Natural catastrophes (Nat Cats)
In Series Emerging Markets: Drawing on professionalism
With capital continuing to pour into Asia, talent and professionalism is an issue that the Chartered Insurance Institute is well-placed to tackle.
Aftermath of Japan earthquake serves as reality check for insurance industry
One year ago, Japan was shaken to its core by a magnitude nine earthquake. The shockwaves from Tohoku-Oki on 11 March 2011 are still causing ripples among insurers, risk modelling firms and reinsurers.
Post magazine – 15 March 2012
The latest issue of Post is now available to subscribers as a digital and interactive e-book.
Munich Re promises 2012 turnaround
Munich Re has claimed it has made a good start to 2012 and is aiming for a profit of around €2.5bn after announcing 2011 profit was slashed to €712m (2010: €2,430) in what it called "an extremely difficult environment".
Insurance Insight – top 10 stories
The 10 most read stories from www.insuranceinsight.eu over the past seven days.
Countdown to ISE: Q&A with guest speaker Steve Green
Steve Green, European middle market network leader for Zurich, will be presenting the session on 'Meeting the demands of the mid-market. Are insurers and brokers adequately servicing these clients?' at Insurance Strategy Europe taking place in Brussels…
Q&A Christchurch one year on - New Zealand Earthquake Commission
For the last two years New Zealand has seen an unprecedented number of earthquake incidents, Insurance Insight spoke to Hugh Cowan, general manager for research and education at the New Zealand Earthquake Commission, about how claims in the country are…
Geneva Association warns of 2011 repeat
More people will live in large urban areas and be hit by extreme events like those seen in 2011, the Geneva Association has warned.
Christchurch one year on: a forgotten city?
A year on from the earthquakes in New Zealand, while the Christchurch disasters may be slipping out of public consciousness, the work to rebuild the city continues.
Scor 'resilient' in the face of nat cats
French reinsurer Scor absorbed natural catastrophe losses of €138m from the Thai floods to record net income of €330m for 2011.
Insurers face up to $2bn tornado bill
Eqecat has estimated that the latest series of severe weather events in the US has produced $1bn to $2bn in insured losses.
Omega more than doubles losses
Struggling takeover target Omega's 2011 combined ratio hit 134%, and 2010 pre-tax losses more than doubled to $94.7m (2010: $42.9m).
Early start to US tornado season
More severe weather hit central and southern regions of the US over the weekend, spawning several tornadoes that killed at least 39 people and caused widespread property damage, according to reports.
Premium rates set for Thai cat fund
The Thai government has settled on premium rates for the state-initiated disaster fund.
Beazley's 623 reports 21% 2009 return
Beazley's managing agency Beazley Furlonge said its Names syndicate 623 returned 21% on capacity for 2009, but that 2010 would be nil return and 2011 just 2.5% because of catastrophes.
Amlin chairman retires after £194m loss
Amlin has posted a pre-tax loss of £193.8m (2010: profit of £259.2m) and announced that Roger Taylor is to retire as chairman following the 2012 AGM. Richard Davey will succeed him.
Trade credit – Asian boom
Marsh China recently observed a significant increase in demand for trade credit insurance from Asian firms wanting to protect their balance sheets against the potential default of eurozone trading partners. Francesca Nyman asked several market insiders…
Countdown to ISE: Q&A with guest speaker Christopher Myers
Christopher Myers, global head of enterprise risk management at Aon Benfield, will be presenting the session on 'Using publicly available information to help profile risk' at Insurance Strategy Europe taking place in Brussels on Wednesday 21 and Thursday…
Zurich operating profit down 12%, but net income up 10%
Zurich Financial Services Group reported net income after tax of $3.8bn for the full year 2011, up 10% from $3.8bn in the prior year period.
Novae suffers £6m loss before tax in "torrid year" for general insurance
Specialist insurer Novae has reported an underlying loss before tax of £6m for the year to 31 December 2011 in a "torrid year for the non-life insurance industry" compared to £36.2m profit in 2010.
Hiscox says 92% fall in profit a 'good result'
Hiscox claimed that reporting a pre-tax profit down 92% to £17.3m (2010: £211.4m) was "a good result in the circumstances", as chairman Robert Hiscox announced he would complete one more year at the helm.
Q&A Asia: with Lloyd's Asia's Kent Chaplin
Kent Chaplin, head of Asia Pacific and managing director of Lloyd's Asia, spoke to Francesca Nyman about the market's presence in Asia, its relationship with brokers and its plans for the future.
Swiss Re reports $2.6bn profit despite nat cats hitting P&C combined ratio
Global reinsurer Swiss Re exceeded analyst expectations to report net income of $2.6bn for the full year 2011.
Allianz revenues down 2.7% to €103.6bn
German general insurer Allianz reported a 2.7% reduction in revenues for the full year 2011, down to €103.6bn from €106.5bn in 2010.