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August 2010
France is aiming to slash Eu3.2bn ($405.9) of tax exemptions in the insurance sector, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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The lawyers of Allen Stanford and two accounting executives who worked for him want to distance their clients from the alleged financial wrongdoing insurer Lloyd's of London cites as a reason to void a policy covering their defence fees, reports Reuters.
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The European Commission is probing whether certain practices used by ship insurers breach the European Union’s rules on fair competition, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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Hank Greenberg, former AIG CEO, has settled lawsuits alleging he deceived investors while managing the insurer, Bloomberg reports.
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The approach of Solvency II has a classic sci-fi feel to it, says Reactions' contributing editor Garry Booth. And now that attention is being focused on the fifth quantitative impact study, QIS 5, an insurance remake of the cult sci-fi movie The Fifth Element is in pre-production.
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The UK FSA has fined the UK branch of Zurich Insurance for a lack of adequate systems and controls. The fine is the highest levied to date on a single firm for data security failings, said the FSA.
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The question of where or not the attorney fees of Allan Stanford and his co-defendants are covered by directors’ and officers’ liability (D&O) insurance is being debated in a three-day US bench trial.
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AIG has won the dismissal of a $34.4m judgement in a lawsuit accusing it of fraudulently inducing an Axa affiliate to enter two reinsurance contracts, Reuters reports.
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The Dutch Finance Ministry has given the investment bank Nomura authority to review the options for the sale of the state-owned insurer ASR Nederland, reports the M&A Navigator.
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Lloyd’s of London underwriter Equity Red Star is under investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), amid concerns about the impact of bodily injury claims on its balance sheet, reports the Sunday Telegraph.
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The CEA, the European insurance and reinsurance federation, has called on all European insurers to take part in the European Commission’s fifth quantitative impact study in preparation for the EU’s new regulatory regime, Solvency II.
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Japan's three largest property/casualty insurance groups are strengthening their risk management processes in order to comply with tougher Solvency II capital regulations, reports the Nikkei English News.
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Managing agents at Lloyd’s have seen 49% growth in actuarial resources over the past three years as the demands on managing agents from Solvency II develop, according to a new survey.
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A federal appeals court has decided to partly restore part of a nationwide class-action lawsuit that accused a large group of insurers and brokers of bid-rigging.
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Australian insurance group QBE has revealed that it is reviewing its equity strategy because of an increase in capital charges by the Australian regulator.
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The NAIC's Solvency Modernisation Initiative Task Force has released an updated SMI Roadmap during its Summer National Meeting in Seattle, Reactions’ sister website Insurance Capital Risk reports.
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Dutch insurer Aegon has reached a deal with the European Commission to repay the remaining Eu2bn ($2.6bn) it received in state aid from the Dutch government during the financial crisis.
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Chubb has become the first insurer to be awarded chartered insurer in the UK.
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The overhaul of accounting standard proposed in the IASB’s recent exposure draft would be a pain for insurers to comply with. But the benefits outweigh the inconvenience.
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The UK Financial Services Authority has banned five individuals for insurance fraud. It has also imposed one of its largest ever fines of £150,000 ($233,755) on one of these individuals and £50,000 on another.
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Florida voters believe changes to the insurance laws over the past four years that promised to improve conditions for consumers have failed, with 86% of homeowners believing their homeowners’ insurance situation has either stayed the same or become worse, according to a public poll.
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The US government’s failure to gather information about which countries’ institutions would benefit from some of its rescue actions meant the US bore the brunt of the risk and costs associated with the financial crisis bailout, according to a Congressional Oversight Panel report.
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The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has submitted a filing to the California Department of Insurance recommending an approximate 29.6% increase in pure premium rates effective January 1 2011.
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A London law firm, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC), says the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK is in the throes of staff turmoil.
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China’s insurance regulator has set rules governing insurers’ investments, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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Global insurance broker Aon has responded to the US President's Working Group on Financial Markets' request for comment on the long-term availability and affordability of terrorism risk insurance.
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According to the US Government Accountability Office, the Treasury team that manages the AIG bailout investment has been investigating a number of possible exit strategies but will not employ one until AIG has repaid its debt to the FRBNY.
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New changes to financial services legislation in the US will increase business opportunities for the London market and make it easier for companies to insure US risks, believes Dave Matcham, chief executive officer of the International Underwriting Association.
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The new UK Bribery Act (the Act), which will come into force in April next year, is designed to provide a more effective framework for the relevant authorities to bring the force of the law to bear on bribery.
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Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has agreed to allow local insurers to invest up to 10% of their overseas allocation quota in Chinese securities, Bloomberg reports.
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The good news in the recently-passed US financial services reform is that the insurance industry has not been anywhere near as badly swept up in the backlash as some feared. The bad news is, says Reactions' editor Michael Loney, is it will still be a pain for the industry.
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The New York attorney general has subpoenaed six more life insurers to probe into how they make payouts to policy beneficiaries, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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A New York monoline bond insurer has filed a lawsuit suit against its reinsurer for backing out of a contract and forcing the insurer to take responsibility for a bond insurance policy after the policy became risky and unprofitable, according to law firm Goldberg Segalla.
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July 2010
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in London has announced proposals for the introduction of standardised book-keeping measures to give investors better data. The news been met with mixed reactions among insurers.
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Frank O’Halloran has a tough return target for Australian insurance and reinsurance group QBE and he is not budging, despite stagnant pricing, falling investment returns and first-half catastrophes.
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A study by the Government Accountability Office into state regulation of risk retention groups has been welcomed by the National Risk Retention Association.
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It is unlikely that the Aon broker who threw his laptop and memory sticks into a pond in an attempt to conceal the work he was doing from his former firm will face criminal charges or lose his role at the broking giant, Reactions can reveal.
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The US state of Rhode Island is reviewing the first-ever proposed discharge and liquidation of obligations of a solvent insurer in the US, according to law firm Morrison & Foerster.
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The CEA, the European insurance and reinsurance federation, has written to the US House of Representatives to express its concerns over proposals to change the US tax treatment of reinsurance between affiliated entities.
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A set of scribbled notes helped the head of AIG Financial Products unit avoid prosecution for deceiving investors on the state of AIG’s financial health in the run up to the $182bn US federal bailout in 2008, reports the Wall Street Journal.
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The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act should not have an immediate credit impact on ratings and could even help US insurance/reinsurance companies maintain their competitive positions in the global marketplace, according to S&P.
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The plan to set up a state-owned insurer in Brazil has shifted the goalposts for international firms, says Reactions' contributing editor Garry Booth.
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Legislation that would have expanded the National Flood Insurance Program to include wind was pulled from a final vote by the US House of Representatives today.
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Insurance broker Aon Corporation has announced it will start receiving contingent commissions again. Rims is not happy with the decision.
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Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) has bolstered its insurance practice with a number of former Halliwells partners joining the firm in Manchester.
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The Dodd-Frank bill was signed into law today. PCI has urged a careful approach to adding federal oversight to the state-based insurance regulatory system with the creation of a Federal Insurance Office.
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RSA has appointed Derek Walsh as its new general counsel, with effect from July 19, 2010.
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Allied World Assurance Company Holdings announced today that approval has been received from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Lloyd's Asia to register and operate a service company, Capita 2232 Services Pte. Ltd.
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The German Ambassador to the US, Klaus Scharioth, has sent a letter to the US House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Sandy Levin, registering the opposition of the German government to the Neal bill.
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Recommendations by Ceiops on the assessment of the regulatory equivalence of non-EU countries could hit European insurers with subsidiaries in the US and Asia, Moody’s has warned.
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Action over Solvency II is picking up as the 2012 deadline looms, such as Ceiops last week naming Switzerland, Bermuda and Japan as leading contenders for the first round of EU equivalency testing. In recent weeks a series of papers and letters have also given clarification on capital requirements and supervisor readiness. Reactions asks what it all means.
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The Brazilian government’s plan to create a state-owned insurer would be a negative credit development for some of Brazil’s private market insurers and could have negative implications for the insurance market’s development.
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Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray has announced a $725m securities class action settlement against AIG and certain individual directors and officers.
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As CEO of the International Underwriting Association of London (IUA) Dave Matcham is the voice of the company market – and he’s never been busier.
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The proposed scrapping of the Financial Services Authority has worried the UK insurance industry.
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The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act financial services regulatory reform legislation has been passed. Trade groups expressed approval of the act, which includes long-awaited surplus lines reform.
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The US House has passed the Flood Insurance Reform and Priorities Act of 2010 – legislation that will extend that National Flood Insurance Program for five years.
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The 16 private insurance companies that participate in a US federal crop insurance programme have agreed to a plan to cut their subsidies by $6bn over the next 10 years.
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The US House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee has held a hearing on the taxation of reinsurance between affiliated entities.
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The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Apra) has released two further papers detailing its plans to recalibrate insurance industry capital standards for the country’s life and non-life insurance companies, Reactions’ sister website InsuranceCapitalRisk.com reports.
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Credit Suisse is urging a New York judge to dismiss an Ambac Financial Group lawsuit related to mortgage-backed securities transactions, Bloomberg reports.
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Insurers received a break last month when the US bill “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” preserved the role of state insurance regulators, but according to Deloitte there are still areas of the act involving consumer protection and measures to “de-risk” the financial system that will have broad implications for insurers.
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The latest developments on Solvency II have shown regulators are commited to a technical approach. This is good news, says Reactions’ European editor Adrian Ladbury, because the last thing that is needed is a bunch of supervisors playing politics.
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The London market likes a scrap – which is just as well. It has plenty to fight over, such as Solvency II, the new UK coalition government and tax concerns.
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Liberty Mutual Insurance has sued Goldman Sachs for fraudulently misleading it into buying preferred stock of mortgage financier, Fannie Mae, Reuters reports.
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The New York Insurance Department will hold a public hearing on August 20 to explore the possibility of increasing insurance capacity in New York by easing unauthorised insurers’ access to excess and surplus lines.
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The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) has banned three individuals from working in regulated financial services after they were found guilty of a £2m ($3m)fraud.
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The Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (Ceiops), a committee of all Europe's national insurance regulators, has warned that more work in needed to get supervisors up to speed for the implementation of Solvency II.
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The news that Catlin is to set up shop in Zurich has been headlined as a Solvency II story. But, wonders Reactions' contributing editor Garry Booth, is this really a Bermuda story?
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Korea National Insurance Corporation (KNIC) has rubbished recently-published allegations of reinsurance fraud which it claims are “completely untrue and without foundation”.
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A US judge has thrown out the bid-rigging convictions of two former Marsh & McLennan Company (MMC) executives, reports Reuters.
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A US federal judge has authorised for AIG to pursue a lawsuit that accuses its rivals of illegally conspiring to cause AIG harm in the workers compensation market, Reuters reports.
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The CIRC has granted approval for the China based subsidiary of US insurance group The Chubb Corporation to establish a branch in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.
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Photos from the Reactions London Market Awards Dinner 2010, which took place at the Grange City Hotel on June 30, are now available for free download.
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Property/casualty trade groups have praised the passing of the House passage of the “Dodd-Frank” Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (HR 4173), especially now that the $19bn bank tax, which would have effected the largest p/c companies, has been scrapped.