 | | |
The battle for buoyancy
 This summer will go down as the one in which the world's biggest reinsurance companies finally attempted to draw a line in the sand, and say they were no longer prepared to live with the soft prices that have dogged their industry in recent years. Reinsurers are suffering from a glut of capital that has driven premiums down to uneconomic levels in many sectors. ...more
LLOYDS:
Dead and buried, or alive and kicking?
Lloyd's has changed substantially in the past decade, not least because of its near bankruptcy in the early 1990s when it racked up losses of more than £8bn. A vast restructuring project, involving the creation of Equitas, a new reinsurer, and the admission of corporate members, allowed Lloyd's to draw a line under those losses and continue trading. ...more
IUA:
Insurance gods come down to earth
Against a backdrop of rampant consolidation, the Lloyd's market has recently been moving closer to the London company market through a series of joint initiatives with the trade body, the International Underwriting Association (IUA). ...more
CONVERGENCE:
One-stop shopping comes to the wholesale sector
The tide of "convergence" is starting to turn, with insurers and reinsurers delivering the type of financial deals once associated with commercial and investment banks. Until recently, the reality of "convergence" was banks encroaching on reinsurers' turf through insurance risk securitisation. ...more
FINANCIAL MODELLING:
Super models enter the fray
A leading US analyst used to say that the primary requirement of an insurance company investment manager was a strong back - to carry the cash over to the Federal Reserve Bank. In today's low interest rate, low inflation environment, with premiums under pressure, insurers and reinsurers cannot rely on investments dumped on Mr Greenspan's doorstep to satisfy shareholders. ...more
SOUND BITES:
Rebels with a cause
"I think, when you look back over time in any industry, but especially in our industry, anybody who goes against the flow and the conventional wisdom usually does pretty well," says John Berger, chief executive of Chubb Re. ...more
E-BUSINESS:
Internet enhances role of intermediary
E-commerce is rapidly changing the way insurance is sold at the retail end of the business. But the use of the internet in reinsurance transactions has been much slower to take off. ...more
|
|
 | |
