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Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services today lowered its long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Ireland-based Transamerica International Reinsurance Ireland Ltd. (TIRI) to ‘A’ from ‘AA-‘. At the same time the short-term counterparty credit rating was lowered to ‘A-1’ from ‘A-1+’. The ratings remain on CreditWatch with negative implications where they were placed on April 27, 2011, following the announcement that AEGON N.V. (AEGON, A-/Negative/A-2) had entered into an agreement with SCOR SE (SCOR, A/Positive/A-1) to sell its life reinsurance business, including TIRI.

The rating action follows the announcement on Aug. 10, 2011, that SCOR has completed the acquisition of AEGON’s life reinsurance business, Transamerica Reinsurance, including the Irish operating entity TIRI. The ratings on TIRI have been lowered to the same level as those on SCOR reflecting the application of our group ratings methodology. It is our expectation that an eligible guarantee of TIRI’s policy obligations, consistent with our guarantee criteria, will be provided by SCOR. The CreditWatch placement reflects our ongoing review of the proposed guarantee.

We will likely resolve the CreditWatch placement before the end of August once we have concluded our review of the potential credit enhancement provided by the proposed guarantee. If the proposed guarantee meets our criteria, the financial strength rating on TIRI will be affirmed at ‘A’, removed from CreditWatch, and assigned a positive outlook, to align it with the ratings on SCOR. At the same time, the counterparty credit ratings will be withdrawn. If the proposed guarantee does not meet our criteria and we classify TIRI as strategically important to SCOR, the ratings on TIRI will be lowered by one notch to ‘A-‘ and assigned a positive outlook, consistent with the positive outlook on its new parent. Based on current information, we consider it unlikely that the ratings on TIRI will be lowered by more than one notch.

Source : S&P Press Release

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New China Life Insurance may raise as much as $4 billion in a dual Hong Kong-Shanghai listing, despite turmoil on global stock markets that has seen some firms shelve their flotation plans.   

China’s third-largest insurer has filed a formal application with Hong Kong’s bourse to launch the share sale with plans to list in both cities in October, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing unnamed sources.

The company could not be reached Thursday to comment on the report. The insurer’s proposed flotation comes as stock markets around the world take a pounding with Asian markets mostly lower Thursday amid renewed fears over US and Eurozone debt.

Europe’s fiscal woes reignited Wednesday when rumours circulated that France was in danger of seeing its top-notch credit downgraded, following last week’s historic cut to the United States’ rating.

The market meltdown has sparked fears that Hong Kong’s IPO market, the world’s biggest last year, may see delays in some $19 billion worth of share sales from a dozen companies planning to list on the city’s exchange.

Some firms have already decided to delay or cancel their listings citing turmoil in global markets, or seen their share sales fall flat.

Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy, a unit of the Beijing municipal government, has postponed its $630 million Hong Kong share sale, while Italian luxury goods maker Prada made a lacklustre debut in the financial hub in June after raising a lower-than-expected $2.14 billion.

Australian miner Resourcehouse also shelved an IPO originally slated to raise as much as $3.6 billion, citing weak market conditions.

Still, China’s top hypermarket operator Sun Art Retail group soared 47 per cent on its Hong Kong trading debut last month, after raising $1.06 billion from its initial public offering.    Beijing-based New China Life had 93 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) in premium income last year. The firm has over 1,400 outlets China and 24 million customers, according to its website.

Hong Kong, Aug 11, 2011 (AFP)

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Aon Benfield sponsors the third edition of the Atlas of Natural Disaster Risk in China, a Chinese government research project that for the first time looks at how hazard, vulnerability and exposure integrate to help implement more effective prevention measures. Beijing Normal University, a partner of Aon Benfield Research’s academic collaboration, has led the collective work by key research institutes in China.

Over the past 20 years, the annual economic loss from Chinese natural hazards has reached nearly 200 billion RMB. Most recently, major events have included snow storm and the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, the drought in north, northeast and southwest China in 2009, and the 2010 Yushu earthquake.

The Atlas pools almost a decade of research to deliver some 400 maps. It comprises all major natural perils including earthquake, flood, drought, landslide, storms, snow, hail, frost, forest fire and grassland fire. Presented on a national and local basis, the Atlas also includes maps showing topography, climate, vegetation zones and land use.

The key benefits of the updated Atlas include:

1. The most recent and high-resolution data which has never been made public

2. Loss estimates combining vulnerability and exposure, in addition to hazard – which is a better reflection of the impact of natural hazards on the economic development of China.

3. Greater focus on agriculture-related risks to reflect the central government’s investment in agriculture insurance.

Dominic Christian, co-CEO of Aon Benfield, said: “The Atlas of Natural Disaster Risk in China is an important resource for both domestic and global re/insurers that are intending to play a meaningful role in China, and I hope readers will be as impressed as I am by the sophisticated research and detailed data available in China on natural disaster risks. We are incredibly proud to sponsor the Atlas.”

Helen Ye, Executive Director and Head of Catastrophe Reinsurance Production of Aon Benfield Asia, commented: “The pace of catastrophe model development in China has been very encouraging but all Chinese models still require better calibration to reflect local construction practices and loss experience. In addition, due to limited loss data and a fast changing risk landscape, a consensus on the risk outlook is yet to be achieved. The Atlas is the first step in tackling some of these challenges. By leveraging the data and research presented in this Atlas, we will be able to develop optimum solutions for our clients.”

Professor Peijun Shi, Executive Vice President of Beijing Normal University and Chief Editor of the Atlas added: “The previous atlas focused on spatial and temporal distribution of hazards and their impact based on historical records. The new atlas moves one step forward to include vulnerability and exposure. For example, the snow storm section looks at the impact on livestock, airports and their importance to the social-economic system.  The Atlas provides a scientific basis for the Chinese government and businesses to develop disaster risk measures, using state-of-art risk mapping in natural disasters, ecological safety and global change in China.”

Source : Aon Benfield Press Release

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Fitch Ratings cordially invites you to attend a complimentary morning conference where several divisions across Fitch Ratings get together to provide treasurers with a deeper understanding of the ways to mitigate exposure to bank and money market fund counterparty risk.

The conference will be held at the InterContinental Avenue Marceau Hotel – 64 avenue Marceau, 75008 Paris on Wednesday 14th September, 2011.

Registration will commence at 8.30am. The presentations will run from 9.00am with opportunity to meet with the analysts.

The same seminar is also taking place in London    /   Register

Featured Topics

– Setting the Scene – Counterparty Risk in 2011

– Backdrop – Sovereigns Drowning in Debt

– Are Banks Still Safe-Vaults? How Can Fitch Bank Ratings Help You?

– Money Market Funds – Are You Giving Up Control? How Can Fitch Money Market Fund Ratings Help You?

– Panel Session

Speakers

– Gerry Rawcliffe, Managing Director

– Aymeric Poizot, CFA, CAIA

– Douglas Renwick, Director

Contact : Camille Leblond / 33 (0)1 44 29 91 86 / fitch.parisnews@fitchratings.com

View Agenda,

Click here to Register.

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The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has submitted their formal response to the FSA proposed guidance on the: Selling of general insurance policies through price comparison websites.

BIBA welcomes this practical move from the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) to improve consumer protection. These sites are relatively new and have not been the subject of any specific targeted regulation because the FSA rules were written before they gained the wide market penetration they now enjoy.

Graeme Trudgill, BIBA’s Head of Corporate Affairs, said: “These sites have primary involvement in the sale process of personal lines insurance and it is very important that they have appropriate regulatory guidelines in place.”

Graeme added: “BIBA agrees in full with the draft FSA guidelines and is keen to co-operate with the regulator and the comparison sites to see these guidelines implemented and supervised appropriately. We believe the cost benefit analysis demonstrates these important changes can be implemented for a relatively small sum.”

BIBA’s top three issues that it would like to highlight in order to prevent consumer detriment are:

– The sites must be recognised as more than just introducers, they are arranging, sometimes advising and these activities bring more appropriate regulatory responsibility.

– Comparison sites must provide customers with the relevant information including the disclosure documents. They must ensure their sales procedures are in accordance with the ICOBS rules. They must explain the terms and conditions, ensure the customer’s eligibility, provide status disclosures around suitability of advice and provide a proper statement of demands and needs.

– The practice of ‘pre-population’ of answers with defaults should end.

Steve White, BIBA’s Head of Regulation and Training said: “The full detailed draft guidelines are an important step in consumer protection, they should lead to greater clarity giving customers a better understanding of the products they have purchased and less chance of them buying an unsuitable product. The guidelines should be fully implemented without delay.”

Source : BIBA Press Release

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The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is advising those people unfortunate enough to be affected by the recent riots around the UK to speak to their insurance broker as soon as possible so they can assist with their loss.

Most home insurance should cover people for fire, looting or damage and many policies will also cover people for alternative accommodation costs if they cannot stay in their home.  Commercial insurance policies will normally cover businesses for damage to their premises, including the financial loss due to interruption to their business as a result.  Some policies will also cover those businesses which are not damaged, but whose trade is affected by the aftermath.

Graeme Trudgill, BIBA’s Head of Corporate Affairs, said: “We want to do everything we can to help those affected.  It is important for people to contact their insurance broker to arrange for immediate help and support and to make the affected property as secure as possible.“

Steve Foulsham, BIBA’s Technical Services Manager, commented: “The majority of insurance providers operate a 24 hour claims line and can help people arrange for emergency repairs and the damage to be inspected as quickly as possible.”

Source : BIBA

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Following news from the Association of British Insurers that escape of water in people’s homes is costing £2 million every day, Allianz Insurance has released new data which reveals that in 2010, the amount paid by the insurer in domestic water damage claims jumped by 44.0% compared to the previous year.

Allianz’s research reveals that the top four origins of water damage in the home are:

1. Feeder pipes (39%)
2. Bath/Shower (11%)
3. Toilet (9%)
4. Radiators (6%)

The research also found that the most likely rooms to be damaged as a result of internal water damage are:

1. Kitchen
2. Main Bathroom
3. Lounge
4. Main Bedroom

The most expensive claims are caused by open pipes which are not concealed or contained in a wall cavity. According to the insurer, these claims cost an average of £7,547, which is around £4,000 higher than the average.

Allianz’s Head of Home Management, Gareth McChesney, said: “Water damage claims account for almost 30.0% of all claims costs for our household business and this is a significant for us and important to the cost of household insurance. It should also be remembered that water damage makes a mess of people’s homes, sometimes ruining valuable photographs and documents which cannot always be reconstructed. No one wants to come down in the morning to find their kitchen under a foot of water.”

McChesney added:

“It is difficult to know why we are seeing this sudden increase in the number of claims but we recommend that all water connections should be inspected regularly to ensure they are not corroding. Also, if in doubt about a DIY job, using a professional could be a lot less stressful and less costly in the long-run.”

Source : Allianz

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Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised its outlook on Volkswagen Insurance Co. Ltd. (VICO) to stable from negative. At the same time affirmed the ‘A-‘ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on VICO.

The outlook revision and affirmation mirror the Aug. 2, 2011, rating action on VICO’s parent, Volkswagen AG (A-/Stable/A-2).

The outlook revision on Volkswagen reflects S&P’s opinion that Volkswagen has substantially improved its financial risk profile over the past year, thanks to a strong operating performance.

The rating action and outlook revision on VICO are not due to any changes to its stand-alone characteristics. Rather, because VICO qualifies as a captive insurer under rating criteria, S&P rates it at the same level as its parent. The ratings on VICO will therefore move in lock step with those on Volkswagen.

The stable outlook on VICO reflects that on its parent Volkswagen.

Source : S&P

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British care home operator Choices Care is to be restructured after falling into financial difficulties, administrator Zolfo Cooper said Friday, one month after the closure of bigger rival Southern Cross.   

Zolfo Cooper said in a statement that Choices Care has fallen into administration — the process whereby a troubled firm calls upon independent financial help to restructure the business.

Choices Care, which operates in Scotland and the north east of England, employs approximately 1,400 staff and helps around 800 people with learning difficulties.

Zolfo Cooper has already sold the supported-living division of the business to rival company Mears Care Scotland. Other parts of the business will operate as normal until buyers are found.

“The key aspect all along in this process has been to ensure that services continue to be provided to all users without interruption,” said Peter Holder, a partner at Zolfo Cooper.

“We are extremely pleased therefore to have agreed a swift sale of the supported living business and wish all parties concerned well in their respective futures as they continue to provide services to users,” he added in a statement.

The collapse of Choices Care comes after Britain’s largest care home operator, Southern Cross, closed down last month. The group, which had 31,000 residents, was hit by rising rents.

Southern Cross handed its homes over to the company’s landlords on July 11, after failing to reach a deal to restructure its rental agreements.

London, Aug 5, 2011 (AFP)

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Germany’s Munich Re announced its second quarter net profit rose 3.8 per cent to 736 million euros ($1.05 billion) despite a heavy charge on its holdings of Greek debt.   

The result was well above an average analyst forecast of 650 million euros compiled by Dow Jones Newswires and Munich Re shares posted solid gains in early trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

Munich Re said that to ensure clarity in its figures it had had based the value of Greek bonds it owns on their market level as of June 30, resulting in a total charge of 703 million euros that cut 125 million euros from its net profit.

The group was boosted however by price increases in some reinsurance segments, chairman Nikolaus von Bomhard said, and by improved earnings in its primary insurance activities.

Gross premium revenue gained 9.2 per cent from the second quarter of 2010 to 11.97 billion euros but this was less than the 12.05 billion euros expected by analysts.

A statement said Munich Re still expects “to close the year 2011 with a profit,” although its original target “can no longer be achieved” given heavy losses in the first quarter.

Natural catastrophes early this year, especially earthquakes and tsunamis in New Zealand and Japan, have already led Munich Re to declare 2011 its worst year ever.

It now faces charges stemming from the Eurozone debt crisis but Munich Re said that debt issued by Greece, Ireland and Portugal represents only four per cent of its bond portfolio, which is worth more than 70 billion euros.    With regard to 2011 as a whole, von Bomhard stressed that “despite the exceptionally heavy claims burdens, we aim to achieve a positive result for the year.”

That would hold true “even if there were additional major losses in the further course of the year, provided these did not significantly exceed the average figure to be expected,” the statement said.

The Munich Re chairman underscored the benefit of building up its primary insurance activities which provide “stable earnings and balances the burdens that occur in reinsurance due to high claims costs for natural catastrophes or major industrial risks.”

He added that “this year especially, our integrated business model is again proving its worth.”

Munich Re shares showed a gain of 1.93 percent to 99.70 euros in early Frankfurt trading, while the DAX index on which they are listed was up 1.22  per cent overall.

Frankfurt, Aug 4, 2011 (AFP)

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French insurance company AXA announced its interim results this morning in the Paris headquarters. AXA recorded a strong growth in earnings with a fourfold net income of EUR 4 billion. Business profitability increased with life and savings margins up from 21% to 26%, and with P&C current year combined ratio down 3.8 points to 99.2%.

Total revenues were down 3% to EUR 46,836 million.

Life and Savings revenues were down 7% to EUR 27,841 million, with New Business Volume down 1% to EUR 2,948 million, and New Business Value up 11% to EUR 771 million. As a result, new business margin increased from 21% in the same period last year to 26%. Net inflows amounted to EUR 3.6 billion against EUR 6 billion in the first half of 2010.

Property and casualty revenues increased by 3% to EUR 15,350 million. Personal lines revenues grew 4% largely driven by a 4% average price increase, and commercial lines revenues grew 1% with an average price increase of 2% partly offset by lower volumes with a continuing focus on selective underwriting.

Asset management revenues were up 3% to EUR 1,658 million mainly driven by higher performance fees and real estate transaction fees at AXA IM as well as higher distribution fees at AllianceBernstein. Average assets under management were stable at EUR 849 billion and net outflows amounted to EUR 23 billion; 24 billion net outflows at AllianceBernstein offset by positive net inflows of EUR 1 billion at AXA IM.

Underlying earnings were up 10% to EUR 2,222 million of which life and savings underlying earnings were down 1%. Adjusted earnings were up 7% to EUR 2,393 million, benefiting from higher underlying earnings.

Net income increased by 308% to EUR 3,999 million knowing that 2010 first half results included EUR 1,478 million exceptional loss related to the partial sale of the UK Life operations, and first half of 2011 benefited of 1,440 million realised by the sale of News Zealand and Australian operations.

So far this year, AXA shares are down 3.4%, outperforming the European insurance sector .SXIP, which has lost 8%.

AXA CEO Henri de Castries comments :

“AXA begins the second half of 2011 with a significantly increased exposure to high growth markets. This was achieved through both strong organic growth and active capital management, including the announced sale of Canadian operations, the sale of Australia and New Zealand operations and he acquisition if minority interests in Asia.

“Although the macro-economic environment remains uncertain, AXA clients can rely on the financial strength of the group and the strong quality and diversification of our business and invested assets.

“Our company-wide strategic plan, Ambition AXA, was launched this year and the first half results show that we are off to a good start in meeting our objectives. Going forward, we should continue to benefit from our selective approach in mature markets, our acceleration in high growth markets and the ongoing efficiency programs which have started to deliver.”

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British insurer Aviva announced that net profits slumped 89 per cent in the first half on exceptional charges, but its underlying earnings rose and its shares jumped thanks to a dividend hike.   

Profit after tax stood at £125 million ($204 million, 143 million euros) in the six months to the end of June, Britain’s second biggest insurer after Prudential said in a results statement.

That compared with net profit of £1.105 billion in the equivalent period during 2010.

Aviva said the plunge in profits was caused by charges linked to Dutch group Delta Lloyd, in which it sold a 15-percent stake in April, cutting its shareholding to 43 per cent.    Operating profit, earnings before tax and interest charges, rose five per cent to £1.34 billion during the reporting period.

The operating figure, which is keenly watched by the market, beat analyst expectations for underlying profit of £1.28 billion, according to a poll by Dow Jones Newswires.    Aviva’s share price rose 1.43 per cent to 380.17 pence on London’s declining stock market, after the company lifted its interim shareholder dividend by five per cent to 10 pence a share.

The group added that its sales declined by nine per cent to £16.5 billion in the first six months, hit by the divestment of assets.

Aviva agreed in June to sell its British roadside rescue division RAC to private equity firm Carlyle for £1.0 billion, as it sought to focus on core insurance and savings businesses in priority markets.    Aviva is the world’s sixth biggest insurer, with more than 53 million customers and 45,000 employees worldwide.

London, Aug 4, 2011 (AFP)

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Swiss Re and Aon Benfield today announced that they have successfully implemented automated technical accounting, claim and cash transactions using Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) messaging standards in the US and Canada.

Swiss Re has also implemented automated technical accounting messaging in the London market and in designated areas of Europe with Aon Benfield and other brokers. The integrated technical accounting, claim handling and cash settlement systems and processes have been integrated with Swiss Re’s global Property and Casualty IT reinsurance platform and workflow.

“This is a great step forward in our ongoing efforts to enhance service and quality with our brokers and our clients.  The implementation of electronic messaging for back office processing provides a high quality, efficient, expedited interaction, said Judy Mann, President and CEO of Swiss Re’s US Broker unit. “Using electronic messaging to support our premiums, claims and settlement processes is part of Swiss Re’s global initiative to strengthen service and operational efficiencies. The use of ACORD standards is vital components in globalizing this process.”

Ian Summers, Director of Change Strategy at Aon Benfield and Joint Chair of the Rüschlikon initiative, added: “Working with Swiss Re and other trading partners, we continue to drive the development and adoption of electronic messaging to support the reinsurance transaction in this case for premiums, claims and settlement. This forms part of Aon Benfield’s global initiative to enhance client service and provide operational efficiencies for our trading partners.”

Representatives of Swiss Re and Aon Benfield’s Global teams continue working on global implementations as part of the Ruschlikon Global Initiative. The not-for-profit venture, which was founded in 2009, brings together global brokers, reinsurers and cedents to identify the advantages of exchanging electronic data using ACORD messaging standards.  The initiative aims to achieve the following benefits for its members including heightening efficiency through the elimination of redundant data capturing and better data quality; process certainty through commonly agreed upon rules and performance standards; data certainty through the mapping to a single market standard (ACORD XML messages); process acceleration through automation and reduction of exceptions; and smoother cash flow and reduction of unallocated payments.

Greg Maciag, CEO of ACORD, noted: “Projects such as the Ruschlikon Global Initiative are helping to unify standards and enhance consistency within both the reinsurance and insurance markets.  When trading partners use these standards to exchange information, all parties benefit. We hope our efforts will serve as models for others to replicate.”

Source : Aon

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Fitch Ratings says in a newly-published comment that the majority of the Italian and Spanish insurers rated by the agency would be likely to see their ratings affirmed, even in the hypothetical scenario of a modest downgrade in the sovereign rating of their respective countries.

The comment explores the current relative ratings levels of Italy (‘AA-‘/Stable Outlook) and Spain (‘AA+’/Negative Outlook), the insurance organisations in these countries, and how Fitch would expect to react if the sovereign rating fell below the rating of the insurance companies. Fitch does not employ a rigid “sovereign cap” for insurance ratings, but it is also rare that insurance company ratings would be significantly higher than that of a sovereign.

Fitch currently rates seven insurers in Italy, three of which are rated at the same level as the sovereign (i.e. ‘AA-‘), and four of which are rated several notches below the sovereign. Thus, a hypothetical one notch downgrade of Italy’s sovereign rating would place it below the ratings of the three noted insurers.

“Fitch would not expect to downgrade the ratings of the majority of rated Italian insurers, even in the event of a one-notch downgrade of Italy’s sovereign rating,” says Federico Faccio, Senior Director in Fitch’s insurance team. “Nevertheless, there is some linkage between the strength of the Italian economy, the rating of a domestic insurer and the rating of the sovereign. It is unlikely that the rating of a domestic insurer could be more than one notch higher than the sovereign, thus creating downgrade risk were the sovereign to be downgraded by more than one notch.”

Fitch also rates six insurers in Spain. The highest rated is Generali Espana at ‘AA-‘ /Stable Outlook, two notches below the sovereign rating. Accordingly, even if Spain’s sovereign rating was hypothetically downgraded by three notches, this is unlikely to affect the ratings of these six insurers, given the relatively significant gap between the insurers’ ratings and Spain’s sovereign rating. Thus, it would take a severe downgrade before it could lead to downgrades of the Spanish insurers.

Fitch’s comment “Italian and Spanish Insurance Ratings: Widespread Rating Actions Not Expected in the Hypothetical Scenario of a Sovereign Downgrade” is available at www.fitchratings.com.

Source : Fitch Ratings

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Nearly 100 children aged between five and seven in Britain have been treated for anorexia or bulimia in the past three years, according to figures released on Monday.  

The statistics show that 197 children aged between five and nine were treated in hospital in England for eating disorders, fuelling campaigners’ fears that young children are being influenced by photographs in celebrity magazines.

The figures from 35 hospitals showed 98 children were aged between five and seven at the time of treatment and 99 aged eight or nine. Almost 400 were between the ages of 10 and 12, with more than 1,500 between 13 and 15 years old.

The statistics, released under the Freedom of Information Act, are believed to underestimate the true figures because some state-run hospitals refuse to release any data.

Other hospitals would only release figures for children admitted after they had become dangerously thin, excluding those undergoing psychiatric therapy as outpatients.

The findings come after experts called earlier this year for urgent action to improve the detection of eating disorders in children.

About three in every 100,000 children under 13 in Britain and Ireland have some sort of eating disorder, according to a study conducted by experts from University College London’s Institute for Child Health.

Susan Ringwood, chief executive of the eating disorders charity B-eat, said the latest figures reflected “alarming” trends in society, with young children  “internalising” messages from magazines which idealise the thinnest figures.

“A number of factors combine to trigger eating disorders. Biology and genetics play a large part in their development, but so do cultural pressures, and body image seems to be influencing younger children much more over the past decade,” she said.

Children were receiving “pernicious” messages, Ringwood told the Sunday Telegraph.

“The ideal figure promoted for women is that of a girl, not an adult woman.  That can leave girls fearful of puberty, and almost trying to stave it off,” she said. The Department of Health said it was spending £400 million ($660 million, 455 million euros) over the next four years on psychological treatment for eating disorders, including a specific programme for children and young people.

“Early intervention is essential for those with eating disorders,” a spokeswoman said.

London, Aug 1, 2011 (AFP)

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Standard Life welcomes the new FSA Policy Statement issued.

The key points are:

– Cash rebates – FSA to undertake further research

– Voting rights – all customers must be notified of their right as an underlying investor to receive voting rights

– Advisers – can operate on a single platform.

Ronnie Taylor, Standard Life’s retail managing director said:

“We welcome confirmation that an adviser can operate on a single platform for the majority of investment business, and the change to voting rights. However we are disappointed that the debate on payments to platforms and cash rebates has not been resolved.

“We will now progress with implementation and supporting advisers through the changes they’ll need to make for 31 December 2012.  We will work closely with advisers to support them to ensure changes are made with minimal impact to their day to day business.

“We fully support the RDR and the changes it will make to financial services distribution in the UK.”

In detail – Standard Life’s view on the key points of today’s Policy Statement:

Cash Rebates

We are disappointed that the debate on payments to platforms and cash rebates has not been resolved.  Customers benefit from the greater transparency and flexibility our current process offers.  The FSA plans to conduct further analysis in this area, and we will actively participate in this.

Voting rights

We are in favour of allowing and encouraging underlying investors to exercise their voting rights.   We believe that giving customers the opportunity to opt-out of receiving this information would have been a more sensible approach, this would have met both the needs of the customer whilst minimising the additional cost.

Single Platform

We welcome confirmation that an adviser can operate on a single platform for the majority of investment business. We believe the choice to operate from a single or multiple platforms will enable advisers to continue to service their clients in the most effective way to suit their business model.

Source : Standard Life Press Release

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The budget crises facing the Eurozone and United States mean there are no longer any “absolutely safe investments,” the head of the leading global reinsurer Munich Re told a German newspaper.   

“Absolutely safe investments, which we had been accustomed to for years, no longer exist”, Nikolaus von Bomhard told Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview to be published on Monday.

“A state bond is no longer what it used to be — a safe investment in all respects,” said Bomhard, who manages 200 billion euros ($288 billion) in assets. Bomhard also warned that Europe would not be able to sustain further crises.

“Europe cannot bear new crises and new remedies to crisis” such as the efforts made to sustain the Greek economy, he said.

He also said he was worried by the failure to reach a deal on raising the US debt ceiling.

“We could still bear a partial payment default of the United States. But in any case this will cause us headaches because of the domino effect it would trigger,” he said.

Berlin, July 31, 2011 (AFP)

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The Insurance Charities is delighted to announce that the Big Balloon day 2011 tethered hot air balloon ride will be on Tuesday 2nd August 2011. Allianz Insurance plc is generously sponsoring the London event.

Big Balloon day is The Insurance Charities annual fundraising and awareness day. Balloon themed events, which have been organised by local CII institutes, insurance companies and brokers, have been taking place around the UK.

One of the events happening this year is a tethered hot air balloon ride in the heart of the city. Insurance folk will have the chance to take a ‘flight’ up to 100ft in the air in a tethered hot air balloon, for a minimum donation of £5.

The ride is operating between 10 am and 4 pm on Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1RR.

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The Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Centre is hosting a seminar on non-modelled perils to help insurers explore the risks of volcanoes, landslides and tsunamis that could impact their portfolios.

Estimates of risk must include how non-modelled perils contribute to insurance losses and how these link to modelled perils. This is most recently illustrated by the tsunamis generated by the Japan and Chile earthquakes and the disruption caused by the Icelandic volcanic eruptions.

Working in conjunction with Aon Benfield, we also look at how to apply this research in model development and catastrophe management, to create a more accurate picture of insurers’ overall catastrophe risk.

 

2-5pm BST on 20 July 2011 with registration from 1.30pm at the Mint Hotel, 7 Pepys Street, City of London, EC3N 4AF 

REGISTER: To register and for more information, please click here

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British Gas is the latest supplier to announce a double digit price rise in response to increasing wholesale costs.

The increase comes after weeks of hints from British Gas, and speculation among experts in the industry.

Scottish Power was the first of the Big 6 to make a move in June, adding around £175 to the bills of its 2.4 million customers. Scottish Power will increase their gas prices by an average of 19% and electricity by an average of 10%, effective 1st August 2011.

Lisa Greenfield, energy analyst says “Struggling households will be dismayed by this news, and as British Gas is the largest supplier in the UK, many families will be hit hard. We suggest consumers opt for a fixed tariff as they offer price security against from future hikes.  Paying by direct debit and managing your account online will also be a cheaper option.  The best deals are sure to be pulled soon so we urge consumers to act quickly. Today’s news means that significant price rises for all customers are inevitable as other suppliers follow where British Gas leads.”

Source : Confused.com

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