Segment
Reinsurance
U.S. insurance industry turns to catastrophe bonds
March 16, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterIn the wake of the worldwide surge in natural catastrophes over the past few years, the insurance industry is turning more frequently to catastrophe bonds, according to a Standard & Poor’s report.The bonds are designed to mitigate the catastrophe risk…
Converium reports profitable year
March 15, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterConverium Holding AG has seen a profitable year, reporting a net profit of US$68.7 million for 2005 following a reported loss of US$582.5 million for 2004.Weather-related losses including hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma as well as the European floods, and…
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,…
D&O liability market recovery uncertain
March 13, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterA D&O liability market recovery is far from certain, and underwriters will need to allocate their capital wisely to stay in the business, panelists told a symposium of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS).PLUS is an international, non-profit association with…
Canadian P&C assets increase in Q4 2005
March 10, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterBuoyed by the value of its investments, the Canadian property and casualty industry’s total assets increased from CDN$61.094 billion in Q4 2004 to CDN$64.208 billion in Q4 2005.According to information collected by Canada’s Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada’s P&C Q4…
Hannover Re reorganizes US specialty business, launches new primary insurer
March 7, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterHannover Re recently began restructuring its North American primary insurance business through the launch of the new specialty business insurer Praetorian Financial Goup Inc.Approximately US$500 million in capital was contributed to the formation of Praetorian, which will write select specialty…
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…
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…
GE Insurance Solutions reports solid renewals
March 2, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterGE Insurance Solutions companies (NYSE: GE) secured nearly US$1.5 billion of property and casualty reinsurance business in the recently completed Jan. 1 renewal season. The GE Insurance Solutions team recently added 62 new reinsurance treaty clients and US$149 million in…
Swiss Re shareholders approve capital to buy GE Insurance
February 27, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterShareholders of Swiss Reinsurance Co. (RUKN.VVX) recently approved the creation of up to $7.8 billion in fresh equity capital that will be used to finance the acquisition of GE Insurance Solutions, the reinsurance unit of General Electric Co (GE). Chairman…
Guy Carpenter launches i-aXs platform
February 27, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterGuy Carpenter & Company, Inc., a global risk and reinsurance specialist, has announced the development of a new online risk management platform, i-aXs, that is designed to reduce risk management analysis and reporting times from weeks to mere minutes.The new…