Allianz and Munich Re lift earnings
Germany’s two largest insurance groups shrugged off the difficulties of record low interest rates and beat expectations by posting first-quarter earnings that were a quarter better than at the same…
Insurers: fair value
“Truth? What truth?” Chekhov’s Madame Ranevskaya was neither a bean-counter nor an insurer. But as a defiant relativist, she might have appreciated the fair value accounting debate. This is about…
XL Group to fill Islamic insurance gap
Insurance major XL Group and Islamic specialist Cobalt underwriters will offer sharia-compliant insurance for companies buying commercial property, paving the way for Islamic investors to tap London’s subscription-based insurance market…
RSA and Aviva temper rebellion threat
The threat of outright shareholder rebellions at RSA and Aviva has cooled after the insurers received cautious backing from an influential proxy voting group – but investors have warned that…
US insurers: hardening market
Hard times in property casualty insurance are a good thing. The business is cyclical and periods of rising premium rates are known as hardening markets, while stagnant or falling prices…
ABI raises questions over Pru pay plans
The Association of British Insurers is preparing to issue an “amber top” alert to investors over plans to shake up executive pay policies at Prudential, its biggest member. The alert…
Direct Line says dividend sustainable
Direct Line, which is among the UK’s highest yielding mid-cap stocks, said it was confident of sustaining its dividend payout in spite of competitive pressures in the general insurance market.…
AIG set to cut costs further
Robert Benmosche, chief executive of AIG, said the US insurer would cut costs further to suit its slimmed-down status after reporting an increase in profit from the group’s main operating…
Ex-HBOS FD quits Resolution
©Bloomberg Phil Hodkinson is to retire this month A former HBOS executive is to stand aside as senior independent director of Resolution, the life insurer, only weeks after a critical…
ING’s Voya Financial rises on debut
Shares in Voya Financial rose on their debut in New York on Thursday in a sign that the state-supported Dutch bancassurer ING had moved a step closer to becoming a…
L&G rules out bid for Scottish Widows arm
Legal & General has ruled out a bid for Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, the asset manager that Lloyds Banking Group is considering selling. In an update that revealed stronger than…
ING raises $1.27bn from US arm IPO
Dutch bancassurer ING raised $1.27bn from an initial public offering of its US insurance arm, the second-largest such offering in the US this year. The IPO marks one of the…
Investors air fears about JLT board
Shareholders in Jardine Lloyd Thompson have raised concerns about a lack of independent directors on the insurance broker’s board. More than two-fifths of proxy votes at the annual meeting went…
Watchdog calls for insurance reform probe
A top British financial regulator has called on parliament to probe an EU overhaul of insurance regulations, arguing the long-delayed reforms have become “lost in detail and vastly expensive”. In…
Reinsurers extend key Admiral contracts
Reinsurers that take on a large part of the underwriting risk from Admiral have extended the contracts that underpin the UK motor insurer’s business model without demanding more onerous terms.…