Topic
Climate Change
Munich Re posts record profit in 2005
March 14, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterIn its anniversary year, with a stable premium base, the Munich Re Group achieved a record profit in 2005 of over EUR2.7 billion (CDN$3.75 billion).“We have thus slightly exceeded our target,” Nikolaus von Bomhard, chairman of the board of management,…
Climate change insurance task force planned
March 13, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterThe U.S. National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) recently agreed to establish a task force examining the impact of climate change on the insurance industry and consumers. The force will focus in on how the warming climate may affect insurance…
Gallagher Re renews EQECAT agreement
March 9, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterGallagher Re has signed a licensing agreement with risk modeler EQECAT Inc. to renew the use of part of the WORLDCAT enterprise catastrophe management software suite, to better manage client portfolio exposures to these perils. The programs renewed include EQECAT’s…
Catlin reports $27.7 million in annual profits
March 9, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterCatlin Group Ltd. has raised approximately $70 million from a share placing indicating strong business performance despite a decrease in profits of 84% due to last year’s catastrophic hurricane season. Pretax profits for 2005 dropped to $27.7 million from $173.9…
SGI takes rollover simulator out for a spin
March 7, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterSGI is driving home the message of how seatbelts save lives with its newest traffic safety tool, a rollover simulator.“Given our vast network of roads in Saskatchewan, some residents may think seatbelts are not important in areas where there is…
Lloyd’s results forecasts better than expected
March 6, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterDespite the record 2005 hurricane season, several Lloyd’s syndicates are releasing results forecasts ahead of market expectations, Lloyd’s has announced.The news comes in the wake of last year’s devastating hurricane season, which was widely expected to have a huge impact…
AXA Re writes first humanitarian disaster insurance policy
March 6, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterThe United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has taken out the first humanitarianism insurance policy with reinsurer AXA Re.AXA Re will provide contingency funding of up to US$7 million of insurance coverage in case of extreme drought that may occur…
Bermuda 2005 start-ups face tough market conditions
March 3, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterThe 2005 class of Bermuda reinsurance start-ups will face much tougher market conditions, is writing less diverse property risks, and is more reliant on short-term, high return investment money than their predecessor Bermuda start-ups in 2001, according to a special…
Swiss Re’s net income drops in 2005
March 2, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterSwiss Re reported a drop in net income to CHF1.5 billion (CDN$1.3 billion) in 2005 from CHF2.5 billion (CDN$2.17 billion) in 2004.In 2005, Swiss Re digested CHF3 billion (CDN$2.61 billion) in large natural catastrophe claims, up from CHF1.2 billion (CDN$1.04…
Royal & SunAlliance endorses Drive for Life
March 2, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterCiting a disproportionate number of Ontario youths who are involved in fatal car collisions, Royal & SunAlliance is offering premium discounts for graduates of a program that uses a simulator to teach defensive driving techniques. Road safety statistics show 225…
US storms cause “unprecedented” market activity, Guy Carpenter
February 28, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterGuy Carpenter & Company, Inc., a global risk and reinsurance specialist and a part of the Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC), and affiliate of Guy Carpenter MMC Securities Corp., recently published their fourth annual joint study of natural catastrophe…
Sceintists called on to counter bioterrorism risk
February 27, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterIn a report released Feb. 27, “DNA for Peace: Reconciling Biodevelopment and Biosecurity,” experts at the Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health (CPGGH), part of the University of Toronto’s Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB), calls for a global network…