Malaysia News

G20 Seals $1.1 Trillion Deal

World leaders clinched a $1.1 trillion deal on Thursday to combat the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and said financial rules would be tightened to stop it happening again. U.S. President Barack Obama declared it a “turning point” …

Insurance Industry Starts to Pay Attention to Muslim American Market

24% of All Muslims in U.S. Have College Degrees; 16% Are High Income Earners While there are an estimated 130 entities selling takaful — cooperative insurance that is true to Shariah tenets of Islamic religious law — in foreign countries …

Ratings Recap I: Coachman/SGI, Ceska, Indus. Alliance, Polish Re, Jasindo

A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘B++’ (Good) from ‘B’ (Fair) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “bbb” from “bb+” of Canada’s Coachman Insurance Company, and has revised the outlook to stable from positive. Best …

Aon: Economic Crisis Heightens Political Risk

2009 will see the political consequences of the global credit crunch start to have an impact, according to the 16th annual Political Risk Map, launched today by Aon Risk Services, a division of Aon Corporation. In a global webcast, Aon’s …

Corporate Fraud Scandals Can Detonate Anywhere

When it comes to corporate fraud scandals, nowhere is safe. Revelations of a $1 billion fraud at Indian IT firm Satyam Computer Services do not point to a higher systemic risk of accounting scandals in India, or even in emerging …

Arkansas Agent Sought for Alleged Investment Scam

An Arkansas insurance agent accused of bilking retiree investors out of tens of thousands of dollars and converting the money to his own use is being sought by the Arkansas Securities Department. Terry Mitchell of Greenbrier allegedly raised $92,000 from …

Ratings: Imagine, New Castle Re, E+S Re, Ship Owners, Labuan Re, Dongbu, Lemma, Scandinavian

A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘B+’ (Good) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “bbb-” from “a-” for the Barbados-based Imagine Insurance Company Limited, both with stable outlooks. Best then withdrew the …

IAG increases Stake in Malaysian General Insurer AmAssurance

Insurance Australia Group Limited announced that it is increasing its interest in the general insurance business of AmAssurance, its joint venture in Malaysia, from 30 percent to 49 percent, and at the same time exiting the life insurance part of …

Ratings Recap: Malaysian Re, Asia Capital Re, AGS (Diageo), NEMI

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of Malaysian Reinsurance Berhad (Malaysian Re), both with stable outlooks. “The ratings reflect Malaysian Re’s stable and excellent underwriting performance, conservative …

Somali Strategy Could Spur Asian Pirate Attacks

In high seas and heavy rain, the supertanker Kasagisan was steaming through the Malacca Strait in February when it was suddenly surrounded by six small boats. The crew of the vessel, heading from Saudi Arabia to Japan with a cargo …