Japan News

Japan Nuclear Crisis to Trigger Huge Civil Damage Claims

Japan’s nuclear crisis is likely to lead to one of the country’s largest and most complex ever set of claims for civil damages, handing a huge bill to the fiscally strained government and debt-laden plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. …

Aon Benfield Report: Despite Catastrophes, Reinsurance Rates Remain Stable

Aon Benfield’s most recent evaluation of the state of the reinsurance market, as of April 1, concludes that it performed “as intended through recent events,” and that it continues “to provide stability and accretive capital to insurers.” While the conclusion …

GE Unlikely to Face Liability in Japanese Nuclear Crisis

The Japanese nuclear crisis has created a public-relations headache for General Electric, but the company so far has escaped any legal fallout, and many experts expect it will continue to do so. GE designed the Mark 1 containment systems used …

Lloyd’s Director Luke Savage on 2010 Results, Japan, What’s Ahead

His voice was a little husky, but Luke Savage – Lloyd’s Director of Finance, Risk Management and Operations – was still pleased to talk to the IJ about Lloyd’s financial results for 2010, which were released on Wednesday, March 30. …

Willis Re: Japan Quake Not Enough to Turn Soft Market

A report from Willis Re, the reinsurance brokerage arm of Willis Group Holdings, notes that “relatively orderly price movements at the April 1 Japanese reinsurance renewals reveal that the Tohoku Earthquake is not the catalyst that will bring about a …

Lloyd’s ‘Confident’ It Can Cope with Japan Claims

The Lloyd’s of London insurance market is confident it can deal easily with claims from Japan’s earthquake even though natural disasters almost halved its profit last year. Lloyd’s said its businesses had enough capital to withstand a Japanese quake generating …

Cat Bond Investors Braced for Japan Disaster Hit

The Japanese earthquake is set to be the first natural disaster that triggers a number of catastrophe bonds, surpassing Hurricane Katrina to become the event with the biggest impact on the alternative reinsurance sector. But cat bond investors are still …

Report: Engineers Knew Tsunami Could Overwhelm Fukushima Plant

S&P Puts Montana Re Cat Bonds on CreditWatch Negative after Japan Quake

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its ‘B- (sf)’ rating on Montana Re Ltd.’s Class E notes on CreditWatch with negative implications. The notes, totaling $210 million, were originally placed at the end of December 2010 by Flagstone Re. …

Japan Reinsurance Prices Should Rise 50%: Analyst

Risk modeling company AIR Worldwide tightened its estimate for insured losses from the Japan earthquake and tsunami, as one analyst said reinsurers did not appear to be raising rates fast enough to compensate for the March 11 disaster. AIR estimated …