Thailand News

Tidal Wave Update: Death Toll Mounts; Aid Effort Underway; AIG Pledge

As scenes of utter devastation played across the world’s television screens, local authorities and volunteer rescue workers continued the grim job of collecting and burying the bodies of the victims who perished in the massive onslaught of tidal waves in …

More than 20,000 Feared Dead from Massive Indian Ocean Tidal Waves

A powerful undersea earthquake near the island of Sumatra triggered the worst series of tidal waves, or tsunamis, in living memory. Preliminary estimates put the death toll at 23,000. Sri Lanka posted the worst losses with more than 11,000 people …

Best Affirms ACE Australia ‘A’ Rating

A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A” (Excellent) of ACE Insurance Limited (ACEAU) (Australia) with a stable outlook. “The rating reflects ACEAU’s strong profitability, improved underwriting performance and prudent capitalization,” Best said. “The …

S&P Upgrades Thai Re’s Ratings to ‘BBB+’

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has upgraded the long-term local currency counterparty credit rating and financial strength rating on Thai Reinsurance Public Co. Ltd. (Thai Re) to ‘BBB+’ from ‘BBB’, with a stable outlook. The upgrade reflects …

Aviva to Sell Asian P/C Business to Mitsui Sumitomo

The U.K.’s Aviva (ex-CGNU) has agreed to sell its Asian non-life business to Japan’s second largest general insurer (after Tokio Marine) Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd. (MSI), for £249 million ($443 million). The move is in line with the British …

ACE Announces Japan, N.Z. Management Changes

ACE Overseas General, the non-U.S. insurance operations of The ACE Group of Companies, announced from Bermuda that Neil C. Smith has been appointed as President of ACE Far East. He succeeds Scott Pickering, who has been appointed Country Manager, ACE …

Liberty Mutual to Buy AGF’s Chilean Subsidiary

Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group will further expand its Latin American insurance business with the purchase of the insurance operations of AGF Allianz Chile S.A., a unit of France’s AGF, which is in turn a division of Germany’s Allianz AG. The …

Allianz Appoints Bowers New Asia CEO

Germany’s Allianz announced that Bruce Bowers has been appointed CEO of Allianz Insurance Management Asia Pacific Pt. Ltd., based in Singapore, with effect from September 1, 2004. He will succeed Alan Wilson who has held the position for the last …

Tomas Urbanec New Head of ACE International Personal Lines

Gary Schmalzriedt, Chairman and CEO of ACE Overseas General (AOG), announced that Tomas Urbanec has been named as Executive Vice President, International Personal Lines. AOG is a financial reporting unit of ACE Limited, which comprises the Company’s international property casualty …

Xchanging Acquires RebusIS

Kinnect isn’t the only technology-based initiative making news around Lloyd’s (See previous article). Xchanging Ltd., its back office service provider and in independent company, is expanding its presence in the insurance sector through the acquisition of the U.K.-based insurance technology …