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Staffcare has won the coveted award for Leading Innovation in Workplace Solutions at the Aberdeen UK Platform Awards 2012.

The judges were looking for a platform that demonstrated innovative use of technology and addressed the challenging issues currently in the workplace market.    In evaluating they felt that the other shortlisted entries had improved their offerings and had impressive sales numbers but commented that “there is one that the judges would buy shares in this year.  The winner, by a very short head, is good at both building and at installing the system.”

Staffcare’s entry focused on its unique proposition of being the only independent benefits technology company providing a single integrated platform for the industry, to help corporate clients maximise their return on investment with employee benefits and comply with the new auto-enrolment pension regulations at the same time.

Graham Jarvis, Managing Director at Staffcare, who collected the award at the London Marriott, Grosvenor Square said:  “We are continually innovating at Staffcare and winning this award is a big pat on the back to all those involved in making sure we deliver leading edge solutions. Whilst many software companies and providers were talking about launching a solution for auto-enrolment, Staffcare was one of the first to market with a fully-functioning, feature rich auto-enrolment platform.  Our independence and ability to provide an integrated workplace solution will serve us well for the future as we look towards the continued growth of the company. ”

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RMS today announced the release of an update to its Japan Earthquake Model, incorporating a re-characterization of hazard resulting from the 2011 Great East Japan (Tohoku) Earthquake and Tsunami. The release is limited to source model updates that include changes to event rates, new seismic sources, and large magnitude events added to the stochastic event set.  

“This update balances the preliminary, ongoing research from the Japanese Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion (HERP) with additional RMS perspectives that include both a wider view of uncertainty, and a new view of post-event seismicity,” said Patricia Grossi, director of earthquake model product management at RMS. “Additionally, in this release, we’ve provided the capability by which our clients can manage tsunami accumulations.”

Since its occurrence, the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan (Tohoku) Earthquake and Tsunami has been the focus of new research into both the possible magnitude and occurrence rate of events in the region, considering the fault rupture on the Japan Trench and increased post-event seismicity. The new research and subsequent updates are part of RMS’ dedication to helping our clients and the industry develop a more resilient risk management strategy in order to take full control of their company’s own view of risk.

The RMS Japan Earthquake Model was originally released in 1995, with its most recent major update in 2005, which expanded coverage to all islands of Japan. As part of RMS’ aim to provide a comprehensive view of portfolio risk for the Japanese insurance market, RMS continues to update its earthquake modeling methodologies to incorporate new scientific information and historical data as it becomes available. Future updates will incorporate further lessons learned from the 2011 Tohoku event, including source, ground motion, vulnerability, and financial modeling.

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    The Steering Committee of the EU-US Dialogue Project invites public comment on the draft factual Report based on the results of the Project’s seven technical committees. 

    The objective of the Project, which builds on more than a decade of EU-US regulatory dialogue, is to deepen insight into the overall design, function and objectives of the key aspects of the insurance supervisory regimes in the European Union and the United States, and to identify important characteristics of both regimes.

    The Report addresses the following seven areas and identifies key commonalities and differences of the two regimes: Professional secrecy and confidentiality; Group supervision; Solvency and capital requirements; Reinsurance and collateral requirements; Supervisory reporting, data collection and analysis and disclosure; Supervisory peer reviews; Independent third party reviews and supervisory on-site inspections; All interested parties can contribute to the consultation process by participating in the two public hearings that will take place at 14.00 hrs EDT on 12 October 2012 in Washington DC at the Grand Hyatt and at 10.00 hrs CET on 16 October 2012 in Brussels at the Centre de Conférences Albert Borschette.

    Requests to provide oral statements during the public hearings should be sent by 10 October 2012 to the following email addresses: tom.finnell{at}treasury.gov (Link: tom.finnell@treasury.gov ) (Washington Hearing) and Manuela.Zweimueller{at}eiopa.europa.eu (Link: Manuela.Zweimueller@eiopa.europa.eu ) (Brussels Hearing).

    Registration to attend the hearings – whether or not there is an intent to provide an oral statement – has to be carried out via the respective email account and webpage:  Washington Hearing: useuprojecthearingdc{at}naic.org (Link: useuprojecthearingdc@naic.org )  Brussels Hearing (Please note that the registration will start as of the next week only): http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/insurance/solvency/latest/index_en.htm (Link: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/insurance/solvency/latest/index_en.htm )  Written submissions by all interested parties are also welcome and can be sent to the email address:  EUUSProjectReport{at}eiopa.europa.eu (Link: EUUSProjectReport@eiopa.europa.eu ) before 23.55 hrs CET on 28 October 2012.

    The EU-US Dialogue Project started in early 2012, when the European Commission (EC), EIOPA, the US National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the Federal Insurance Office of the US Department of the Treasury (FIO) agreed to participate in a deeper dialogue project (Project) to contribute to an increased mutual understanding and enhanced cooperation between the EU and the U.S. to promote business opportunity, consumer protection and effective supervision.

    Seven Technical Committees (TC) of the Project were established in order to address the above outlined specific topics. Each TC comprises experienced professionals from both the European Union and the United States, specifically, from FIO, the EC, the NAIC and EIOPA, as well as representatives from state insurance regulatory agencies in the US and competent authorities of EU Member States.

    The Steering Committee of the Project was established in order to take all key decisions on the direction of the Project and to provide clarity to the technical committees. The Steering Committee consists of six members, comprised of three US and three EU officials: Michael McRaith, Director of FIO; Kevin McCarty, President of the NAIC; Terri Vaughan, CEO of the NAIC; Karel Van Hulle, EC Head of Unit, Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA; and Ed Forshaw, Manager Prudential Policy Division of the FSA and Chair of EIOPA’s Equivalence Committee.

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    The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Peter Cummings £500,000 and banned him from holding any senior position in a UK bank, building society, investment or insurance firm.

    This is the highest fine imposed by the FSA on a senior executive for management failings.

    The FSA’s action relates to the period between January 2006 and December 2008, during which time Cummings was an executive director of HBOS plc and chief executive of its Corporate Division.

    The FSA judged that:

    – Between January 2006 and March 2008, Cummings failed to exercise due skill, care and diligence by pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy within the Corporate Division, without suitable controls in place to manage the associated risks; and

    – Between April and December 2008, Cummings failed to take reasonable care to ensure that the Corporate Division adequately and prudently managed high value transactions which showed signs of stress.

    The FSA found that Cummings was aware that there were significant issues with the Corporate Division’s controls, including: weaknesses in management information; staff being incentivised to focus on revenue rather than risk; and a culture which saw risk management as a constraint on the business rather than an integral part of it.

    Under Cummings’ direction, the division pursued an aggressive growth strategy, despite these known weaknesses in the control framework.  This focus on growth peaked in 2007 and continued into 2008, despite Cummings being aware of concerns within HBOS about some of the markets in which the division operated and growing signs of problems in the economy.  Rather than taking reasonable steps to mitigate potential risks, he directed his division to increase its market share as other lenders were pulling out of deals.

    Cummings led a culture of optimism which also affected the division’s judgement about bad debts.  The division did not adequately monitor the deterioration of high value transactions and was slow to pass them to the dedicated ‘High Risk and Impaired Assets’ team for more detailed assessment of the likelihood of default and the corresponding level of provision that should be raised.

    The assessment of individual provisions was consistently optimistic rather than prudent and Cummings chose not follow the approach to levels of provisioning which had been suggested by HBOS’s auditors and the division’s own Risk function.

    In reaching its decision, the FSA accepts that some of the problems existed before Cummings was appointed, that he did make efforts to introduce some improvements and that critical business decisions were made collectively. It also accepts that Cummings did not act deliberately or recklessly in breaching FSA regulations, and that the full severity of the global financial crisis, and its effects, were not reasonably foreseeable during the early part of the time period reviewed.

    However, the FSA has judged Cummings to be personally culpable in breaching Statement of Principle 6 of the FSA’s Code of Practice for Approved Persons, by failing to exercise due skill, care and diligence in managing HBOS’s Corporate Division during this critical period.

    The FSA also judged Cummings to be knowingly concerned in the misconduct which was the subject of the separate Final Notice issued to Bank of Scotland plc on 9 March 2012.

    Tracey McDermott, director of enforcement and financial crime, said:

    “Despite being aware of the weaknesses in his division and growing problems in the economy, Cummings presided over a culture of aggressive growth without the controls in place to manage the risks associated with that strategy.  Instead of reacting to the worsening environment, he raised his targets as other banks pulled out of the same markets.

    “It is essential that senior executives understand that incentivising revenue over risk is a dangerous folly. Growth is a sound ambition for any business but risk must be properly managed and robust controls are imperative to ensure growth is achieved in a way that is both stable and sustainable.”

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    Several well-known hedge fund managers have backed new reinsurance vehicles, with the aim of using stable premium flows in lower-risk underwriting business to support higher returns on the companies’ asset portfolios. The business model sounds simple, but achieving these goals may prove to be challenging.

    Making money on the asset portfolio has always been a fundamental part of the (re)insurance business model, although the protracted low-yielding environment has significantly reduced this source of earnings for most players, making it harder to offset technical losses.

    One difficulty for reinsurers that are reliant on hedge fund returns will be on generating double-digit returns year after year. The investment portfolio for one such company, PaCRE, set up in April 2012 and managed by the hedge fund Paulson & Co. Paulson’s Advantage Plus fund, highlights the volatility of earnings: it experienced a 50% decline in 2011 and a 17% rise in 2010, according to press reports.

    A huge fall in asset values like that experienced by the Advantage Plus fund in 2011 would deplete a reinsurers capital, putting the company at risk of a default if it coincided with unusually high claims payouts.

    This topic is being hotly debated at the reinsurance industry’s annual gathering in Monte Carlo, where some believe the presence of hedge-fund-backed reinsurers will serve to promote underwriting discipline as well as providing an alternative choice to reinsurance purchasers.

    We believe hedge funds could contribute to a more competitive pricing environment in certain sectors. In years when the funds are able to generate high returns, the demand for income through reinsurance premiums means that reinsurance prices could drop below their sustainable level. The hedge-fund-backed reinsurers will remain profitable (unless there are losses on the policies or assets), but insurers only generating single-digit investment returns would find it harder to post a profitable business.

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    The US Treasury Department announced Sunday that it has launched a public offering of $18 billion of its common stock in AIG, the giant insurer bailed out by the US government.

    The Treasury will also grant a 30-day option to the offering’s underwriters to purchase up to an additional $2.7 billion of AIG common stock to cover any over-allotments.

    AIG intends to buy up to $5 billion of common stock Treasury sells at the initial public offering price in the sale, the Treasury said in a statement.

    The agency said it had retained Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as joint global coordinators.

    Several firms will also serve as joint bookrunners for the offering, including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Barclays Capital Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, RBC Capital Markets LLC, UBS Securities LLC, Wells Fargo Securities LLC, Credit Suisse Securities LLC and Macquarie Capital Inc.

    The sale is part of the Treasury’s plans to gradually sell its shares in AIG — in which it still holds a 53 per cent stake — to try to recover the $24.2 billion remaining in its investment.

    Once the world’s largest insurance company, AIG was deeply involved in the risky derivatives at the centre of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The Federal Reserve and the US Treasury rescued it from bankruptcy with a record $182 billion bailout.

    AIG has sold off assets as it restructured itself back to a path of profitability, raising money to repay the rescue. In June, the Fed announced it had been repaid.

    New York, Sept 9, 2012 (AFP)

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    Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘A+’ insurer financial strength ratings on U.K.-based Lloyd’s insurance market (Lloyd’s, the Corporation or the Market). And at the same time affirmed their ‘A+’ long-term counterparty credit ratings on The Society of Lloyd’s. The outlook on these ratings has been revised to positive from stable.

    Standard & Poor’s report :

    The outlook revision reflects our improved view of Lloyd’s competitive position, its operating performance in 2011–which was broadly in line with our expectations in spite of record losses–and continued progress toward implementing the internal model despite delays in transition to the Solvency II regime in Europe. We also observe that the convergence between Lloyd’s internal model and the proposed standard formula for required capital is much reduced following changes to capital charges for non-EU natural catastrophe business.

    The ratings reflect Standard & Poor’s view of Lloyd’s very strong competitive position, strong operating performance, strong capitalization, strong enterprise risk management, and strong financial flexibility. These positive factors are partly offset, however, by Lloyd’s relatively high utilization of reinsurance and letters of credit (LOCs) for capital support and the inherent potential for operating performance volatility.

    Lloyd’s competitive position is very strong, and a key driver for the rating. This position is supported by the positive attributes associated with its unique brand, its attraction as the world’s largest subscription market, London’s continued position as a major international insurance and reinsurance market, policyholder loyalty, and improving systems and processes. The attractiveness of Lloyd’s as an operating platform is evidenced by the continual flow of new entrants and capital providers to the Market in recent years. We expect that Lloyd’s will maintain this very strong competitive position, and will continue to enhance it through growth in developing markets in terms of both premiums and capital contribution.

    Lloyd’s historically strong operating performance supports the rating, and we would expect this to continue in the medium term. The Market has outperformed peers with strong and stable results, and demonstrated less volatility than in the past. We believe that much of this can be attributed to the oversight of the Performance Management Directorate (PMD). We expect operating performance to remain strong, however it will be under pressure from marginal rate adequacy in many lines, low investment returns, and a diminished contribution from releases on prior years. Our base-case projection for Lloyd’s operating results would be a combined ratio in the 93%-95% range for full years 2012 and 2013, with pretax profits of at least £1.5 billion and return on revenues of 8%-10%. This assumes catastrophe losses in line with the historical average for the market.

    The inherent volatility in operating results continues to be a relative rating weakness, in our view. The nature of much of the business written at Lloyd’s–characterized by complexity, large monetary exposure levels, and a high-severity, low-frequency profile of risk–lends itself to potential volatility in earnings. We do not expect Lloyd’s to change its underwriting profile materially, however the underwriting oversight in place through the PMD, the more-clearly-defined risk appetites and limits, and the realistic disaster scenario framework all help to mitigate and contain this volatility, as was demonstrated in 2011.

    Lloyd’s capitalization is strong, supported by what we consider to be very strong capital adequacy, strong quality of capital, Lloyd’s much diminished exposure to legacy issues, and the efficacy of the capital-setting processes. In aggregate, Lloyd’s has released £5.5 billion in loss reserves since 2005. Despite this, incurred but not reported (IBNR) levels have been maintained at 40%-45% of total loss reserves. Lloyd’s high utilization of reinsurance capacity and LOCs–the latter represented £8.1 billion or 53% of members’ funds at Lloyd’s in 2011–to support its capital needs is a relative credit weakness. LOCs are only eligible as Tier 2 capital under Solvency II proposals, which require 50% of available funds to come from Tier 1 capital. We do not believe that Lloyd’s or its members will want to risk operating at the margin of this capital requirement under Solvency II. We view LOCs as a shorter-term capital solution that cannot necessarily be relied upon in the long term.

    Lloyd’s financial flexibility is strong. The diversity of Lloyd’s capital providers represents a unique strength for the Market. In addition to Lloyd’s ability as a mutual to call upon its members for further capital and the strong flow of high quality new applicants, financial flexibility is also reinforced by the declining trend of annual undertakings given to insolvent members. Solvency deficits amounted to just £155 million at Dec. 31, 2011, down from £482 million in 2005. We expect this financial flexibility to remain strong, and improve as Lloyd’s looks to maintain its mutual structure, while expanding the diversity and scope of its capital providers to developing markets.

    The positive outlook on Lloyd’s reflects our view of the Market’s improving competitive position, strong results in 2011 in spite of large catastrophe losses, and our belief that the risk to capital from not achieving internal model approval under Solvency II is reduced following further refinements to Lloyd’s model and the capital charges currently proposed under the standard model.

    An upgrade in the next 12-24 months would be contingent on Lloyd’s continuing to improve its competitive position, and its ability to maintain and increase commitment of capital providers, both existing and prospective. This could be supported by establishing, implementing, and meeting credible deliverables as part of the strategic planning process and development of Vision 2025. We would also expect to see Lloyd’s operating metrics continue to outperform peers before we considered an upgrade. In addition, we would expect to see Lloyd’s using its internal model effectively in the capital-setting process from 2013.

    We could revise the outlook to stable if there were a loss of capital providers, should the capital providers incur capital requirements or costs of doing business that impair the profitability of doing business in the market. Similarly, we could revise the outlook to stable if we fail to see Lloyd’s convert the aspirations of Vision 2025 into a credible plan that should further improve the Market’s competitive position and diversify its capital base,. Although we believe it is unlikely, if we were to see operating performance returning to levels seen prior to 2002, reflecting poor management of a softening underwriting cycle; or if a major catastrophe loss leads to losses outside of the Market’s risk tolerances, we could revise the outlook.

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    Tropical storm Isaac is located in the Gulf of Mexico and is heading towards the coast of Louisiana. In the last 24 hours, Isaac’s wind field has expanded even further and the storm now has a total diameter of 580 miles. This means that when Isaac makes landfall, a very large area of coastline, and inland, is likely to be impacted.

    – Landfall is expected within the next 48 hours, however there is an unusually large uncertainty associated with the landfall location. The forecast uncertainty cone extends from the Texas/Louisiana border east to the Mississippi/Alabama border.

    –  Further intensification is expected as Isaac approaches the Gulf coast and the NHC are calling for Isaac to be a category 1 hurricane at landfall. Hurricane warnings are in place from Morgan City, Louisiana to Destin, Florida. This includes the Metropolitan areas of New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana with populations greater than 1 million and 800,000 respectively, as well as Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida, both with populations slightly below half a million.

    – Storm surge and heavy rainfall are other hazards that have the potential to impact the landfall area. The NHC are warning that storm surge could reach 6 to 12 ft in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi.

    –  Isaac was located approximately 85 miles from the southwest coast of Florida when it track past the coast on Sunday. Preliminary wind field analysis (as of 09:00 UTC on Monday, August 27) indicates that southern Florida, including Fort Lauderdale and Miami, were within the tropical storm force wind field of Isaac but Tampa was not. The western Florida Keys experienced strong tropical storm force winds. Early reports from Florida indicate that there was little wind damage and power outages have been relatively minor.

    On Tuesday 21 August, the ninth named storm of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season Isaac was declared. Isaac developed from a tropical depression to the east of the Lesser Antilles. The system tracked over the southern part of the Lesser Antilles late (UTC) on Wednesday, August  22/ early (UTC) on Thursday, August 23 as a tropical storm with the center of circulation passing south of Guadeloupe. Preliminary wind field analysis indicates that Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe and St Kitts and Nevis were within

    Isaac’s tropical storm force wind field as the system tracked through the southern Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. Isaac then tracked west –northwest across the Caribbean Sea towards Hispaniola, where it tracked over the Haiti’s southern peninsula early (UTC) on Saturday, August 25. The system then emerged over the Windward Passage (between Cuba and Haiti) and tracked over extreme southeastern Cuba, before skirting the northeast coast of Cuba.

    “The average date of formation of the ninth Atlantic storm between 1950 and 2011 is 24th September, and between 1995 and 2011 is 14th September,” said Margaret Joseph, catastrophe analyst at RMS.  “Isaac forming prior to these dates indicates that, to date, in 2012 activity is currently above average. The earliest named ‘I’ storm was Irene in 2005, which formed on August 4.”

    Isaac formed one year and one day after Irene in 2011, and like Irene Isaac is forecast to make landfall over the U.S. as a hurricane. Irene in 2011 was retired from the WMO Atlantic storm naming list. Since 2001 seven I storms have been retired.

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    According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Tropical Storm Isaac made landfall about 40 miles east of Guantanamo, Cuba, yesterday with sustained winds of 60 mph. The storm’s passage over the mountainous tip of Cuba did little to diminish its strength and Isaac exited the island with winds intact at 60 mph. The storm then proceeded to track along the island’s northern coast, keeping the strongest winds offshore but delivering heavy rainfall to central and eastern provinces. Data from Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that Isaac has strengthened only slightly overnight, possibly because the storm is battling with dry low- to mid-level dry air in the western side of its circulation.

     “As Isaac moves into the Florida Straits and into the eastern Gulf of Mexico, conditions should be favorable for further intensification,” said Scott Stransky, senior scientist at AIR Worldwide. “Isaac is now expected to achieve hurricane intensity soon after crossing the Florida Keys, and there is a chance that it will become a Category 2 hurricane as it approaches the Gulf Coast. How much stronger Isaac will become will depend in part on the storm’s track—that is, how much time it will spend over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.”

    As of today’s 8:00 a.m. EDT advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Tropical Storm Isaac is about 135 miles east-southeast of Key West, Florida, and is moving into the Florida Straits at 20 mph. A decrease in forward speed is expected over the next 48 hours. Maximum sustained winds have increased to 65 mph, with higher gusts, and further intensification is expected.

    Tropical storm force winds (>39 mph) currently extend outward from the center 205 miles. Thus Isaac remains a very large storm.

    Tropical Storm Isaac crossed Haiti’s southern peninsula early yesterday.  Hundreds of the tents that hundreds of thousands of people still call home were ripped away by Isaac’s winds or damaged by downed trees. The majority, however, remained intact according to U.N. officials. Sheet metal roofs were peeled off homes and businesses. There is evidence of heavy street flooding—waist deep in some locations—and widespread downed trees and power lines. Haiti’s national electricity supplier said that at one point 30 out of the country’s 32 electricity grids were down.

    Stransky continued, “In the Dominican Republic, rivers overtopped their banks, washing out roads and bridges. An estimated 3,000 homes were flooded, according to reports, and at least 10 rural settlements were cut off by floodwaters. Nearly a million people were left without power. In both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, most of the damage is unlikely to be insured.”

    “In Cuba, authorities evacuated thousands of residents in advance of the storm’s arrival. High waves have washed away structures on the immediate coastline. In Baracoa, the country’s easternmost city (estimated population over 80,000), officials report that at least 50 homes were destroyed or heavily damaged.”

    “After crossing the eastern end of Cuba, Isaac tracked along the north coast of the country, just offshore. This means that most of Cuba was on the left, weaker side of Isaac. While further wind damage should not be a concern, the possibility of additional flooding remains an issue.”

    According to AIR, some of the Bahamian islands impacted by last year’s Hurricane Irene are now within the reach of Isaac’s tropical storm force winds. Sturdy construction there, however, should keep damage to a minimum.

    Meanwhile, some energy operators in the Gulf of Mexico have begun shutting down offshore oil and gas rigs. BP Plc, the biggest Gulf producer, has said it would shut down its Thunder Horse platform, the world’s largest.

    AIR’s continues to monitor Isaac closely and will post additional information on the development and impacts of this storm as warranted by events.

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    The United States is experiencing the worst outbreak of West Nile virus since the mosquito-borne disease was first detected in 1999, health officials said Wednesday. 

    At least 41 people have died so far this summer and health officials have identified a total of 1,118 cases across the country. The entire year of 2011 saw just 712 cases and 43 deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

    “The number of West Nile virus disease cases in people has risen dramatically in recent weeks,” said Lyle Petersen, the director of the CDC’s vector-borne infectious disease division.

    Petersen urged the public to protect themselves from mosquito bites and warned that the number of cases is expected to continue to rise. “The peak of West Nile virus epidemics usually occurs in mid-August, however it takes a couple of weeks for people to get sick, go to a doctor, get diagnosed and then get reported,” he said in a conference call.

    “Thus we expect many more cases to occur and the risk of West Nile virus infection will probably continue through the end of September.”

    The outbreak has been concentrated in and around Dallas, Texas, where authorities last week began using aircraft to spray pesticide. Texas health officials have confirmed 21 deaths and said another four fatalities are being investigated and will likely soon be ruled as caused by West Nile.

    The outbreak has also resulted in 323 cases of neuroinvasive disease in Texas alone, nearly all of whom required hospitalization and could face permanent neurological damage.

    “Our hearts go out to the families that have been impacted,” said Texas health commissioner David Lakey. It’s not yet clear why more people are being sickened this year, but Peterson said the unusually mild winter, early spring and hot summer might have fostered conditions favorable to the spread of West Nile.

    The disease, first discovered in Uganda in 1937, is carried by birds and spread to humans by mosquitoes. The CDC said the uptick could be related to this year’s unusually mild winter, but that several factors influence the scope of an outbreak, including the birds that carry the disease, the mosquito population and human behavior.

    Health officials said the best way to prevent infection was to wear bug repellent and long sleeves, and to avoid going outside at dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are most active.  Authorities are also urging Americans to drain standing pools of water where mosquitoes breed.

    There are no specific treatments or cures for the disease, though the milder symptoms tend to go away on their own. About one in 150 people infected will develop severe illness with symptoms that include high fever, convulsions, vision loss, numbness, coma and can cause permanent paralysis and neurological damage.

    Eighty per cent of those infected will not show any symptoms at all and milder symptoms range from headaches to skin rashes, the CDC said.

    Washington, Aug 22, 2012 (AFP)

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    Travelers has announced that John Abramson has been named as the company’s new Head of Legal and Compliance for its European businesses.

    Abramson most recently worked at Flagstone Re where he held the position of General Counsel Europe and Global Chief Compliance Officer.  Prior to this, he worked at Chartis for nine years, where his last role was Deputy General Counsel for Chartis Europe.  Abramson qualified as a solicitor in 1989 and practised in leading City law firms for 13 years as a dispute resolution lawyer specialising in international insurance, reinsurance and financial services matters.

    Based in London, Abramson will be responsible for ensuring that the Travelers legal team is able to provide strategic direction and legal advice to business managers.  He will also be responsible for Travelers’ interaction with regulators, including management of all corporate governance matters, and for ensuring that Travelers’ compliance programme continues to be effective in a changing environment.

    Sean Genden, CEO, Travelers Europe said:  “John has a solid understanding of the business and regulatory environment affecting insurance companies in Europe.  With John’s background and experiences he will be a great partner and counsel.  We look forward to him being an integral part of the Travelers leadership team.”

    John Abramson said:  “I look forward to working with Travelers’ Legal and Compliance teams and continuing to build an effective partnership with the business.”

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    Insurance giant Swiss Life posted Friday a first-half drop in net profit to 361 million francs (301 million euros, $371 million) that nonetheless beat market forecasts. 

    Analysts had pencilled in profits closer to 309 million francs. Falling demand in the group’s key sectors was countered by increasing profitability, with operating profit up 17 per cent to 528 million francs despite a 2.6 per cent fall in premiums to 9.8 billion francs.

    Swiss Life managing director Bruno Pfister said he was very happy with business in the first half of the year despite historically low interest rates and “continuing volatility” in the market place.

    “That shows that we have been able to make our sales model tougher in recent years,” he said.

    AWD, the group’s German financial services provider, saw net profits sink 63 per cent to 6 million francs and commission income fall 18.6 per cent to 275 million francs.

    Its contribution to group earnings fell to 13.1 million euros after it set aside more than nine million euros for litigation.

    Market analysts from Swiss private bank Notenstein called the Zurich-based insurer’s results “solid”.  Investors would be happy about the group’s decent operating profit figures and its plans to make savings of up to 400 million francs by the end of the year, Notenstein said, but Swiss Life “needed to find a solution for” AWD by either restructuring or selling part of the business.

    Shares in Swiss Life were up 3.1 per cent to 105 francs in afternoon trading amid general market gains of 0.46 per cent.

    Zurich, Aug 17, 2012 (AFP) a

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    Motorists are being invited to help shape and develop a new driving app which could earn them a discount of up to 20% on their motor insurance.

    Aviva is using smartphone technology to create individual driver profiles, which will be used to calculate tailored pay-how-you-drive premiums.

    The driver behavioural app, Aviva RateMyDrive, will monitor motorists taking part in the test for 200 miles, including acceleration, braking and cornering. The data is then turned into an individual ‘score’ which helps determine the motorist’s premium – with safer drivers earning up to 20% off their Aviva premium.  The discounts are in addition to any other Aviva offers for which they are eligible.*

    Steve Treloar, Aviva’s retail director, said: “We believe this innovative use of smartphone technology will benefit all safe drivers, regardless of age or gender.

    “Unlike traditional ‘black box’ telematics solutions, Aviva RateMyDrive app only needs a small amount of data – typically 200 miles – to create an individual driver profile. And because the app is free to download and uses the customer’s own smartphone, there is no need for motorists to have a black box installed in their car.

    “For those who complete the RateMyDrive app trial, we will provide feedback on their driving and a quote – including any discount earned from safer driving – should they wish to take out Aviva insurance.

    “And while safer drivers could receive a discount up to 20%, we won’t penalise other drivers if their driving doesn’t come up to the standard set by the app. They’ll just receive the standard premium but won’t get a discount.”

    Drivers with premiums currently between £200 and £400 could earn discounts of up to 10% and those with premiums above £400 could earn discounts of up to 20%. Motorists with premiums below £200 would not get a discount as their claims history, type of car and driving experience suggest they are already amongst the safest drivers. The discounts are in addition to any other Aviva offers for which they are eligible.*

    So far the app has been trialled with some Aviva staff for a number of months and now the insurer is looking to drivers who have android phones to help develop further the new app-based insurance. The app will be available to those with other types of smartphone at a later date.

    Treloar added: “We need a wide range of motorists to test the proposition and help us develop the final product and customer experience before we bring it fully to market.

    “We will ask those helping us to shape this new proposition to tell us what they think of the app and what improvements could be made to benefit the customer.

    “We believe that by using smartphone technology in this innovative way, Aviva will be able to tailor premiums further to individual drivers – basically the premium will be for you, not people like you.”

    Aviva is looking for 5,000 drivers with android smartphones to test the RateMyDrive app. Anyone interested in taking part should vist the Aviva website. Those who complete the trial could win one of five new iPads, as well as receiving a discount on their motor insurance.

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    German reinsurance giant Hannover Re said it was anticipating “good results” for 2012 after a “very pleasing” first six months.   

    “In view of the continuing attractive market opportunities in non-life and life/health reinsurance as well as the gratifying group net income as of June 30, we anticipate a good result for the full 2012 financial year,” Hannover Re said in a statement.

    Full-year gross premiums were projected to grow 5.0-7.0 per cent, it said.   In the first six months, Hannover Re booked a bottom-line net profit of 405.3 million euros ($498 million), up 85.5 per cent over the year-earlier period.

    Operating profit, as measured by earnings before interest and tax, more than doubled to 597.2 million euros in the January-June period from 248.9 million euros.

    The group said year-earlier figures had been hit by exceptionally heavy losses from natural disasters.  First-half gross premium income grew 14 per cent to 6.9 billion euros, Hannover Re said.

    Frankfurt, Aug 10, 2012 (AFP)

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    Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon announces a new appointment within its facultative division.

    Effective immediately, Paul Summers will become Global Chief Executive Officer of Aon Benfield Fac, reporting to Dominic Christian and Michael Bungert, co-Chief Executive Officers of Aon Benfield.

    Over the past 12 months, Paul has led Aon Benfield Fac’s International business. His appointment as the division’s global CEO aligns to the firm’s ongoing commitment to facultative reinsurance and its worldwide client base.

    Dominic Christian, co-CEO of Aon Benfield, said: “Over the past 12 months, Paul has led our facultative business through a period of transition, and his appointment as global CEO is testament to his track record of success and unstinting efforts in a number of senior roles within Aon Benfield Fac and its legacy organizations.  Paul is a talented leader who has already made a significant contribution to our firm.”

    Aon Benfield Fac is the world’s largest facultative reinsurance intermediary, with a reach that extends to more than 500 colleagues in 43 offices worldwide, who place over USD4bn of premium into the global reinsurance and capital markets annually.

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    Late Thursday, August 2, a tropical depression located about 300 miles west of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles (southwest Caribbean) developed into the fifth named storm of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season – Tropical Storm Ernesto.

    According to the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) on Friday, August 3, the center of Ernesto was located over the St. Vincent Passage in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles – approximately 30 miles southeast of St Lucia and around 35 miles east-north east of St. Vincent. The NHC report that at this time Ernesto had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph – the equivalent of a Tropical Storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (SSHWS). The system was also reported to have a minimum central pressure of approximately 1004mb, and was moving very quickly towards the west at 24 mph. Tropical storm force winds were extending outwards up to 115miles from the center of Ernesto (predominantly to the north and east of the system).

    Preliminary information on the extent of the system’s wind field indicates that tropical storm winds are extending over St. Lucia and southern portions of Martinique.  A tropical storm warning is in effect for Dominica, (St Lucia, Martinique) and Guadeloupe (meaning that tropical storm conditions are expected within the next 12 hours). The system is expected to bring total rain accumulations of between 2 to 3 inches to portions of the Windward Islands through the day.

    Ernesto is forecast to continue tracking towards the west over the next couple days over the Caribbean Sea, with a gradual decrease in forward speed, before shifting to a more west-northwest direction and passing around 70 miles south of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on Monday and Tuesday.  Under the NHC forecast the center of Ernesto will be located offshore of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico early (UTC) Wednesday. The NHC official forecast track is in the middle of the model track guidance envelope. It is too early to tell whether Ernesto will impact the U.S.

    Under the NHC forecast, Ernesto is forecast to strengthen to hurricane status in around 72 hours when the system makes its closest pass to Jamaica and is forecast to be a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches Mexico.  NOAA’s sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean Sea are around 28oC and wind shear is forecast to decrease over the weekend – conditions which are conducive for strengthening. The majority of models are strengthening Ernesto to hurricane status, though the timing of the strengthening varies from Sunday to Tuesday.

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    The US Treasury Department announced Friday it will sell $5 billion of its American International Group shares, with AIG lined up to buy up to $3 billion of them.

    The Treasury said the common stock would be publicly offered at $30.50 per share, and that AIG had agreed to purchase 98.3 million shares at that price.

    AIG shares closed 1.6 per cent higher at $31.34 in New York trade Friday, in an overall market rally following an upbeat US jobs report.

    The Treasury has been winding down the government’s bailouts of companies during the 2008-2009 financial crisis that initially targeted banks but controversially were expanded to include insurance giant AIG and automakers.

    AIG, at the time the world’s largest insurance company and closely involved in the risky derivatives at the center of the crisis, was rescued from bankruptcy by a record $182 billion government bailout program.

    AIG has sold off huge assets as it restructured itself back to a path of profitability, buying back taxpayer-funded shares along the way.

    The underwriters in the latest Treasury stock offering have a 30-day over-allotment option to purchase about 24.6 million additional shares of AIG common stock, the Treasury said in a statement.

    If the over-allotment option is not exercised, the Treasury said, the sale would reduce its remaining investment in AIG to $25 billion, and lower its stake from approximately 61 per cent to 55 per cent.

    On Thursday, AIG reported second-quarter profit surged 27 per cent from a year ago to $2.3 billion, almost double expectations, while sales fell less than estimated.

    In the April-June quarter, AIG bought $2 billion of its shares from the Treasury and $6.1 billion in shares from the Federal Reserve.

    The Fed announced in mid-June that AIG had repaid its rescue loan.

    Washington, Aug 3, 2012 (AFP)

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    Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services lowered its insurer financial strength and long-term counterparty credit ratings on French mutual insurer La Mondiale to ‘BBB+’ from ‘A-‘. The outlook is negative.

    Standard & Poor’s Report :

    At the same time, we lowered the ratings on La Mondiale’s hybrid debt issues to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BBB’; these ratings remain two notches below La Mondiale’s counterparty credit rating.

    The downgrade reflects our opinion that the current investment market and adverse economy are likely to constrain La Mondiale’s ability to strengthen its financial profile, in particular its capital adequacy and operating performance, to levels commensurate with a rating in the ‘A’ category over the two-year rating horizon. We view the company’s risk-adjusted capital adequacy as a key weakness to the rating–it also impairs its financial flexibility. The rating is supported by La Mondiale’s strong competitive position, conservative investment policies, and sound liquidity management.

    La Mondiale’s capitalization is “good,” but stands at the lower end of this assessment range, according to our criteria. Despite capital adequacy improvements on the back of stable earnings retention and lower volumes growth over the past two years, we consider that given the current and forecast level, capital adequacy will remain a rating weakness for the next two years. We base our view on the insurer’s sensitivity to market conditions due to its general reliance on soft, market-sensitive capital items, and to an increase in the cost of capital relating to credit risk.

    Regulatory and risk-adjusted capital adequacy at La Mondiale rely heavily on hybrid debt, part of which has a first call date in 2013. In our base-case scenario, we assume that the insurer will focus on preserving its capital adequacy at least at the current level and that its capital adequacy will recover to a level more in line with the ratings over the medium term.

    The effects of equity market volatilities and decreasing interest rates, in addition to a competitive environment, continue to constrain La Mondiale’s earnings and profitability indicators, in our view. La Mondiale’s net earnings have averaged €244 million a year over the past three years, which translates into an average return on equity (ROE) of 14.1% over the same period. That said, an amount of this came from exceptional items that might not be renewed in the future. Short-term new business guarantees may also somewhat weigh on profitability.

    We consider La Mondiale’s cost-cutting initiatives, focus on higher-than-average unit-linked products, and increasingly cautious crediting policy to be mitigating factors. In our base-case scenario, we expect La Mondiale to continue to restore its new business margins and to maintain an ROE of at least 10% in 2012 and 2013. We expect operating earnings to increase, supported by further cost-effectiveness measures and cautious crediting policies on in-force and new business.

    We view competitive position as strong, sustained by a presence across the life insurance product range (both pensions and saving offers) and specialized subsidiaries in France and Luxembourg. La Mondiale’s specialized networks include a proprietary employee sales force. Its competitive position also benefits from partnerships with private banks and brokerage.

    Along with the AG2R group (main entity AG2R Prevoyance, which is rated A-/Negative/–), La Mondiale forms the AG2R-La Mondiale Société de Groupe d’Assurance Mutuelle (SGAM), which provides comprehensive life, savings, pension, accident, and health coverage in France. Furthermore, Luxembourg-based subsidiary LMEP has been growing fast, providing the group with further potential to diversify revenues.

    We view La Mondiale’s investment policy as sound because it offers comparatively low credit risk exposure and high liquidity. Furthermore, La Mondiale decreased its equity exposure to 8.3% in 2011 from 10.4% in 2010. We do not expect La Mondiale to experience liquidity issues, thanks to its predominantly liquid investments. The insurer held 2.6% of its investments in cash and short-term deposits, its equities are mostly listed, and its bonds are largely rated at investment grade.

    Despite pressure on net inflows, La Mondiale has weathered the adverse business conditions in the French market comparatively well (see “Investment Market Volatility Could Trigger Further Downgrades For French Insurers In 2012-2013”, published on June 28, 2012). In addition, a significant part of its reserves relates to group pensions business; this line of business is not subject to individual lapses, which significantly mitigates liquidity risk.

    The negative outlook reflects our view of the risk arising from the difficult economic and financial environment, which could further constrain La Mondiale’s financial profile in future.

    We could lower the ratings over the next 12 to 24 months if La Mondiale does not meet the expectations underlying our base-case scenario. We could revise the outlook to stable if La Mondiale meets our expectations on a sustained basis and, in particular, if the pressure on capital adequacy reduces.

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    Paul Griffiths has been appointed as account handler in the London office of liability insurer CGICE.

    Griffiths joins CGICE from a background predominately in Marketing and Account Management, working as a Senior Account Manager and Consultant

    Griffiths will be working as an account handler and trainee underwriter, helping to develop marketing and brand awareness of CGICE while concentrating on increasing new business enquiry volumes.

    CGICE launched its London representative office in May this year in order to grow its business in the UK, particularly its casualty account.

    The company focuses on providing liability cover for all industries including high hazard–high risk professions along with tailor-made solutions for scheme business.

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    Aon and Manchester United, the world’s most popular football club, have announced a new ground-breaking program that will harness the high levels of awareness both organizations enjoy into a unique state of the art business-to-business network and community engagement programs. 

    In 2014 Aon plans to transition into a second phase of its relationship with Manchester United by becoming the title sponsor of both Manchester United’s Business Network and the Manchester United Foundation.

    Aon continues to be the Manchester United Primary Shirt Sponsor for two more seasons.

    Aon’s primary reason for its original shirt partnership was to unite its over 60,000 colleagues world-wide, across 120 countries.  Aon has made great progress on that objective while achieving its brand awareness objectives, with metrics now consistent with global iconic brands.

    “One thing Aon and Manchester United understand is the need to use different strategies to reach different objectives – and both of us are very focused on achieving objectives,” says David Gill, Club CEO. “Aon continues to be everything that any business could want from a partner with strong relationships at every level within our business – and we look to build similar relationships with Aon and their prospective clients for years to come.”

    “The first phase of our partnership, which continues into 2014, was focused on uniting our firm and the colleagues in it while reinforcing the brand of Aon,” Aon Plc CEO Greg Case said. “The second phase is intended to continue this momentum but with even more of a focus around clients and communities.  We are very excited about continuing this new dimension of our partnership with Manchester United over the long-term.”

    Manchester United’s Business Network is an organization where sponsors, global executives and heads of state can gather to discuss critical issues in the economy such as global risks, cross-border trade, supply chains, energy resources, talent, healthcare, high performing teams and diversity – all in the context of a shared interest in the world’s global game and the world’s number one team.

    Aon is also scheduled to become the title sponsor of the Manchester United Foundation, continuing a shared focus on helping communities at risk and empowering economic and human possibility across the globe.  Aon and Manchester United have worked together on global initiatives bringing attention to pressing issues, including:

    Pass It On – A program where three Manchester United Footballs embarked on an eight-month journey across six continents, engaging clients, colleagues and communities.  The balls covered philanthropic events supporting the Man Utd Foundation and charities across the world.

    Find a Better Way – a charity founded by Sir Bobby Charlton to develop new and more effective ways of identifying and removing the millions of landmines that cause untold suffering in communities around the world. Aon has been proud to lead the drive across the globe to raise the funding needed to support the charity’s research and development programme, as well as landmine removal, preventive education, and healthcare to support those affected.

    As part of the program, Aon also is looking forward to the opportunity to continue working with and promoting Manchester United’s soccer schools, dedicated to the development of young people with a passion for the game.

    Aon would also like to congratulate GM and Chevy on their decision to becoming Manchester United’s primary shirt sponsor starting at the end of the 2014 season.

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