October 7, 2008
“Non-life insurance premiums are flat or declining while claims costs are escalating in Western Europe’s major markets,” said a bulletin from A.M. Best. “Meanwhile, life insurers’ growth is threatened by turmoil in the credit and equity markets. In Central and …
September 17, 2008
A bulletin from France’s AXA Group confirms that it “has a non material equity exposure to Lehman Brothers and American International Group (AIG).” AXA detailed its exposures as follows: — The Group holds a proprietary equity interest in Lehman Brothers …
September 16, 2008
A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” of France’s Groupama S.A. Best also affirmed the FSR of ‘A’ (Excellent) and ICR of “a” of Groupama Vie and …
September 15, 2008
A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A+’ (Superior) from ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “aa” from “a+” of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty AG (AGCS), and has also upgraded the FSR …
September 12, 2008
According to a recently released report from Marsh, “insurance rates across most lines of business in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region continued to soften in the first half of 2008.” However, “the report also identified trends being …
September 5, 2008
Darker economic clouds are gathering over the world’s reinsurers as they travel to the Mediterranean coast this weekend to kick-off crucial pricing discussions with their insurance clients in Monte Carlo. Reinsurers should fly down to the south of France in …
August 27, 2008
French insurance companies Scor and CNP posted higher first-half earnings on Wednesday after managing to ride out the credit crisis in the global financial markets. Scor, the world’s fifth-biggest reinsurer, said first-half net profit rose 24 percent from last year …
August 22, 2008
Marsh announced the appointment of Maurice Jeanbart as Chief Financial Officer for Asia, a new role for the region. He will be based in Singapore and report dually to Alan Cheah, CEO Asia and Robert Pietrucha, International Director of Finance. …
August 21, 2008
A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit rating of “aa” of UK-based Allianz Insurance plc (AZI) with a stable outlook. Best stated: “AZI’s stand-alone risk-adjusted capitalization is expected to remain excellent during …
August 19, 2008
A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings of “aa-” of Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., as well as the debt instruments issued or guaranteed by Generali. The outlook for all ratings remains …