Global insurance premiums returned to growth in 2014, as the insurance and reinsurance industry continued to recover from the economic crisis, with premiums increasing by 3.7 percent to USD4778 billion. Advanced markets saw premium growth of 2.9 percent, which remains below the pre-crisis growth rate of 3.4 percent. Emerging market premium...
ACE Limited and The Chubb Corporation have announced that the boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which ACE will acquire Chubb. Under the terms of the transaction, Chubb shareholders will receive USD62.93 per share in cash and 0.6019 shares of ACE stock. Based...
French life insurers saw inflows rise 15 percent in the first five months of the year as investors put more cash in higher-risk unit-linked funds than guaranteed-return funds for the first time, the French insurance federation said recently. The development is good news for life insurers such as AXA and...
Germany is opposed to a pan-European bank deposit guarantee proposed by the European Commission as a step towards closer financial integration of the euro zone, German government sources said recently. The European Deposit Insurance Scheme is one of several reforms proposed in a report published by the Commission in cooperation...
A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength ratings of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings of “a+” of Markel International Insurance Company Limited (MIICL) and Lloyd’s Syndicate 3000. The outlook for MIICL’s ratings remains stable and the outlook for Syndicate 3000’s ratings remains positive. MIICL’s ratings reflect the continued...
The Islamic Insurance Association of London (IIAL) was recently launched to support organisations that transact Islamic finance in the UK re/insurance markets. At the launch event IIAL chairman Max Taylor said that London has the ability and willingness to drive the growth of Shari’ah-compliant insurance products. Insurance and reinsurance are...
Now Health International investor, the Primary group, has reached an agreement to acquire Best Doctors Insurance, a medical insurance provider with distribution throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada. The transaction will create a global top tier specialist International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI) proposition with complementary products, distribution and geographies...
Swiss Re reported Group net income of USD1.4 billion for the first quarter of 2015, a 17 percent increase from the previous year. Property & Casualty reinsurance again led the positive contributions from all business units. Life & Health reinsurance net income increased to USD277 million. Corporate Solutions continued to generate...
AXA will scrap holdings in coal companies because of concerns about climate change, broadening support for the fossil-fuel divestment movement to a major mainstream investor. Axa SA Chief Executive Officer Henri de Castries said he's working to sell EUR500 million of coal assets and triple "green investments" to EUR3 billion...
In fewer than five years, the use of drones (unmanned aerial vehicles – UAVs) could become common practice for almost 40 percent of businesses, say corporate risk managers surveyed by Munich Re. What is the greatest risk of using drones for business purposes? Sixty-nine percent of the risk managers surveyed...
