Monday, November 25, 2024
Home Authors Posts by Barbara karouski

Barbara karouski

Profile photo of Barbara karouski
1629 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

0 1

Lord Young’s report on Health & Safety has missed the perfect opportunity to debunk the compensation culture myth once and for all according to legal services specialist ARAG. While it appears to confirm that compensation culture is a fallacy, caused by organisations holding mistaken attitudes based on inaccurate stories in the media, by blaming legal processes rather than the peddlers of this misinformation, the report has actually given new life to the myth.

This, ARAG believes, has been done in an attempt to make political gain and restates many of the recommendations that the Ministry of Justice has already rejected after thorough reviews and comprehensive consultation.

ARAG managing director Tony Buss added: “No one doubts that the purpose of health and safety is to save lives, not stop them. But while Lord Young rightly identifies the issues of absurd media stories and incompetent, risk-averse health and safety advisers, these issues should be addressed properly and should not be confused with the right of citizens to pursue their legal rights.”

He added: “The fact is workplace claims are reducing; very few claims reach the courts, the Claims Standards Council has been a success and the MOJ reforms on RTA claims are working. Advertising has not increased the volume of claims, but redirects (like most advertising) them to those who take the promotional risk.

“The widespread hysteria about compensation culture is misplaced. We need solid research based on empirical data that enables a robust impact analysis to be undertaken before decisions are made too hastily. As Lord Young reminds us in his first paragraph, we currently have the lowest number of non-fatal accidents and the second lowest number of fatal accidents at work in Europe. Let’s hope, for all our sakes that this remains the case.”

Source : ARAG Press Release

0 0

Standard Life said the UK is “an exciting place to do business” as it yesterday reported strong nine-month growth on its new asset manager-style metrics, which record the group’s net inflows, fees and yields, and assets under administration (AUA).

While its bigger insurance rivals Prudential and Aviva cite Asia and the US as their growth engines, amid sluggish growth at home, Standard is touting the UK as offering “significant opportunities in all our core markets”. Standard has also moved away from the traditional “present net value of new business premiums” used across the sector.

Its headline figure is that AUA rose by 13% to £192 billion against the end of 2009, including ‘fee-based business’ up 14% at £158bn. Of the £22.3bn increase, £7.2bn came from net inflows (up 60%) and £15.1bn from a rising market. Third party assets at Standard Life Investments were 21% higher at £69bn, with just over half the increase due to net inflows. Standard strips out its annuities and conventional with-profits business as the ‘spread/risk’ business, which suffered a net outflow of £900,000, up from £500,000 in 2009. However, its fee business saw a 61% rise in net flows from £4.9bn to £7.9bn.

Standard says the average revenue yield across the fee business was 0.71%, down from 0.75%, due largely to SLI, where performance was buoyant in fixed interest and its high-flying global absolute return funds.

Jackie Hunt, chief financial officer, said around 80% of the group’s business was on a fee basis, and investors had driven much of the new reporting.

He said: “They were saying we like the strategy and we like the management team, we think you are well-positioned … but we can’t understand how you generate value.”

David Nish, chief executive, said: “Sipp (self-invested pension) customers in the UK have now passed the 100,000 milestone while our Wrap customer base has grown by 20,000 since the end of last year.”

The Herald revealed last month that Standard is poised to launch a ‘superflex’ benefit offering, where younger employees can opt to use their company pension contribution to help pay off student debt or save for a deposit. The group said yesterday that a new employee wealth and benefits package would be rolled out in the first quarter of 2011.

Source : Herald Scotland

0 0

Insurance firm Admiral ended the day as the second biggest riser in the FTSE 100 yesterday after reporting an increase in turnover of more than 50% for the third quarter.

Group turnover at the Cardiff-based business, which employs 1,600 staff, reached £446m for the three-month period in a set of strong figures released to the London Stock Exchange.

The markets reacted strongly, with Admiral’s shares climbing by 5% and ending the day up 2.64% at 1670p.

An Interim Management Statement released by the insurer showed that at the end of September Admiral provided insurance for 2.6m vehicles, up 28% on the previous year.

But Admiral failed to see a pick up in its price comparison website Confused.com, despite the launch of a new advertising campaign in September.

It said the site’s turnover had been stable since the half-year, although profit margins remain under pressure.

The group admitted at the half-year stage that Confused.com had lost out to rivals who have had more success with TV ads, such as moneysupermarket’s “haggle hero” series featuring comedian Omid Djalili and Gocompare’s opera singer.

Henry Engelhardt, Admiral’s chief executive, said: “Not much has changed since our 2010 interim results. The UK business remains the driving force of the group’s success and we continue to develop our international businesses.

“Our UK car insurance operation continues to benefit from positive market conditions. We grew vehicle count by 28% year-on-year to over 2.3 million whilst also increasing premium rates.”

Admiral also announced it was extending its deals with reinsurers Swiss Re, New Re and Hannover Re. It has also entered new deals with Mapfre Re and XL Re.

The company said that the deals were on similar terms to its existing agreements with New Re and Hannover Re.

“We have signed new quota share reinsurance deals for the UK for 2011 through to 2013. These arrangements maintain Admiral’s use of both short and long-term reinsurance as part of its low risk, low capital approach to car insurance underwriting,” said Mr Engelhardt.

Given yesterday’s turnover figures Admiral has already broken through the £1bn mark for turnover this year. The £446m achieved in the third quarter followed turnover of £720.5m for the first half of the year.

The company is also expanding across Europe and yesterday revealed that turnover for its non-UK car insurance businesses had risen by 87% in the third quarter when compared to the same period in 2009.

Admiral operates under a number of brand names, including Bell, Elephant.co.uk, Diamond and price comparison site Confused.com.

Price comparison sites have become an increasingly important part of the car insurance market. In 2001 price comparison provided 10% of UK new insurance business. In the first half of this year it provided 51% of new business for the group.

But price comparison provides an even bigger share of Admiral’s business – it accounted for 84% of the firm’s new business in the first half of 2010. Analysts praised Admiral’s car insurance performance.

Analysts at Numis Securities said the group had been able to gain market share as loss-making rivals have had to increase rates at a steeper pace in recent months.

“Admiral continued to use its UK cost advantage to maximum advantage,” they said.

Source : Wales Online

0 0

Aon Benfield, reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor, today releases its latest Monthly Cat Recap report, which provides an analysis of global natural perils in October including events in parts of the U.S., North America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Africa.

Published by the Impact Forecasting team, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe model development center of excellence, the report reveals that the month was dominated by significant flooding in Asia, Africa and Europe, the magnitude-7.7 earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia and Super Typhoon Megi hitting the Philippines as a Category 5 cyclone.

October saw the following climatological records:

– The second strongest non-tropical or post-tropical low pressure system ever recorded in the continental U.S. brought severe weather, extremely gusty winds, torrential rains and heavy snows to much of the eastern U.S. At least 75 separate tornado touchdowns were confirmed, along with 521 separate reports of damaging winds.

– The heaviest rains since 1961 in China’s Hainan province triggered floods that damaged or destroyed over 50,000 homes and other structures which affected 2.7 million people. Total economic losses were listed at CNY1.13 billion (USD169 million).

– Heavy rains and gusty winds in New South Wales, Australia led to the worst flooding in over 80 years in isolated locations of the state. Damage consisted primarily of roof damage and flooded homes and was estimated at AUD40 million (USD39 million), most of which is expected to be covered by insurance.

In Asia, monsoon rains and flooding left significant impacts to Indonesia’s West Papua, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Japan. The flooding events in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia combined to affect over 1.6 million homes and caused economic losses in excess of USD1.03 billion.
Super Typhoon Megi made two separate landfalls in the Philippines and China with winds gusting in excess of 325 kph (200 mph) and rains that triggered flash flooding and landslides. Substantial damage was caused to the agricultural, electrical and transportation infrastructures with total damages listed at PHP12.01 billion (USD281 million) in the Philippines and total economic losses of CNY2.8 billion (USD412 million) in China.

A powerful magnitude-7.7 earthquake rocked western Indonesia, triggering a large tsunami that left 431 people dead, 454 injured and 96 more missing. Water from the tsunami reportedly reached 600 meters (1,968 feet) inland, and damage reports indicated catastrophic effects occurred to nearly every infrastructure type on the remote Mentawai Islands.

A trio of hurricanes hit the Caribbean. Hurricane Paula affected parts of the Caribbean and Cuba which knocked out electricity to much of Havana but damage reports were minimal. Hurricane Richard made landfall just south of Belize City and the National Emergency Coordinator listed overall economic losses from the event at BZD49.2 million (USD24.5 million), with the agriculture sector sustaining 70% of the losses. The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility reported that claims losses were anticipated to exceed USD12.8 million for Hurricane Tomas which impacted Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. An additional USD4 million in economic damages were reported in east Trinidad.

Steve Jakubowski, President of Impact Forecasting, said: “The breadth of natural catastrophes occurring this month is a continuation of an already active year in terms of global activity. The powerful earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, the floods across Asia, Europe, Oceania and Africa, the tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian basins and severe weather across South America in October all highlight the need for re/insurers to keep informed on climatological and meteorological variances.”

Source : AON Benfield Press Release

0 21

A speed camera designed to catch motorists committing up to five offences at the same time could be heading to Britain’s roads. As well as catching speeding motorists, the Asset camera should be able to pick out drivers who are not wearing seatbelts and accurately measure distances between moving cars to identify tailgating.

Asset (advanced safety and driver support for essential road transport) can also note number plates and recognise cars with out-of-date tax discs and no insurance.

Funded by the European commission, the camera system is being developed by a consortium that includes a number of European universities and research institutes and is being tested in Finland.

Motoring organisations and campaigners in the UK gave the system a cautious welcome. AA president Edmund King said he was pleased if it stopped motorists tailgating but hoped it would not be used as a money-making measure. “Tailgating is more dangerous in most cases than speeding so I think most motorists would welcome it,” he said. “We will need sophisticated technology to police the roads and there would have to be safeguards. But it needs to be done as a safety measure, not as a money-making machine.”

The campaign group Speed Cameras Dot Org said the devices should not become a replacement for traditional traffic police officers. A spokesman said: “We cautiously welcome a device that can detect several potential motoring offences, but it remains to be seen how accurate it is and how fairly it will be used.

“The main actions that cause the most accidents, namely not paying attention to the road, misjudging distances and other drivers’ intentions, cannot be detected by a device of any sort. More police patrols and better driver education are the only ways to reduce accidents.”

The development of Asset began in 2008 and is due to end next year. The developers hope that by 2013 its cameras will be set up across Europe, including the UK. Its selling point is that one camera can do a series of tasks: cameras now tend to be used for different jobs.

Matti Kutila, senior research scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland, where the system is being tested, said: “The main intention is to support traffic police to supervise that the drivers follow traffic rules such as wearing seat belts, preventing over-speeding and maintaining sufficient distance to the front vehicle. This of course is beneficial for road safety.”

Source : Guardian

    0 1

    British insurer Aviva said on Tuesday that it was withdrawing from Taiwan because it did not expect to meet group financial targets there.

    The announcement came as Aviva said that total sales of the group’s new policies rose by six percent in the first nine months of 2010 thanks to growth in Britain and elsewhere in Asia.

    “We are exiting Taiwan as we do not believe we can meet our target financial returns in this market,” Aviva said in a trading statement.

    But it added: “We are well-positioned to continue strong growth in both volumes and margins in our Asia Pacific business.”

    Aviva also revealed that its new life and pensions sales reached 25.55 billion pounds (29.40 billion euros, 41 billion dollars) in the nine months to September 30 compared with the equivalent period of last year.

    “As we look to the next phase of our growth, Aviva will sharpen its geographic focus and deepen its position in its key markets through its strengths in both life and general insurance,” chief executive Andrew Moss said in the statement.

    Aviva in August rejected a takeover bid for part of its business from rival RSA worth 5.0 billion pounds in cash.

    The proposal was for its general insurance businesses in Britain, Ireland and Canada, while the takeover would have been funded by RSA issuing new shares.

    London, Nov 2, 2010 (AFP)

    0 0

    Ailing insurer AIG is poised to repay 36.7 billion dollars in government bailout aid after floating its Asian unit AIA and selling another subsidiary, US officials said Monday.

    American International Group raised 20.5 billion dollars of cash in its initial public offering of pan-Asian insurer AIA Group last week, the Treasury Department said in an update on AIG’s taxpayer-funded rescue.

    In the sale of unit American Life Insurance Company (ALICO) to MetLife, Inc., AIG raised about 16.2 billion dollars, including about 7.2 billion dollars in cash.

    “This approximately 36.7 billion dollars in aggregate proceeds will be used to fully repay the loan extended to AIG by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) and a substantial amount of the FRBNY’s preferred interests in certain AIG subsidiaries,” the department said.

    As part of AIG’s restructuring targeted by March 31, 2011, the insurer will draw up to 22 billion dollars in remaining Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds from the Treasury.

    The money will be used to purchase the New York Fed’s preferred interests in the special-purpose vehicles holding AIA and ALICO, and subsequently

    Treasury will receive those interests. The Treasury said it would own 92.1 percent of AIG after the restructuring, a holding that would be much more valuable than its current cash investment.

    The stake of 1.66 billion shares of common stock, based on Friday’s closing share price, would be worth about 69.5 billion dollars, it said.

    “This amount significantly exceeds Treasury’s current 47.5 billion dollar cash investment in AIG,” which is in addition to its investment in the preferred interests.

    The US government expects to earn a profit on its loans to and investments in AIG after the restructuring, announced a month ago, is completed.

    “The completion of the restructuring is subject to a number of conditions,” the Treasury said.

    “Nevertheless, the AIA IPO and sale of ALICO reflect the substantial progress that AIG and the USG (US government) have made to date in restructuring the company.”

    AIG, once the world’s largest insurer, received more than 180 billion dollars from US taxpayers two years ago to help cover investments that disappeared amid the collapse of a US real-estate bubble.

    Washington, Nov 1, 2010 (AFP)

    0 0

    Groupama Insurances has appointed Deborah Hall as its new Research and Insight Manager, heading up its Portsmouth based research function. Deborah will be responsible for gathering, evaluating and disseminating data from across the business along with external research to help inform and develop Groupama’s propositions and services. Deborah replaces Kerry Costello who has recently joined Groupama in France to head up its management academy.

    A highly skilled research specialist, Deborah has previously undertaken senior research roles with major brands including Aviva Healthcare, T-Mobile, B&Q and Tesco. This experience will be valuable for the policyholder research that Groupama undertakes to measure customer satisfaction levels across the business.

    Jamie Marchant, Marketing and Communications Director said: “This is an important role in our business. Deborah will not only cut through the noise to get to the information of real value to our company but she will work closely with the business to draw the conclusions necessary to enable us to respond to the changing needs of our broker partners and policyholders. I am delighted to have someone of Deborah’s calibre join our team.”

    Deborah Hall adds: “Groupama Insurances is keen to continue to differentiate itself in insurance markets that are crowded and highly dynamic. Our research efforts will help us to identify opportunities and to maximise their potential. My team will be working closely with Customer Proposition and the three business divisions to find ways to keep us ahead of the competition. I am really enjoying the challenge.”

    Source : Groupama Press Release

    0 0

    Power Place, the Towergate-owned online insurance marketplace, today announced that Aviva is joining its panel of insurers. Aviva will be launching its property owners’ policy on Power Place in early 2011.

    Janice Deakin, intermediary and partnerships director, Aviva, said: “We know how important it is to provide brokers with the option to trade on a variety of platforms. Joining the panel at Power Place complements our own commercial online trading platform (Fast Trade) and we are delighted to be working with Matthew and his team on this new venture.”

    Power Place CEO Matthew Reed added that he considered this news a milestone in the business’ development: “It’s wonderful to welcome Aviva to Power Place. We passionately believe that our online marketplace model represents the future of commercial lines distribution. That’s not just because it’s quick and makes life easy for brokers, but because it will ultimately allow them to access a perfect panel of insurers. With Aviva on board, we have taken a significant step closer towards offering the perfect panel.”

    Nick Giddings, Power Place commercial director, concluded: “Property owners’ insurance is an extremely important line for us, so it’s going to be fantastic to offer brokers an Aviva product early next year. We know that it’s great news for our brokers to be able to access such a key market through our online marketplace.”

    Source : Post Online

    0 0

    In its ongoing efforts to repay taxpayers, bailed-out insurance giant American International Group in recent days has raised nearly $37 billion through the sale of one of its premier subsidiaries and the initial public offering of another.

    AIG announced Monday that it had closed on the sale of one of its crown jewels, American Life Insurance Co., or Alico, which operates in more than 50 countries. MetLife purchased the unit for about $16.2 billion, including $7.2 billion in cash and the remainder in MetLife securities.

    The deal comes on the heels of AIG’s successful public offering of Asian-based AIA, which raised more than $20 billion. AIA’s stock soared more than 17 percent on its first day of trading last week in Hong Kong.

    AIG said Monday that the Alico and AIA transactions combined raised about $36.71 billion, of which $27.71 billion were cash proceeds. Those funds will be used to repay the emergency loans from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which stepped in to rescue AIG in September 2008 as it teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. The remaining balance of those loans stands at about $20 billion.

    “We promised the American taxpayers we would repay them and the initial public offering of AIA last week and the completion of the Alico transaction move us closer to delivering on our promise,” AIG chief executive Robert H. Benmosche said in a statement.

    After AIG satisfies its debt to the Fed, it must still repay Treasury’s nearly $50 billion investment in the company.

    To do that, Treasury plans to swap the preferred shares that it holds in AIG for about 1.7 billion shares of common stock, leaving the federal government with a temporary 92.1 percent

    Treasury expects to sell those shares to investors over time, which means AIG’s stock price ultimately will determine how quickly the government can pull out of the company and how much of the taxpayer investment it can recoup. If the stock performs poorly, taxpayers could be on the hook. If the stock flourishes, taxpayers could reap significant profit.

    Either way, AIG will emerge as a much smaller company than the behemoth it was before the financial crisis. It also will operate primarily as an insurance company once again, rather than depending on the profits of units such as AIG Financial Products, whose troubled derivatives contracts nearly drove its parent company into the ground, prompting the massive government bailout.

    Source : The Washington Post

    0 0

    Commercial lines underwriting specialist Arista Insurance has appointed Mark Chichester as senior underwriter to help develop the South Wales market and enhance Arista’s technical proposition to brokers in the area.

    Mark brings 20 years experience of the Wales and South West of England markets and joins from Chartis where he was senior casualty underwriter. Prior to Chartis Mark worked as regional underwriting manager for NIG in both Cardiff and the Bristol regions and before that he was at Independent Insurance as a liability underwriter.

    Commenting on the appointment chief executive Charles Earle said: “Mark’s local experience will be hugely helpful in driving Arista forward in these areas.  Demand from brokers in South Wales has been growing and Mark’s appointment is very much in response to that demand.  His appointment will increase Arista’s profile and understanding of brokers needs for today and in the future.”

    Source : Arista Press Release

    0 0

    Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis said Saturday that the US drug Food and Drug Administration had approved a drug for treating certain benign brain tumours which previously required surgery.

    Everolimus, marketed as Afinitor, had been shown to be effective in reducing subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA) associated with tuberous sclerosis, a genetic disorder affecting approximately 25,000 to 40,000 people, mainly children and adolescents, in the United States, it said.

    Accelerated FDA approval was based on a study of 28 patients conducted by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, in which nearly one-third of experienced a reduction of 50 percent or more in the size of their largest

    SEGA within six months, Novartis said.

    The company said it was continuing to study the efficacy and clinical benefit of Afinitor in a wider trial, and had submitted marketing applications to the European Medicines Agency and the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic).

    If approved in the European Union for this indication, the treatment will be made available under the trade name Votubia, it said.

    Zurich, Oct 30, 2010 (AFP)

    0 0

    XL Group plc announced today that it has appointed Gregory S. Hendrick as Executive Vice President, Strategic Growth, effective immediately. Mr. Hendrick will lead XL’s newly-created Office of Strategic Growth and will report to XL Chief Executive Officer Mike McGavick. He will also serve on XL’s Leadership Team.

    Mr. Hendrick, immediately prior to the new appointment, was President and Chief Underwriting Officer of XL Re Ltd, XL’s Bermuda-based reinsurance company, for the past six years. During his 15 years with XL, Mr. Hendrick has held various senior leadership positions including Vice President and Underwriter of XL Mid Ocean Re, and Senior Vice President and Chief Property Underwriter for XL’s Bermuda reinsurance operations. In his new role, Mr. Hendrick will be responsible for guiding XL’s strategic planning, focused on enhancing the Company’s operational efficiencies and further growing XL’s underwriting units.

    Mr. Hendrick’s reinsurance successor will be Bermudian underwriter Charles F.A.Cooper. Mr. Cooper, who most recently was Executive Vice President and Head of North American Property Catastrophe Reinsurance Underwriting at Validus Reinsurance Ltd, has 15 years of experience in the industry, including nine years with XL. He began his XL career with XL Reinsurance America, Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut, in 2000 as an Assistant Vice President and Corporate Planning Analyst. In 2005, he transferred to the Bermuda office where he was Senior Vice President & Underwriter for XL Re Ltd with responsibility for Property catastrophe and specialty accounts business.

    Commenting on Mr. Hendrick’s appointment, Mr. McGavick said: “This is an exciting time for XL. Greg’s focus on strategy and his leadership of the new office will allow the Company to carefully plan for the future and clearly track our progress and success. Greg has been instrumental in leading various successful initiatives during his XL career and we are thrilled to have him in this important position.”

    XL’s Chief Executive of Reinsurance Operations James H. Veghte added: “XL is fortunate to have and attract such a high caliber of talent in the industry. Having worked with both Greg and Charles, I have seen firsthand their underwriting prowess and leadership skills. I am confident that they will continue to significantly contribute to helping XL reach its business and strategic goals.”

    Source : XL Group Press Release

    0 3

    Allianz has promoted Samantha Balnaves to lead its rehabilitation team and appointed Caitlin Evans to replace her as a rehabilitation co-ordinator.

    Samantha, a trained physiotherapist with ten years’ clinical experience, will now be responsible for leading and developing the rehabilitation team to keep Allianz at the forefront of the rehab market. She will ensure the team continues to provide its internal and external customers with the best possible service, using the team’s strong clinical experience and knowledge of rehabilitation.

    Caitlin, who brings seven years’ occupational therapy experience to the role, will provide advice to claims handlers on all areas of rehabilitation and personal injury, to help injured parties achieve their best possible recovery.

    Source : Allianz Press Release

    0 0

    Commercial underwriting specialist Evolution Underwriting has promoted Hannah Forde to the role of underwriting assistant. Hannah, who is 22, joined Evolution in 2007 as group administrator and is being supported by Evolution to advance her career in underwriting.

    Commenting on the new appointment Evolution Underwriting CEO Paul Upton said: “This is a great opportunity for Hannah to develop a career in underwriting with a business that values that skill set so highly. We are determined to offer opportunities to our younger people and this is an example of promotion from within, which we are delighted to announce.”

    He continued: “As we broaden and grow our business over the coming years it is vital that we create a supply line of talented and well trained underwriters to manage the business. With limitations on the availability of talent externally we are investing in bringing through our own.”

    Source : Evolution Press Release

    0 0

    French insurer Axa SA said Thursday sales rose 3.5 percent over the first nine months of the year to 70.462 billion euros (97.042 billion dollars).

    The consensus analysts’ forecast from Dow Jones Newswires was for sales of 70 billion euros. Growth was marked in Asia, up 25 percent, as well as in Portugal, Turkey, Morocco and Canada, the company said in a statement. Progress was better in loss insurance, up 4.2 percent, rather than life policies, up three percent, the company said.

    Axa said it benefited from higher rates for policy holders, especially in loss insurance for individuals, which rose by an average 3.4 percent while company policies were up two percent.

    Paris, Oct 28, 2010 (AFP)

    0 0

    Munich Re has agreed to acquire Windsor Health Group, Inc. (Windsor). The planned purchase is a further step in Munich Health’s strategy to strengthen its position in the U.S. Medicare market. Under the brand Munich Health, Munich Re combines its global insurance, reinsurance and risk management expertise in the field of healthcare.

    Windsor operates government-sponsored health plans through its Windsor Health Plan, Inc. subsidiary, which provides specialty managed healthcare services in the senior segment to more than 75,000 members in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.

    In 2010, Windsor expects an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of US$ 31m (figure based on US-GAAP). The gross written premium income of Windsor in 2010 is projected to amount to US$ 420m (based on US-GAAP).

    Munich Re, through its subsidiary Munich Health North America, Inc., is acquiring 100% of Windsor for US$ 125m in cash. Windsor is being sold by a group of investors. Munich Re will finance the purchase price from Munich Re’s existing resources. Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval, which is expected to be completed at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010. Direct operating control of Windsor will lie within the Munich Health North America, Inc. holding structure after the acquisition.

    In 2008 Munich Re acquired Sterling Life Insurance Company (Sterling), a specialty health insurer for seniors operating in all 50 states in the US. Windsor and Sterling together will offer services to a combined enrollment of more than 200,000 members across the United States.

    Wolfgang Strassl, the member of the Munich Re Board of Management responsible for Munich Health, said: “As one of the largest health insurance markets in the world the US is very important for Munich Health. With the acquisition of Windsor, we strengthen Sterling’s position in the US senior marketplace by increasing our capabilities to compete in a health reform environment. This supports Munich Health’s strategy for sustainable growth and value creation in the US-Medicare market.”

    “We are excited about this partnership between Sterling and Windsor, which are very similar in their dedication to local service,” said Michael A. Muchnicki, President and CEO of Sterling. “The two organizations will have many synergies including product and service offerings, geographical footprints, and distribution channels. Windsor will complement our capabilities in the Medicare Advantage market, enabling Sterling to offer a broader range of managed care plans and sharpen our competitive edge for the challenging years ahead.”

    Michael Bailey, President and CEO of Windsor Health Plan, said: “While Windsor has achieved remarkable growth since introducing its first Medicare Advantage plan four years ago, this transaction is a great opportunity for us to immediately accelerate to a higher level as part of a larger national and global organization. With the additional resources and infrastructure available through Sterling and Munich Re, we will have a much stronger platform to support our members and providers and drive long-term growth.”

    Source : Munich Re Press Release

    0 0

    Swiss Re today announced the transfer of USD 175 million of extreme mortality risk to the capital markets through the Vita securitization programme.

    This is the third time in the last 12 months that Swiss Re has successfully securitized extreme mortality risk under its latest Vita Capital IV Ltd. programme (“Vita IV”), with a total of USD 125 million issued in Series I and II in November 2009 and May 2010.

    Swiss Re’s Head of Global Life & Health Risk Transformation, Alison Mckie, commented: “The Vita programme provides very efficient risk protection and capital relief, enabling us to provide more client solutions.”

    Under the transactions, Swiss Re may receive payments from Vita IV of up to USD 100 million in the event of extreme population mortality in the U.S. or Japan and up to USD 75 million in the event of extreme population mortality in Canada or Germany.  Vita IV, in turn, has issued two new Series of notes, Series III and IV Notes, to the capital markets, each of which is linked to extreme mortality risk in the respective covered areas. Both series of notes mature in 2015 and are rated “BB+ (sf)” by Standard & Poor’s.

    “While Series I and II provided coverage in the UK and U.S., the latest issuance of Vita IV notes broadens the coverage  by including additional countries, reflecting Swiss Re’s global mortality business,” added Mckie.

    Swiss Re has a history of periodically securitizing its life risks, obtaining over USD 1.5 billion in extreme mortality risk protection from its Vita programmes.
    Swiss Re Capital Markets acted as sole manager and bookrunner on the notes issuance. Collateral for the new Series of Vita IV notes consists of securities issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

    The Vita IV notes were sold in a private placement pursuant to Rule 144A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) and have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws; they may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

    Source : Swiss Re Press Release

    0 0

    The scissor sisters are having financial issues and have to cancel their European tour. The band said in a statement posted on its website Monday that it was “very disappointed, but it is beyond anyone’s control.” The band didn’t elaborate.

    Euro shows in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Italy will be canceled. Their concerts in Britain will not be affected.

    In the meanwhile ticket holders will be refunded and hopefully fans will get a chance to see the glam pop rock group in tour with Lady Gaga next winter.

    0 0

    Aon Italia S.p.A., provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage in Italy, announced that it has acquired Rasini Viganò S.p.A,, the seventh largest Italian insurance broker.

    “It gives me great pleasure to announce that we have acquired the prestigious firm of Rasini Vigano,” said Carlo Clavarino, Country Manager and Chief Executive Officer of Aon Italia S.p.A. “Through this acquisition their clients will truly benefit from the enhanced value provided by Aon Italia through the strength of our combined talent and expertise in providing innovative solutions for their risk management needs.”

    Rasini Viganò S.p.A. was established in 1958 in Milan and has made a name for its eminent clients through its expertise in Public Entity, in particular in the sanitary field. With a strong focus on public entities and large privately-held companies in Milan, Rasini Viganò also has branch offices in Rome, Verona, Naples and Bari) along with offices in London and Lugano.

    For Aon Italia S.p.A. this acquisition marks another successful step in its growth strategy. In the last few years Aon Italia S.p.A. has acquired several of the most important bank captive brokers (Unicredit Broker S.p.A. – Unicredit Group; Sanpaolo IMI Insurance Broker S.p.A. – Intesa Group; BNL Broker S.p.A. – BNP Paribas Group; Claris Broker – Veneto Banca Group). Through the successful execution of its growth strategy, Aon Italia S.p.A is the leading provider of risk management services in the financial sector.

    Source : Aon Press Release

    Prev1...515253...82Next Page 52 of 82

    POPULAR POST

    Seroni Interactive is an independent publisher of information BtoC and BtoB sites in banking and insurance & specialist digital content. Our productions of brand content possible to affirm your image, positioning, demonstrate your expertise and create a traffic or a hearing and therefore advertising exposure for your brand.
    Contact us: contact@news-insurances.com

    SOCIAL

    34FansLike
    6Subscribers+1
    965FollowersFollow

    Popular category

    © Seroni Interactive