Monthly Archives: <span>February 2015</span>

Replacing Unsafe Train Crossings Deemed Too Expensive

The bullet train that will whisk passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles at 200 miles per hour won’t pass through the kinds of intersections that have led to two major commuter-rail accidents this month. That’s because the California High-Speed …

2014 Insured Losses Hit Lowest Level in Five Years: Guy Carpenter

Insured losses in 2014 were at the lowest level seen since 2009, according to Guy Carpenter’s annual Global Catastrophe Review. The report says that significant insured losses in 2014 totaled approximately USD33 billion, a dramatic drop when compared to the …

Hong Kong-Based AIA Group Beats Estimates With 22% Jump in Profit

AIA Group Ltd., the third-largest Asia-based insurer by market value, posted a bigger-than-expected 22 percent increase in full-year profit, led by business growth in China and Hong Kong. Net income climbed to $3.45 billion, or 28.73 cents a share, in …

Global Atlantic Appoints Cai as Chief Risk Officer

Bermuda-based Global Atlantic Financial Group Limited has appointed Peter Cai, Ph.D., as Chief Risk Officer (CRO). A move, which the company said, “enhances risk management functions throughout the enterprise,” as it “experiences continued growth.” Dr. Cai will report directly to …

RSA’s Restores 2014 Profit and Dividend; CFO Plans to Step Down

RSA Insurance Group plc reported its first full-year profit since Stephen Hester took charge, restoring dividends after a string of asset sales and cost-cutting measures. Pretax profit was 275 million pounds [$425.9 million], compared with a loss of 244 million …

Canada’s New Rules Could Charge Railways that Cause Forest Fires

Canada’s new rail safety legislation would make it possible for governments to recover costs from railways for any fire they cause, not just accidents that involve crude oil, said Transport Canada, a change that could force railways to pay millions …

Allianz Profit Drops as Gross’ Exit Spurs PIMCO Asset Outflows

Allianz SE reported an unexpected decline in fourth-quarter profit as the exit of Bill Gross at Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) spurred clients to withdraw assets. The shares fell the most in five months. Net income fell to 1.22 billion …

As Health Data Goes Electronic, Medical ID Theft Increases

Medical identity theft jumped 22 percent last year as more U.S. health data becomes electronic and easier for cyber criminals to steal from doctors’ offices, hospitals and insurers. Incidents of medical identity theft in 2014 saw almost 500,000 people fall …

Brit Chief Says Excess Capital Will Spark More Mergers & Acquisitions

Brit plc Chief Executive Officer Mark Cloutier said an excess of insurance industry capital will force more executives to sell or merge their companies. Cloutier said Brit’s planned $1.88 billion sale to Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., which was …

Fratianni-Atsaves Appointed Chair of Illinois Workers’ Comp Commission

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has appointed Joann Fratianni-Atsaves as the chairman of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC). She has 34 years of experience in workers’ compensation law and has previously served as both an arbitrator and a commissioner at …