Scor posts 30% drop in profits
by David Masters
Story link: Scor posts 30% drop in profits
Paris-based reinsurer Scor this week posted a 30% fall in first quarter profits. Net income for the world’s fifth largest reinsurer dropped to €93 million, down from €133 million in the year ago period. Scor blamed the decrease on the global economic crisis and the impact of natural catastrophe losses. Investments lost €4 million during [...]
Amlin withdraws all credit insurance cover
by David Masters
Story link: Amlin withdraws all credit insurance cover
Amlin has withdrawn its services from the credit insurance market because it has struggled to find reinsurance cover. The insurer, which owns about 4% of the UK’s credit insurance market, has said it will not be writing any new policies for businesses who supply goods or services to other businesses on credit. Credit insurance covers [...]
French state offers credit insurance to SMEs
by David Masters
Story link: French state offers credit insurance to SMEs
The French government has unveiled plans to offer credit insurance to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the country. As global markets enter recession, insurers are becoming increasingly wary of offering credit insurance, which covers companies against non-paying customers or if they enter administration. A number of European insurers have started pulling cover from [...]
QBE sees rich pickings in financial turmoil
by David Masters
Story link: QBE sees rich pickings in financial turmoil
QBE Insurance Group Ltd, Australia’s biggest insurer by premium income, has announced the acquisition of ZC Sterling Corp, a US-based underwriting agency, for $575 million. QBE also said that it plans to acquire three other underwriting agencies, including two in the US and one in Europe. Capital to fund the acquisitions – and to shore [...]
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 [...]
AIG asset sales imminent
by David Masters
Story link: AIG asset sales imminent
Troubled insurance giant American International Group (AIG) is expected to start selling off units before the end of the year according to a report by the Reuters news agency. A deal to sell off its US personal lines units, valued at $5-7 billion, is likely to be completed soon. Its smaller energy equipment insurer, Hartford [...]
No 2008 dividend for Hannover Re shareholders
by David Masters
Story link: No 2008 dividend for Hannover Re shareholders
Germany-based Hannover Re told investors yesterday that it won’t be paying a dividend this year as writedowns on investments and catastrophe payouts in the third quarter have set the company on track for its first ever annual loss. Elke Koenig, Chief Financial Officer at Hannover, said to preserve the company’s capital, the board won’t be [...]
Maiden buys GMAC Re
by David Masters
Story link: Maiden buys GMAC Re
GMAC, the financial arm of General Motors, has sold its reinsurance business, GMAC Re, to Bermuda-based Maiden Holdings Limited. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The acquired business will be renamed Maiden Re, and will be based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Around 120 GMAC employees will join the Maiden team. For the past [...]
Aon third quarter profits down 43%
by David Masters
Story link: Aon third quarter profits down 43%
Chicago-based insurance broker Aon Corp reported its third quarter results on Friday, with net income down 43% on year to $117 million, or $0.40 per diluted share. Despite the fall in income, the results beat Wall Street’s expectations, and the share price of the world’s largest insurance brokerage jumped 11% to $42.30 following the announcement. [...]
Aviva seeks to reassure investors
by David Masters
Story link: Aviva seeks to reassure investors
London-based Aviva Plc, the biggest insurer in the UK by assets, sought to reassure investors today as it posted sales results for the third quarter. The insurer told shareholders that its capital reserves are ‘very strong’ and reported a 12% rise in life and pension sales during the first nine months of 2008. New business [...]
Lancashire posts first ever quarterly loss
by David Masters
Story link: Lancashire posts first ever quarterly loss
Marine and energy insurer Lancashire Holdings Limited has reported its results for the third quarter, with a net loss of $119.4 million or $0.69 per share. This is the first ever quarterly loss since the company was set up in 2005, and is compared to a net profit of $105.2 million, or $0.51 per share, [...]
XL to report $1bn Q3 losses
by David Masters
Story link: XL to report $1bn Q3 losses
Bermuda-based XL capital has said that it will report third-quarter investment losses of between $1 billion and $1.2 billion later this month. The announcement came one day after the company’s stock plummeted to its lowest level since 1991 at $4.01 per share. Analysts say that the loss is due to XL’s large exposure to mortgage [...]
Credit crunch hits high street; Insurers flee Woolworths
by David Masters
Story link: Credit crunch hits high street; Insurers flee Woolworths
The turmoil in financial markets has hit the high street with insurers refusing cover to cash-strapped chain store Woolworths. France-based insurer Coface is now the third and last major credit insurer to withdraw cover from Woolworth’s suppliers, following the lead of Euler Hermes and Atradius. Being refused credit insurance is likely to have a significant [...]
Allianz rescues Hartford with $2.5bn investment
by David Masters
Story link: Allianz rescues Hartford with $2.5bn investment
Germany-based insurer Allianz SE has announced plans to invest $2.5 billion in troubled US-based insurer The Hartford Financial Services Group. The deal sees Allianz acquire a 24% stake in Hartford, purchasing $750 million of preferred shares at $31 dollars per share. In addition, Allianz has purchased $1.75 billion of Hartford’s junior subordinated debt. On the [...]
Swiss Re steers safely through financial storm
by David Masters
Story link: Swiss Re steers safely through financial storm
European insurance giant Swiss Re has assured investors that its portfolio is secure despite the current worldwide financial turmoil. The second largest reinsurer in the world announced on Thursday that it is on track to meet its targets, and that write-downs from the credit crunch have been lower than expected. The company added that it [...]
Helphire profits up, share price down
by David Masters
Story link: Helphire profits up, share price down
Bath-based Helphire has posted record results for the year ending 30th June 2008, with an increase in sales and pre-tax profit, yet bosses at the company say they are disappointed. Pre-tax profits for the accident claim handler increased 3.9% to £46.8 million, whilst sales rose 39.5% to £404.9 million. Despite the record result, Chairman Rodney [...]
Lloyds TSB jump to HBOS rescue
by David Masters
Story link: Lloyds TSB jump to HBOS rescue
Lloyds TSB today acquired troubled British rival Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) for £12.2 billion. The all-share takeover is being seen as a bailout rescue for HBOS, Britain’s biggest mortgage provider. HBOS’s share price fell dramatically this week following numerous crises in banks around the world. Before rumours of a takeover spread, HBOS’s share price [...]
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 [...]
