Latest Life Insurance Headlines
All the headlines from our Life Insurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Latest Analysis Concludes Foreign Insurers Missing Out on China Party
Dec 7 2011 // Ten years ago, foreign insurers were lining up to celebrate China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, eager to tap what was certain to become the world’s next big insurance frontier. A decade on, it is...
India’s Insurance Regulator Issues IPO Guidelines
Dec 1 2011 // India’s insurance regulator on Thursday notified guidelines for life insurers to raise capital via initial public offering (IPO) or subsequent public fund raising from the equity markets. The Insurance Regulatory and...
Best Issues Special Report on New Zealand’s Non-Life Insurance Market
Nov 14 2011 // A new report from A.M. Best examines New Zealand’s non-life insurance market, which it describes as being “in a state of transformation as it grapples with prolonged earthquake activity in addition to...
Life Insurer Sues Bank of America Over Mortgages
Nov 10 2011 // Bank of America Corp. and its Countrywide Financial unit were on Wednesday hit with a new lawsuit alleging fraud in the sale of residential mortgage debt to a New York mutual life insurance company. National Integrity Life...
Weak Markets to Hobble Canadian Insurer Results
Oct 24 2011 // Canadian insurers are looking at a bleak quarter of financial results due to a sharp drop in stock markets and bond yields, and analysts are staying cautious on the stocks even at rock-bottom valuations. Sun Life Financial...
Report AXA, Generali, Tokio Marine, MS&AD Submit Bids for HSBC Unit
Oct 14 2011 // European insurers AXA SA, Assicurazioni Generali SpA, Japan’s Tokio Marine and MS&AD Insurance Group are among suitors to submit first round bids for HSBC’s non-life insurance business, sources with...
2 Life Insurers Meet Systemic Risk Criteria
Oct 13 2011 // Only two life insurers — MetLife Inc.. and Prudential Financial Inc. — meet the newly developed requirements to be considered “systemic” and regulated as such, KBW analysts said Wednesday. The...
HSBC Approaches Japanese Insurers on Sale of Non-Life Unit
Oct 6 2011 // HSBC Holdings has approached the top three property/casualty insurers in Japan about the sale of its non-life insurance business, which could fetch more than $1 billion, sources close to the matter said on...
Report: Allianz, AXA among Likely Bidders for HSBC Unit Sale
Sep 29 2011 // European insurers Allianz and AXA SA are among the potential bidders for HSBC Holdings Plc’s sale of its general insurance business, which could fetch more than $1 billion, sources familiar with the matter told...
How Federal Reserve’s Move Hurts Life Insurers
Sep 22 2011 // The Federal Reserve’s latest move to stimulate credit for consumers and businesses, known as Operation Twist, is likely to threaten the earnings of some of the country’s largest insurers for years to come. Wall...
HBSC Selling Non-Life Insurance Business: Reuters
Sep 12 2011 // HSBC Holdings Plc has launched the sale of its non-life insurance business, sources told Reuters on Monday, a global division worth about $1 billion and now part of the bank’s plan to strip away non-core units. HSBC,...
Best Affirms Ameriprise Financial and Subs Ratings
Aug 31 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Minneapolis-based RiverSource Life Insurance Company and its wholly...
California Regulator Wins Case Involving Sale of Life Insurer
Aug 26 2011 // A California state appeals court has upheld a state regulators’ refusal to approve the sale of a California insurance company to a French-owned company. The decision upheld Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones’...
MetLife to Sell Banking Unit to Avoid ‘Too Big To Fail’ Regulation
Jul 22 2011 // MetLife, the largest life insurance company in the United States, has put its banking operations up for sale to avoid the “too big to fail” regulatory scrutiny that analysts have said was likely. MetLife said...
Best May Cut Ratings Outlook on Life Insurers
Jul 19 2011 // Ratings agency A.M. Best may lower its outlook on the U.S. life insurance and annuity sector to “negative” from “stable,” it warned Tuesday, as American and European sovereign debt concerns continue...
S&P Revises Outlook on Nationwide to Stable; Affirms Ratings
Jul 18 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. (NMIC) and its property/casualty (P/C) affiliates (collectively referred to as Nationwide) to stable from...
Japan’s Nippon Life to Invest in Germany’s Allianz
Jul 5 2011 // Privately held Nippon Life Insurance Co. said on Tuesday it will invest 500 million euros ($709 million) in Germany’s Allianz Se , amid an overseas push by Japanese insurers as their traditional life insurance market...
Wash. Regulator Fines Insurers, Agents $750,000
Jun 22 2011 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has fined insurance companies, agents and brokers more than $750,000 in 2011. Violations included charging unapproved rates and submitting false documents. From January...
Best Upgrades State Farm General Insurance Co.’s Ratings
Jun 9 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A’ (Excellent) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a” from “a-” of State Farm General...
S&P Sees High Growth Potential for India’s P&C Market
May 26 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has published a report, which concludes that the Indian non-life insurance sector has “substantial growth potential because market penetration remained low–leaving...