Troubled US insurer, American International Group (AIG), says it will be including three of its Japanese life insurance units in its programme of disposals. The businesses for sale are Alico Japan, AIG Edison Life Insurance Co and AIG Star Life Insurance Co; Japanese analysts estimate they could be worth over $9.5 billion in total. In [...]
As American International Group (AIG) begins to sell its assets, Prudential and Aviva have both been mentioned as companies likely to be showing a strong interest in the auction. The US Federal Reserve rescued AIG on Tuesday night, lending the group up to $85 billion to prevent a collapse that would have impacted on markets [...]
Prudential has completed the biggest pension transfer seen by the market, in a deal that tops the £800 million annuity purchased by P&O’s pension fund, in December of 2007. The insurer has acquired £1 billion of liability from the pension scheme of Cable & Wireless (C&W), the international telecoms group. The purchase takes the form [...]
According to reports in the press, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) has been amassing a stake in Prudential, using a nominee account. The Times and Sunday Telegraph have both reported that the central bank now holds around 1% of the UK’s second-largest insurer. The Government of China is apparently keen to use its foreign [...]
Prudential is expanding its partnership with emerging markets bank, Standard Chartered. The companies have been working together since 1998 in an arrangement that enables Prudential to provide savings and insurance products to Standard Chartered customers in Asia. The new agreement includes Japan and Thailand (alongside Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia) and will allow Pru to [...]
Prudential has announced that its plans to return part of its £8.7 billion with-profits surplus to policyholders and shareholders are being shelved. Around 4.5 million policyholders could have benefited from the reattribution of the company’s so-called inherited estate which has accrued because Prudential has held back a proportion of its investment returns during profitable years, [...]
Private medical insurance providers (PMI) have been criticised for being less than clear about the cover they provide for members of company health insurance schemes who develop cancer. Employee benefit consultant Mercer and charity Cancerbackup, have examined the corporate medical insurance offered by 11 leading UK PMI providers for transparency and clarity in the terms [...]
Prudential has launched a consumer finance business in Vietnam. The group, which is the second-largest insurer in the UK, is one of only a few foreign financial institutions to have secured an operating licence in the country, which boasts one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. The company has had a presence in the [...]
Prudential recorded a 13% rise in new business sales worldwide, in the first quarter of 2008. However, new sales at its US business fell 7% during the three months, to £165 million. The decline has been attributed to strong competition in the market and reluctance by US consumers to invest in certain products in the [...]
Prudential has appointed headhunting agency, Whitehead Mann, to find a new chairman. The insurer has given itself plenty of time to replace Sir David Clementi, who has been chair of the group since 2002 and is due to retire in 2010. It is understood that Sir David, who is aged 58, is keen to pursue [...]
Prudential’s Asian business is booming, raising the possibility that the insurer could relocate its corporate headquarters to the region at some point in the future. However, Pru’s chief executive, Mark Tucker, has made it clear that he will not be spinning off the Asian unit, although there may be a secondary listing for the group [...]
Prudential has recorded a 25% rise in full-year operating profit, to £2.5 billion (£2.1 billion) for 2007. The insurer’s sales in Asia expanded rapidly last year, accounting for more than half of all new business. During the year, total new business rose 22% to £1.2 billion. New business profit in Asia rose 34% to £653 [...]
Speculation that Prudential will be broken-up is mounting, ahead of publication of the group’s full-year results next month. The insurer’s Asian and US businesses have both been experiencing strong growth, whereas its UK division is seen as underperforming with sales growth in the domestic market falling behind that of Legal & General and Aviva. This [...]
Prudential is being challenged by Aviva’s actions in coming to its partial settlement of the reattribution of Norwich Union with-profit funds. There are around 4.5 million Prudential with-profits policyholders due for a share of the insurance company’s “orphan” funds which are reported to be in the region of £9 billion. Plans to reattribute the funds [...]
Prudential is rumoured to be of interest to a Chinese insurer and shares in the life and pension provider jumped again today, on speculation that Ping An Insurance has plans to take a non-controlling stake in the group. Latest reports suggest that Ping An is close to taking a $13.8 billion stake in Prudential and [...]
Equitable Life is today transferring fifty thousand with-profits policies to the Prudential, in line with a £1.7 billion agreement drawn up in early 2007. The policyholders have been trapped with Equitable since its virtual collapse in 2000 and over the years have seen the value of their investments dwindle. The policies pay an income in [...]
Prudential has introduced incentives to help insurance customers maintain a healthy lifestyle. The company’s PruHealth division has joined forces with a number of organisations that can help policyholders increase the amount of exercise they take, lose weight and stopping smoking. Under the scheme, Cannons, LA Fitness and Virgin Active gyms will offer discounted membership to [...]
Prudential’s 4.5 million with-profits policyholders have been told that they will have to wait another six months for a final decision on their eligibility for a share of the insurer’s “inherited estate”. The estate comprises a 150-year-old with profits sub-fund, valued at £8.7 billion. A review has been running since March of this year and [...]
Private medical insurance premiums could be lowered simply by purchasing fresh fruit from the supermarket or shopping on eBay, due to the latest range of products of private medical insurance just released. Private Medical Insurance firms have decided the best way to promote healthy living amongst their policyholders is to offer reduced gym membership fees, [...]
