North America

Insurers must explain interest rate effect to customers

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Insurers need to talk to their customers about how low interest rates are determining pricing, says Robert Hartwig of the Insurance Information Institute.

“Shadow insurance” probe will cut captive use

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Recent investigations into captive insurance are expected to reduce insurers’ reliance on captives in the future, Moody’s predicts.

Fireman’s Fund Insurance names CEO

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Allianz UK CEO appointed president and CEO of Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, and will take on the role later this summer after Lori Fouché departs for Prudential.

Marsh US casualty head joins Schinnerer

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Jonathan Zaffino, brother of Marsh CEO Peter Zaffino, becomes president of underwriting manager Schinnerer Group, a MMC subsidiary.

RGA’s Greig Woodring elected IIS chairman

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Woodring succeeds Norman Sorensen, former chairman and CEO of Principal International, who has served as IIS chairman since 2010.

Xuber recruits to boost US presence

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Xuber has made three senior US appointments in product development, implementation and sales as the software firm plans to expand its US market share.

AM Best changes Ace outlook to positive

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

AM Best has revised its outlook for Ace Limited and most of its subsidiaries to positive from stable. The ratings change reflects Ace's strong risk-adjusted capital in its property/casualty operations.

Colorado wildfire doubles in size

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Wildfires in Colorado that broke out earlier this week have been exacerbated by unseasonably warm temperatures and windy conditions, causing mass evacuations of more than 38,000.

Pina Albo wins Women in Insurance award

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Munich Re's Pina Albo awarded the inaugural Women in Insurance Luminary Leadership Award by The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation.

Warren Buffett’s E&S insurer starts writing

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

New E&S insurer Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance starts writing commercial property casualty risks. “We are moving into commercial insurance in a substantial way,” says Buffett.

$20bn NYC climate protection plan

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

New York’s Mayor insists his proposed plan costing over $20bn to protect the city from another Hurricane Sandy is urgent.

US commercial lines reserves $900m deficient

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Commercial lines reserves swing to $900m deficiency from $4.1bn redundancy, but overall reserves are redundant driven by personal lines, according to new Aon Benfield study.

FIO finally releases annual report

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Federal Insurance Office’s annual report has been released, with its report on regulatory modernisation still to come.

Namic urges FIO to take "cautious approach"

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies welcomes the release of the Federal Insurance Office annual report but urges the FIO to take a cautious approach to its still-overdue report on modernising the US insurance regulatory system.

NY says uncovered $48bn “shadow insurance”

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

New York State Department of Financial Services says New York-based insurers are making their balance sheets “appear artificially rosy” through the use of “shadow insurance”.

Commercial lines prices up almost 7% in Q1

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Insurance carriers continue to report increases in commercial insurance prices, almost 7% in aggregate during the first quarter of 2013, according to the Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS) conducted by Towers Watson.

Oklahoma tornado insurance claims hit 60,000

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

"These numbers are already staggering, and this is just the beginning," said Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak.

Life reinsurance market too opaque: Willis Re

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

“The lack of transparency in the prevailing market is all pervading, extending to pricing and value, where, for example, reinsurers provide ancillary services, such as underwriting advice, all as a part of the ‘package’,” says Willis Re’s Nigel Sedgwick.

Odyssey Re founder joins TigerRisk

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Reinsurance broker TigerRisk appoints James Dowd to develop international markets.

Six insurers benefit from S&P's US revision

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Standard & Poor’s revises outlooks on six insurance groups revised to stable from negative after outlook on US revised to stable, but keeps negative outlook on Berkshire Hathaway.

Tokio, GC Securities create cat bond platform

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Platform from GC Securities and Tokio Solution intended to provide capital markets access to “underserved segment” of insurance and reinsurance buyers whose capacity needs are below threshold amount needed to justify a traditional catastrophe bond issuance.

Travelers could start Canadian M&A surge: analyst

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Travelers will become a top 10 Canadian property/casualty insurer with The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company buy. The deal could “signal the beginning of a surge in M&A activity, domestic and cross-border”, says one analyst.

Travelers to buy Canadian insurer for $1.1bn

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Travelers to acquire the Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, which will Combine with Travelers Canada.

AIG's Sifi designation is a positive: Moody's

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

"The credit benefit of a non-bank Sifi designation outweighs potential drawbacks since these issuers are less likely to take actions that would adversely affect their financial profile," says Moody's, referring to AIG, Prudential Financial and GE Capital.

Solvency II would not work in US - panel

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

An American version of the EU’s Solvency II project would not be viable in the US, according to panellists at S&P insurance company event in New York.

Trade credit insurance claims up 12%

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

More companies are relying on trade credit insurance and surety bonds in economic challenging times, says Jim Davidson, president of the International Credit Insurance and Surety Association.

US MPLI profits strong but ebbing: Fitch

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

US medical professional liability insurance rates are likely to remain flat to down and underwriting results will likely deteriorate further in the near term, warns rating agency Fitch.

6% of US public firms buy cyber insurance: survey

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Willis reports finds 88% of US organizations identify top cyber threats in response to SEC guidelines, but suggests many firms may be overlooking critical exposures.

Benmosche accepts AIG’s fate as a Sifi

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

AIG CEO Robert Benmosche says increased oversight is good for the insurance industry and admits financial system would not have survived in the same form had the US insurer been allowed to fail.

First named storm of season makes landfall

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Tropical Storm Andrea makes landfall near the Big Bend of Florida.