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March 2010
The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (Ferma) has voiced concerns about the effect Solvency II and capital requirements put forward by the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors will have.
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The merger of Bermudian firms Max Capital Group and Harbor Point has been termed a merger of equals. Reactions spoke to the CEO’s of the two companies and an analyst to get the perspective from all sides on what the future holds for the combined company Alterra Capital Holdings.
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Norway’s Gjensidige is looking to unveil an initial public offering in the second half of 2010.
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Russia will tighten its licensing and merger regulations for the insurance industry, Reuters reports. Companies will be required to inform the regulator while buying up to 1% of an insurer.
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French reinsurer Scor expects costs related to the recent earthquakes Chile to amount to about Eu95m ($130.7m) net pre-tax.
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US insurer Chartis has announced Alexander Baugh will assume the newly created position of president and CEO of Chartis Europe Holdings.
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Fortis has been fined Eu576,000 ($787,543) by Dutch regulator, AFM, for downplaying its solvency problems and withholding share price information.
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Hannover Re said Thursday that group net income increased by Eu858.2m ($1.2bn) to Eu731.2m in 2009; the largest net income in the group's history.
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French reinsurer Scor has been added to the EuroStoxx Select Dividend 30 index.
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Fortis has announced a group net profit of Eu1.2bn ($1.6bn) compared with a net loss of Eu28.0bn in 2008. .
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Windstorm Xynthia, which caused serious damage in Western Europe at the end of February, will present a substantial, though manageable, cost for the French insurance industry according to Moody's Investors Service.
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Munich Re has reported a profit of Eu2.56bn ($3.5bn) in 2009 compared with Eu1.58bn in 2008. Gross premiums written rose by 9.5% to Eu41.4bn, from Eu37.8bn in 2008.
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Swiss Re said Wednesday it expects around $500m in claims from the earthquake in Chile, and around $100m in claims from European winter storm Xynthia.
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European insurance and reinsurance firm Glacier Group today reported improved net income for the full year of 2009 of $60m, an increase of $34m over 2008.
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Endurance's new CEO will be looking to continue the work done under eight years of Ken LeStrange's leadership but won't be afraid to make big changes if necessary, he tells Reactions in an exclusive interview.
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Spanish insurance group Mapfre recorded a net result of Eu937m ($1.3bn) in 2009, a 2.9% increase over 2008.
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Swiss Re is preparing a new catastrophe bond, which will be the first cat bond to use Perils AG as a benchmark for losses.
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Aviva is seeking to acquire Russian competitors at one-fourth of their price before the global credit crisis, Bloomberg reports.
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ING Groep is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of its global insurance operations as a single entity.
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Shortly after 02:30 UTC on Monday March 8 an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 Mw (moment magnitude) occurred in the Elazig province of eastern Turkey, reports the RMS/Reactions Catastrophe Centre.
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Allianz is expecting its share of claim costs from wind storm, Xynthia, to be between Eu100-300m, Bloomberg reports.
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German reinsurer Munich Re is extending its offer to shareholders of Ergo Versicherungsgruppe for their remaining shares as part of a squeeze-out, reports the Wall Street Journal.
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Scor, France’s largest reinsurer, said Wednesday that 2009 net income increased 17.6%, while fourth quarter-profit more than doubled to Eu92m ($125m).
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Catastrophe risk modelling firm AIR Worldwide estimates that insured losses in France, Belgium, Germany, and Netherlands from winter storm Xynthia will be between Eu1.5bn ($2bn) and Eu3bn ($4bn).
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Allianz is expecting an increase in prices in Germany’s motor insurance market, Reuters reports. The insurer expects the segment to generate Eu4-5bn of its target of Eu7.2bn ($9.7bn) in operating profit this year.
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Hannover Re has concluded a $500m long-term letter of credit facility with Deutsche Bank to expand its life and health business.
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Windstorm Xynthia, which swept across western Europe at the weekend, has resulted in widespread power outages, damage and at least 50 fatalities according to RMS.
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February 2010
Aegon is not planning to take any further steps to pay the Eu3bn state aid it received during the financial crisis, Financial Times reports.
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Assicurazioni Generali’s gross premiums on life insurance surged 6.2% in 2009, Bloomberg reports.
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Nikolaus von Bomhard, CEO of Munich Re, has lambasted the argument that insurance companies can be labelled as “too big to fail” based on sized alone.
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Allianz, Europe’s largest insurer, said Thursday that it plans to increase its dividend by 17% after reporting a Eu1.08bn ($1.47bn) profit in the fourth quarter compared to a loss of Eu145m a year ago.
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Anne-Sofia Hedin has been appointed general manager of Markel Sweden, which is based in Stockholm and provides insurance products across Nordic countries, the Baltic states and Russia.
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Spanish insurers will continue to suffer from the consequences of the recession and the restructuring of the domestic banking market in 2010, according to a special comment from rating agency Moody's.
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Reactions speaks to brokerage veteran Pat Ryan, who built Aon into a global powerhouse, about his plans for new firm Ryan Specialty Group.
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Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) has secured a safekeeping and custody mandate from Generali Group.
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Flash flooding and mudslides have killed at least 40 people and caused extensive damage to property and infrastructure after torrential rains hit the Portuguese island of Madeira, RMS/Reactions Catastrophe Centre reports.
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As the world economy recovers, European insurers need to rebuild capital, reassess risk management, integrate changing regulations and aggressively seize opportunities for growth, both through acquisition and new product development in 2010, according to a report from Ernst & Young.
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ING has restructured its pay policy for management board members, Financial Times reports.
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Axa, Europe’s second-largest insurer, reported Thursday an almost four-fold increase in 2009 net earnings to Eu3.6bn from Eu900m in 2008. The increase comes despite Axa posting a 6% fall in underlying earnings, down to Eu3.8bn.
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Swiss Re has raised its dividend for 2009, in a sign that the world’s second-largest reinsurer is now in a position to repay a expensive convertible loan from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
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The board of United America Indemnity has approved a proposal to redomicile from the Cayman Islands to Ireland.
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Benita Ferrero-Waldner has joined German reinsurer Munich Re’s supervisory board.
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Italian insurer Fondiaria’s gross premiums for 2009 were at Eu4.8bn, down 2.5% on the year, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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The Spitzer-era ban on contingent commissions for the world’s biggest insurance brokers, Aon, Marsh and Willis, has been lifted. An equity analyst believes Aon and Marsh could now receive as much as $200m a year in contingent commissions.
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Lloyd’s of London’s decision to broaden its product range as part of its strategic plan will not harm the market’s position in its core lines, Sean McGovern, Lloyd’s general council, has told Reactions.
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The board of Axa Equitable Life Insurance has made three appointments to the group’s senior management.
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Dawn Dillaway has been appointed as head of commercial underwriting for Groupama Insurance.
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PartnerRe's acquisition of Paris Re, along with involvement in initiatives such as the Global Reinsurance Forum trade group, confirms Patrick Thiele's position as one of the most influential reinsurance executives around.
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The outlook for insurance industry merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the sector has been brightened by the move to Solvency II, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has said.
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Allianz’s management board member and Allianz Deutschland’s board of management chairman, Gerhard Rupprecht, is retiring at the end of the year.
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Warren Buffett now holds a 5.073% stake in insurer, Munich Re.
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Fresh off the back of the busiest ever fourth quarter for cat bonds, insurance-linked securities activity is predicted to be high in 2010. Reactions' Convergence Quarterly section includes all the cat bond data from 2009.
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Japan car maker Toyota’s embarrassing recall of many of its cars because of braking problems will cause headaches for people who have bought its cars, but is unlikely to cause a big problem for insurers.
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Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe today announced organisational changes, following the acquisition of Paris Re. These include Paris Re’s chief executive officer leaving the company at the end of June.
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Reinsurance pricing softened at the January 1 2010 renewals. Reactions asks what this will mean for pricing for the rest of the year.
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Allied World Assurance Company (Europe) has rolled out a small to medium sized enterprises (SME) unit.
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French insurer Axa has extended its bancassurance agreement with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS).
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Fierce pricing competition is prompting investors to choose their stocks carefully this year. We reveal which stocks equity analysts are tipping to outperform.
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MMC today reported a decline of net income to $38m in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with net income of $80m in 2008. Marsh’s revenue for the quarter fell 4% while Guy Carpenter’s revenue for the year was up 23%.
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Paris-based reinsurer Scor said Wednesday that the January 1 reinsurance renewals were a success as the firm recorded a 7% rise in business volume.
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Aon Corporation surpassed expectations in the fourth quarter as the company saw the benefit of restructuring savings and favourable foreign currency translation.
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Zurich Financial Services has nominated Josef Ackermann for the position of a member of its board of directors.
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Zurich Financial Services, Switzerland’s largest insurer, reported Thursday a five-fold increase in fourth-quarter profits and announced plans to pay its biggest dividend in 10 years.
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Aegon will sell its funeral insurance subsidiary in the Netherlands. Dutch investment firm, Egeria, will acquire the business for Eu212m.
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German carmaker, Daimler, has teamed up with Allianz for the international automotive and warranty insurance business.
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Groupama has appointed Christian Collin as chief financial and risk officer.
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Hannover Re, Germany’s second-largest reinsurer, said Wednesday it is targeting a return on equity of 15% in 2010 as it expects modest premium growth in the coming year.
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Insurance and reinsurance group Ace Limited has reported a record fourth quarter income of $953m, compared with $20m in the same period last year.
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Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, said Tuesday that it plans to raise its dividend after reporting a seven-fold increase in profits for the fourth-quarter, helped fewer natural catastrophe claims and higher investment income.
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Global reinsurers face the daunting prospect of eroding profitability margins over the next two to three years, S&P has warned in a new report.
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January 2010
Munich Re’s financial instruments owned by Warren Buffett as of January 19 are likely to raise his voting rights in the firm to 5.029%.
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XL plans to redomicile to Ireland and the remaining Lloyd’s players headquartered in the UK are also considering leaving. We ask why firms are looking to move and to where.
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Axa has appointed Jacques de Vaucleroy as CEO of the northern, central and eastern Europe region as of March 15, 2010.
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Zurich has hired Steve Gillen as global head of marine claims.
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Groupama Insurance has appointed Glyn Hughes as personal lines pricing and planning manager.
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German reinsurer Hannover Re has securitised more natural catastrophe risk through its K6 transaction.
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The sanction commission of Six Swiss Exchange, Switzerland’s stock exchange, has imposed a fine on Swiss Re.
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Paris-based insurer Axa Monday announced its intention to delist its shares from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and to deregister with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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US investor Warren Buffett has taken a taken a 3% stake in German reinsurer Munich Re, the company revealed Tuesday.
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AM Best has upgraded the financial strength rating of Paris Re to A from A- and the issuer credit ratings a+ from a-. The ratings have been assigned a positive outlook.
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Beazley Group said Friday that it intends to open a new office in Oslo, Norway to service energy business for the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd’s.
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The introduction of a compulsory deductible for directors and officers is causing uncertainty in the German D&O market, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has warned.
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In an environment that was highly competitive, Germany experienced a wide range of average rate changes across lines, Guy Carpenter has found.
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Axa Group Solutions has appointed Pascal Buffard as CEO.
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Allianz is looking to boost its share in alternative asset classes, The Financial Times reports.
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Axa will buy Romania’s Omniasig Life, in line with its effort to expand its presence in the emerging countries, notably in central and eastern Europe.
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Matthias Aellig has joined Swiss Life Group as its new chief risk officer.
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Swiss Re said Monday it has closed a reinsurance deal with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway that the Zurich-based reinsurer said would improve its capital efficiency.
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Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, has said that its losses from the earthquake in Haiti will be in the single-digit to a low double-digit million US dollars, net before tax.
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Deutscher Ring Leben and Deutscher Ring Sach, the German units of Swiss insurer, Baloise, have presented a separation plan to their negotiation partners.
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The Association of Run-Off Companies (ACR) has warned that run-off firms will be disadvantaged by the impending Solvency II directive.
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The European Commission has authorised a Danish measure that provides a state guarantee on non-life insurance against damages from nuclear, biological, chemical or radioactive terrorist attacks.
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Frank O’Halloran, CEO of Australian insurer QBE Insurance Group, has been announced as the 2010 Insurance Hall of Fame winner.
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Read a selection of stories from the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Reactions.
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Michael McGavick, chief executive officer of XL, wants to move his firm’s holding company to Ireland because of the stability the country offers, he has told Reactions.
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Reactions canvassed executive search firms worldwide to produce a list of who they believe will be the top leaders of the future. Here are the names they came up with.
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XL Capital has announced today that it proposes to change the parent holding company's place of incorporation to Ireland from the Cayman Islands, with the parent holding company to be renamed XL Group.
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Zurich Financial Services Group today announced the transfer of the majority of its general insurance portfolios in Italy, Portugal and Spain to local branches of its EU-based risk carrier Zurich Insurance in Ireland.
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Delegates discussed the worrying implications of new regulation for the industry at the Reactions Global Insurance Conference on November 10 and 11.
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The mixed reinsurance rating environment is a disappointment against last years’ expectations says Bermudian reinsurer Aspen Re.
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Markel’s approach to investments cost the firm millions in 2008. Reactions asked its vice-chairman Tony Markel whether this has heralded a change at the firm.
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Lack of quality, consistency and transparency in financial reporting could hurt insurance companies by creating uncertainty about their financial condition and business drivers, according to a PWC report.
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Swiss Reinsurance and Zurich Financial Services have reached an agreement to plan advisory polls of shareholders, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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The fourth quarter saw a big fall in cat bond spreads, according to a report issued today by reinsurance broker Aon Benfield. This trend was especially seen in the US wind and multi-peril sectors, which decreased by 36% and 26% respectively on a non-seasonal adjusted basis.
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The gross premiums written by the Guy Carpenter European Reinsurance Composite, which the reinsurance broker uses to track the performance of the European reinsurers it follows, increased by a 6% weighted average to $102bn during the year to date ending September 30 2009.
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Predicting the future direction of the market is not a simple exercise. In today’s climate it is a genuine challenge. Nevertheless, a number of events and recent judicial developments are helpful indicators.
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RSA Insurance Group has announced the acquisition of 80.8% of Sveland P&C, for SEK138m ($19m) in cash.
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Ship owners are facing a modest increase of 4.54% for protection and indemnity (P&I) premiums at the February renewal, that will generate an extra $159m for P&I clubs, predicts Aon.
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The catastrophe bond market recovered in 2009, with issuance returning to the pre-crisis levels, says Munich Re in a briefing.
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Last year saw the most active fourth quarter ever for catastrophe bond issuance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) activity looks set to remain high in 2010 as a record volume of catastrophe bonds mature, according to risk modelling firm RMS.
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Members of the Guy Carpenter Global Reinsurance Composite saw their total net income more than double to almost $10bn in the first nine months of 2009, according to a Guy Carpenter briefing.
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Insurance and reinsurance group Ace expects its operating income per share to be between $6.25 and $6.75 for 2010.
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Swiss Reinsurance has secured a $1bn long-term letter of credit facility with JP Morgan.
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Insurance broker Willis said Tuesday that it is expanding its UK Willis Commercial Network (WCN) business model into Northern Ireland with the addition of three new independent brokers.