
Groupama reveals interim results
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Groupama reveals interim results
Groupama Insurances has released its interim financial results for the first half of this year.
Post-tax profits remained almost steady at £15m (down marginally from £15.1m in the corresponding period the previous year).
The firm recorded good return of capital employed of 22%, on an annualised basis.
Groupama also enjoyed a good rate of revenue growth, which increased […]
Hardy Underwriting Bermuda reports steady H1
by David Masters
Story link: Hardy Underwriting Bermuda reports steady H1
Hardy Underwriting Bermuda has posted its first half results with pre-tax profit of £8.7 million, £0.4 million lower than during the same period last year.
The slight fall in profit came despite a significant increase in gross written premium to £97 million, compared to £88.8 million for the first half of 2007.
Net tangible assets increased to […]
Chaucer H1 profits tumble
by David Masters
Story link: Chaucer H1 profits tumble
Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer Holdings Plc has posted its first half results, with pre-tax profits down 92% on year to £3.9 million.
This is compared to pre-tax profit of £47.9 million for the first half of 2007, and is the worst result for the company in two years.
The London-based company was hit by reduced returns from investments […]
French reinsurer Scor profits up 24%
by David Masters
Story link: French reinsurer Scor profits up 24%
France-based Scor, the fifth largest reinsurer in the world, has posted a net profit of €225 million for the first half of 2008 having steered a safe course through the global credit crisis.
This is an increase in profit of 24.3% compared to the €181 million net profit for the first half of 2007.
Gross written premiums […]
Brit Insurance profit falls 50%
by David Masters
Story link: Brit Insurance profit falls 50%
UK-based Brit Insurance has announced its results for the first six months of 2008 with profits at less than half of what they were a year ago.
The general insurer and reinsurer reported pre-tax profits for the period of £49.9 million, compared to £106.8 million for the same period last year.
Despite the fall in profits, the […]
Credit crunch hits world’s biggest insurers
by David Masters
Story link: Credit crunch hits world’s biggest insurers
New figures released by one of the world’s most respected stock market analysts reveal that the credit crunch continues, with insurers and other financial providers the hardest hit.
Statistics released by Standard & Poor (S&P) show that operating earnings for the 500 biggest publicly traded companies in the world fell 29% on year for the second […]
IAG posts large 2008 loss
by David Masters
Story link: IAG posts large 2008 loss
Insurance Australian Group (IAG) has post a net loss after tax of A$261 million (£121 million) for the financial year ending June 2008.
Insurance profit for the Australia-based company was A$448 million, down from A$767 million last year.
The fall in profit occurred despite an increase in gross written premiums to A$7.8 billion.
Shareholders were paid a final […]
Amlin H1 profits down 26%
by David Masters
Story link: Amlin H1 profits down 26%
Lloyd’s of London insurer Amlin has posted its results for the first half of 2008 with pretax profit down 26% on year.
Pretax profit for the 6 months ending 30th June was £137.3 million, compared to £185 million for the same period in 2007.
Net income for the period was £108.1 million, or 22.5p per share, […]
CBG reports 45% increase in profits
by David Masters
Story link: CBG reports 45% increase in profits
Manchester-based insurance broker CBG has announced its results for the first half of 2008, with pre-tax profit up 45% on year.
CBG’s first half pre-tax profit was £930,000, compared to £628,000 in the first half of 2007. This equates to 6.26p per diluted share.
Shareholders will receive a dividend of 0.6p, 0.1p more than last year.
Revenues […]
Hiscox achieves record interim profits
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Hiscox achieves record interim profits
Hiscox has released its interim results for the six month period ending 30 June 2008.
The insurance firm recorded its highest ever level of pre-tax profits (for the interim period) of £109.2m, a rise of £3.6m compared to the previous year.
Gross written premiums fell by almost £100m, dropping 12.8% to hit £639.4m, in accordance with the […]
