June 20, 2002
A study by the London office of Credit Suisse First Boston reports that claims from asbestos related illnesses are expected to cost U.K. insurers around $1.75 billion over the next 40 years. The estimate takes into account the recent court …
June 18, 2002
Bermuda’s XL Capital Ltd. announced that plans are under way to restructure some of its reinsurance operations, primarily by fully integrating French-based Le Mans Re into its company structure. XL acquired a majority 67 percent ownership in le Mans Re …
June 18, 2002
Zurich Financial Services recently entered the UK “private client” market with a program designed to appeal to high net worth individuals. Zurich Private Client will cater to wealthy individuals offering them homeowners’ insurance, including coverage on jewelry, works of art …
June 14, 2002
As a crucial meeting of the European Union’s Transport Ministers approaches, the EU’s airlines have increasingly lined-up behind a plan which would establish a mutual insurance fund, backed by EU governments, to cover claims related to terrorism. The meeting, scheduled …
June 13, 2002
France’s AXA Group announced that the giant insurer’s overall embedded value – the total of shareholders’ net assets and the value of insurance in force – fell 1.4 percent last year to €34.9 billion ($33 billion), while the embedded value …
June 12, 2002
Standard & Poor’s announced that it has lowered its public information (‘pi’) rating on AXA General Insurance Hong Kong Ltd., a subsidiary of France’s AXA Group, to double-‘Bpi’ from triple-‘Bpi’. S&P analyst Connie Wong explained that, “The rating on AXA …
June 10, 2002
A.M. Best announced that it has downgraded the financial strength ratings to A (Excellent) from A+ (Superior) of the members of the France’s AXA Group Corporate Solutions units (AXACS). Best’s bulletin cited “the substantial deterioration in AXACS’s consolidated operating performance …
June 7, 2002
French insurer AXA and BNP Paribas, the country’s second largest bank, announced that they have concluded an “an agreement in principle” for the sale of BNP’s on-line banking subsidiary Banque Directe to AXA. BNP’s on-line banking operation has around 100,000 …
June 7, 2002
Standard & Poor’s announced that it has lowered its long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on the main operating entities of the Euler&Hermes Group, which specializes in credit insurance, to double-‘A’ from double-‘A’-plus, including those on EULER- SFAC …
June 6, 2002
The Washington Supreme Court has ruled that an insurance claims adjuster who develops a non-adversarial relationship with a person filing a claim and advises that person on settling the claim is practicing law. An adjuster can continue advising a claimant …