Guy Carpenter named Asian reinsurance broker of the year
by Gill Montia
Story link: Guy Carpenter named Asian reinsurance broker of the year
Guy Carpenter has been named “Reinsurance Broker of the Year” at the Annual Asia Insurance Industry Awards. The firm has received the accolade in four out of the last five years with factors contributing to its 2012 success including: Excellence in service: collecting claims after catastrophes on behalf clients. Leading capital solutions: efforts of the [...]
Guy Carpenter unveils Asian industrial park database
by Gill Montia
Story link: Guy Carpenter unveils Asian industrial park database
Guy Carpenter has developed a database of industrial parks across Asia to help clients identify and evaluate potential risks in the region. The new facility, which takes in industrial parks in China, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia, uses digitised boundaries and gives access to maps through i-aXs, the firm’s exposure visualisation and portfolio management platform. Using [...]
Willis Re appoints Asian CEO
by Gill Montia
Story link: Willis Re appoints Asian CEO
Willis Re has appointed James Beedle as chief executive officer of its Asian operations. Mr Beedle joined the Willis Re team in 1998 and has since worked with numerous global insurance company clients, focusing on the strategic use of reinsurance to assist with capital management and earnings volatility. In 2008, he was appointed chief operating [...]
Lloyd’s syndicates launch Asia terrorist consortium
by Gill Montia
Story link: Lloyd’s syndicates launch Asia terrorist consortium
A new insurance consortium, Xin, has been launched by Lloyd’s syndicates, specialising in helping businesses protect against the on-going threat of a terrorist attack in Asia. Amlin, Markel, Canopius and Argenta have set up the Singapore-based consortium to provide terrorist insurance protection to businesses operating in South East Asia and the Asia Pacific region. The [...]
IAG outlines growth strategy
by Gill Montia
Story link: IAG outlines growth strategy
Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has reset its priorities with an emphasis on accelerating growth in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, having targeted Asia for 10% of gross written premium, by 2016 In Australia the group will build on its direct business, while in Asia growth will be focused on its existing markets of Malaysia, Thailand [...]
Firms urged to review political risk cover
by Gill Montia
Story link: Firms urged to review political risk cover
“Companies operating in politically volatile regions of the world may soon find they are unable to retain sufficient insurance coverage to protect their assets and staff.” The warning comes in a new report from Willis, which points out that insurers offering protection against political risk and terrorism are re-evaluating their terms and prices, meaning that [...]
AEGON restructures Asian operations
by Gill Montia
Story link: AEGON restructures Asian operations
AEGON is announcing a new organisational structure for its operations in Asia at an investor conference held today. Under the leadership of newly-established chief executive officer AEGON Asia, Douglas Henck, all Asian-based insurance businesses will be managed as one regional division headquartered in Hong Kong. Mr Henck has held a number of senior management positions [...]
Prudential outlines Asian growth targets
by Gill Montia
Story link: Prudential outlines Asian growth targets
Prudential is outlining new growth and profitability targets for Asian markets at an investor conference being held today. Group chief executive, Tidjane Thiam, is unveiling plans for the company to double the 2009 value of its Asian life and asset management pre-tax operating profit in 2013 (2009: £465 million), alongside a similar achievement for new [...]
Hardy Underwriting expands into Singapore
by Gill Montia
Story link: Hardy Underwriting expands into Singapore
Hardy Underwriting Bermuda is opening an office in Singapore. Underwriting will commence in December and the new unit will be headed by Richard Lim. The specialist insurer and reinsurer is establishing Hardy Underwriting Asia Pte Ltd within the Lloyd’s Asia platform “in recognition of the growing significance of Asia Pacific economies” and the tendency for [...]
Liberty Syndicates takes on agricultural and weather reinsurance
by Gill Montia
Story link: Liberty Syndicates takes on agricultural and weather reinsurance
Liberty Syndicates has announced that it is entering the agricultural and weather reinsurance market and to that end has hired of a team of specialist underwriters. Operating from the insurer’s Paris office, the new team will underwrite agricultural and weather reinsurance programmes on a worldwide basis including North America, Latin America and Asia. Jean-Christophe Garaix [...]
AEGON looks for 25% UK cost reductions by 2011
by Gill Montia
Story link: AEGON looks for 25% UK cost reductions by 2011
AEGON has announced that it intends to restructure and re-focus its UK business, targeting cost reductions of 25% by the end of 2011. In a series of measures aimed at increasing long-term returns and improving its risk profile, the Dutch group also intends to explore strategic options for it life reinsurance business, Transamerica Reinsurance, including [...]
Bowring Marsh opens Tokyo office
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Bowring Marsh opens Tokyo office
Bowring Marsh has enhanced its presence in Asia with the opening of its eighth office in Tokyo. The Tokyo office will specialise in property, earthquake and business interruption risks as well as placing large and complex international programmes for non-Japanese firms into the Japanese insurance market. Japanese clients will also be able to benefit from [...]
Standard Life reports strong start to 2010
by Gill Montia
Story link: Standard Life reports strong start to 2010
In a trading update covering the three months to the end of March, Standard Life has reported a three-fold year-on-year increase in net inflows, to £2.1 billion. Worldwide long-term savings sales increased 30% to £4.6 billion with sales at the group’s UK retail long-term savings business up 23%, to £1.8 billion, when compared to a [...]
Prudential expands in Asia with UOB acquisition
by Gill Montia
Story link: Prudential expands in Asia with UOB acquisition
Prudential is to acquire UOB Life Assurance in Singapore, for £192 million. The move forms part of a long-term partnership agreement with United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) to develop a major regional bancassurance business. Under the terms of the 12-year agreement, Prudential’s investment, savings and protection products will be marketed through UOB’s 414 bank branches [...]
Pru reports “robust” group sales
by Gill Montia
Story link: Pru reports “robust” group sales
In a trading update, Prudential has report “robust” nine month group-wide sales of just over £2 billion. In the third quarter of 2009, retail sales came in at £699 million, up 10% on a year earlier and reflecting “powerful momentum” in US retail sales which soared 66% year-on-year. Asian sales rose 4% in Q3 and [...]
Fortis Asia is ‘not for sale’, CEO says
by David Masters
Story link: Fortis Asia is ‘not for sale’, CEO says
Fortis’s Asian insurance unit is not for sale, the company has said yesterday. Stuart Frasier, CEO of troubled Belgo-Dutch insurance group Fortis, said the company has no plans to sell its Asian unit, and has not discussed a sale with any party. “There has been media speculation that Fortis Insurance Company Asia is for sale,” [...]
Prudential reports £1.7bn capital surplus and rising sales
by Gill Montia
Story link: Prudential reports £1.7bn capital surplus and rising sales
Prudential has described its sales performance for 2008 as “good” with overall group insurance new business up 5% in “a really challenging environment”. Sales for the year rose to £3.024 billion, up from £2.87 billion in 2007, with increases of 7% in the US, 6% in Asia and 4% in the UK. In addition, the [...]
Marsh appoints Hong Kong chairman
by David Masters
Story link: Marsh appoints Hong Kong chairman
US-based insurance broker and risk insurer Marsh has appointed Kenneth Kwok to the newly created role of Hong Kong chairman. Kwok will be responsible for unlocking Marsh’s potential in Hong Kong. He plans to do this by forging new relationships with local businesses and strengthening the current Hong Kong team. Kwok’s experience in the insurance [...]
Guy Carpenter scoops award in Asia
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Guy Carpenter scoops award in Asia
Global risk and reinsurance specialist Guy Carpenter has won the Reinsurance Broker of the Year award at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards. The award was presented in The Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong on 23rd November. Peter Zaffino, president and chief executive officer of Guy Carpenter, has described the award as a gratifying acknowledgement of [...]
Munich Re plan Asian expansion through AIG
by David Masters
Story link: Munich Re plan Asian expansion through AIG
Germany-based Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, has expressed interest in buying the Asian life insurance operations of crippled US insurance giant American International Group (AIG). Munich Re revealed yesterday that it is seeking to enter new markets in Asia, and admitted that acquiring AIG’s Asian operations would be an effective way of achieving this [...]
