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Pensioners’ expected retirement incomes have fallen for the second consecutive year, according to new research from Prudential.

The insurer’s sixth annual ‘Class of’ study, which tracks the future plans and aspirations of people entering retirement, found that those retiring in 2013 expect average incomes of £15,300 per year – £200 less than the Class of 2012’s expectations.

According to the research, expected retirement incomes have fallen in four of the past five years, and are now £3,400 lower than they were in 2008, when a typical person entering retirement anticipated an annual income of £18,700.

Yet, the real-term fall in incomes is even higher due to rises in living costs. Since 2008, inflation has caused prices to rise by 14.7 per cent. Someone who retired last year would therefore need an annual income of £21,400, to have the same buying power as an average person entering retirement in 2008.

Despite expected retirement incomes falling nationally overall, they actually increased in certain areas of the UK. The most significant year-on-year increases were in Yorkshire & Humberside, where they increased by £600 to £13,400. Notable increases also occurred in the South West, where an average 2013 retiree’s estimate was £500 more than that of their 2012 counterpart – £15,600 compared with £15,100. Scotland, the North West and London also saw increases in expected retirement incomes.

Vince Smith Hughes, retirement expert at Prudential, said: “People entering retirement this year are continuing to feel the squeeze as their expected incomes have fallen for the fourth time in five years, to a new low.

“The continuing trend is even more concerning, when you consider that rising inflation is eroding pensioners’ spending power in real-terms.

“Wherever possible, people entering retirement should consult a financial adviser or retirement specialist, who will be able to talk them through all of the retirement income options available to them. It can be tempting to go for whatever product offers the highest initial income, but this might not be the best value in the long-run as it could leave dependents at risk, or fail to protect you against rising living costs.

“Those who are still working should think about saving as much as possible as early as possible, to give themselves the best chance of building up a decent pension pot to help to ensure a comfortable retirement.”

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Italian insurance giant Generali said it will buy out an insurance joint venture from Czech group PPF, acquiring the 49 per cent of the company it does not already own for 2.5 billion euros ($3.7 billion).

Generali will buy 25 per cent of eastern European venture GPH by April 2013 and the remaining 24 per cent by April 2014, the insurer said in a statement.

GPH is one of the principle insurance groups in eastern and central Europe, present in 14 countries with 14 million customers. The region is Generali’s fourth-biggest market after Italy, France and Germany.

“This transaction eliminates all uncertainty over our development strategy in Central and Eastern Europe and the resources required from the Group to put it in place,” Generali group head Mario Greco was quoted as saying.

As part of the deal, GPH will sell its insurance operations in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, in consumer finance insurance to PPF for 80 million euros, Generali said.

Milan, Jan 08, 2013 (AFP) 

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It is announced that as part of the ‘Jelf Money after Work’ proposition, Jelf Employee Benefits has developed a Retirement Coaching Service.  This is available to all companies that have employees approaching retirement.

The coaching will help employees too:

– Make fact-based decisions about retirement

– Think about fitness and diet

– Understand lifestyle planning issues such as managing time, maintaining friendships, etc

– Consider the financial decisions they will need to make

The aim is to take the fear out of retirement and encourage individuals to take active control.

The service complements a company’s employee benefits package and equips an employee to make the best use of any pension savings they have made.  Jelf is offering this as part of a holistic approach to help the employee throughout their financial journey.  The advent of auto-enrolment has again put company pensions under the spotlight, and while emphasis is being put on saving for retirement, those employees that are about to retire also need support.

With the removal of the Default Retirement Age the impetus has gone for some staff to retire, and those that fear retirement may put it off.  The Retirement Coaching service enables the responsible employer to support their staff at one of the biggest life changes they will go through.

Coaching can be tailored for specific employees at all levels, from the shopfloor to senior executives within a single company, alternatively employers can send their staff on one of a series of planned courses throughout the UK starting in March.

Alan Millward, corporate benefits director from Jelf Employee Benefits said: ‘There is a worrying lack of support for those about to retire.  At a time when there are many decisions to be made, employees need guidance.  We help on all the key areas, and strongly encourage partners to be involved too.  Some employers may talk about helping their staff plan for retirement and then do very little when the time actually comes.  Our Retirement Coaching service is perfect for companies that want to be employers of distinction and to help their staff at this crucial time. ’

Decisions that staff make at retirement will affect the rest of their lives, and this is when they need help.  Jelf Employee Benefits believes that employers that have supported them throughout their pension planning have a responsibility to support them when they come to retire.

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Commenting on the latest car registration figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which show a 3.7% increase to 123,557 units compared with December 2011, David Raistrick, UK Manufacturing Leader at Deloitte said:

“The UK new car market has finished the year on a high with its tenth consecutive month of growth when compared with 2011 results. The growth levels achieved during December were somewhat lower than the preceding months and whilst enabling the 2012 sales figures to exceed most expectations, the fall in the level of growth achieved may be the indication of more challenging times ahead as the European market overall continues to be stalled by the financial problems affecting the Eurozone.

What will 2013 bring?

With mixed messages coming from economic statistics – unemployment numbers falling whilst output data hovers around the borders of low growth/contraction, it is unlikely that the UK will see any major growth in new car sales during 2013. Indeed, following the best year for new car sales since 2007, there is a strong likelihood that 2013 will see a reduction in the numbers of new cars sold. Artificial stimuli, such as pre-registrations or self-registrations, are not possible on a sustained basis so we expect them to decrease during 2013.

Fast forward to December this year, what are the developments we might expect to have seen during 2013? Manufacturers and retailers may be looking at the decreasing numbers of new drivers taking the current driving test as many find themselves priced out of car ownership and running costs. With insurance premiums for young drivers on a continual upward spiral, our research indicates that the idea of car ownership is becoming less attractive and the requirement for more flexible “ownership” options more relevant.

With regard to car ownership, as longer term retention becomes the norm, the widening availability of five-year low interest finance deals will enable car buyers to manage the cost of ownership over the longer period. Longer vehicle retention is already having an effect on used values as both ex-fleet vehicles and used vehicles generally have seen an increase in values due to the shortage of prime stock. Our analysis indicates that this will lead to greater overall levels of franchised dealer servicing and improve dealer/customer relationship retention.

With the Block Exemption Regulation changes coming up mid-way through the year, we may also see significantly greater numbers of car retailer operations changing hands than in a typical year.”

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The International Insurance Society (IIS) has announced Robert H. Benmosche, President & CEO, AIG, as the 2013 Insurance Hall of Fame winner. Mr. Benmosche will be inducted at the June 17 gala dinner in conjunction with the IIS 49th Annual Seminar at the Grand Hyatt in Seoul, Korea, June 16 – 20, 2013.

The Insurance Hall of Fame award honors insurance leaders who have made a broad, encompassing and lasting contribution to the insurance industry and who are recognized by their peers as successful leaders, innovators and visionaries. A slate of five nominees for the Insurance Hall of Fame was selected by the IIS Honors Committee, a body of senior insurance executives and academics, and voted on by the IIS membership by secret ballot tabulated and conducted by Deloitte & Touche.

“We cannot think of anyone who more fully embodies the criteria for the Insurance Hall of Fame Award than Mr. Benmosche”, says Bernhard Fink, IIS Honors Committee Chairman. “During his long and successful career in our industry he has demonstrated extraordinary leadership skills and business acuity”. “AIG’s astonishing turnaround during Mr. Benmosche’s three year reign is nothing short of remarkable and further speaks to his outstanding management abilities evident throughout his extensive career in the industry”, adds Michael J. Morrissey, IIS President and CEO.

IIS Chairman Norman Sorensen states, “the entire insurance industry, and society as a whole, owes Mr. Benmosche their immense gratitude for coming out of retirement to return AIG to profitability and into a fully privately owned enterprise once again”.

Robert H. Benmosche joined AIG as President and Chief Executive Officer in August 2009, coming out of retirement to lead AIG out of a deeply complex crisis that involved unprecedented involvement by the U.S. government in a publicly traded company and widespread public anger over that support.  He is credited as “the man who saved AIG” from financial collapse during the worldwide financial crisis that started in 2008, and returning AIG to financial stability and profitability.  Importantly, AIG’s turnaround mitigated a global wave of repercussions that the failure of a company that size could have caused.  AIG’s potential demise threatened millions of businesses, families, and individuals around the world including the more than 85 million customers and 57,000 global employees whose financial security would have been jeopardized had the company collapsed.

Mr. Benmosche’s appointment to AIG is recognized as one of the most important steps in the company’s turnaround. Since his arrival in 2009, he has articulated a clear strategy for AIG’s emergence as an independent company that preserves and creates shareholder value. He has inspired AIG’s employees to improve each day to build the world’s most valuable insurance company.  Mr. Benmosche has shown the same extraordinary level of leadership, energy, and commitment to AIG since he joined the company.

Prior to joining AIG, Mr. Benmosche had an exemplary career as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MetLife, retiring in 2006 after eleven years during which he led the transition of MetLife from a mutual to a public company in April 2000. Since then, MetLife has risen to be the largest life insurer in North America. During Mr. Benmosche’s tenure, MetLife acquired General American and Traveler’s Life and Annuity. He joined MetLife as an Executive Vice President in 1995 to direct the merger of New England Mutual with MetLife, and to head MetLife’s Individual Sales force and Retail Product Development. Mr. Benmosche was President and Chief Operating Officer from 1997 until he was named Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer in 1998.

Before joining MetLife, Mr. Benmosche spent more than 13 years at PaineWebber Group Incorporated, where he served in several capacities including: Senior Vice President of Marketing, CFO of the Retail Brokerage Division, and Executive Vice President from 1989-1995, serving as the head of Operations and Technology and Director and Sales Manager for over 1,500 retail investment advisors. He also directed the merger of Kidder Peabody into PaineWebber in 1994. Earlier in his career, Mr. Benmosche was a Chase Manhattan Bank Vice President and a staff consultant with Arthur D. Little. Mr. Benmosche received his bachelor’s degree from Alfred University and served in Korea as a Lieutenant in the United States Army Signal Corps. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse Group AG. He has also served on the Boards of Directors of the New York Philharmonic and Alfred University. He is a native of Brooklyn, New York.

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Hill Dickinson Fraud Unit [HDFU] has analysed ten years of historic claims data to develop a sophisticated fraud risk profiling model which risk assesses and scores individual motor claims and the claimants within them.  The resulting output allows clients to align their counter fraud responses towards a level of risk they deem acceptable.

The model forms the basis of new rules built to interrogate new claims data through HDFU’s Netfoil Mass Data Analysis [MDA] service.  The fraud risk profiling model allocates points to multiple risk factors.  The resulting risk score for each claim and claimant washed through the database is returned in an intuitive format and spreadsheet.  HDFU advises on those claims considered highly suspect and warranting further investigation.  Insurer clients can adapt their own benchmark up or down to meet their own risk parameters.

Typically, counter fraud databases offering a fraud screening solution base their results on simplistic rule breaches, with outputs delivered in the industry’s traditional Red Amber Green [RAG] status format.  This approach, whilst historically successful in identifying potentially fraudulent claims, delivers a high false positive ratio, demanding significant human intervention and associated cost. The new sophisticated fraud risk scoring matrix from HDFU delivers a ground breaking false positive ratio of less than 3%.  In addition, the elemental approach to scoring delivers the ability to identify single high risk persons within an incident.  This enables HDFU to focus any resulting investigation, leading to reduced claims life cycle and increased return on investment for clients.

Peter Oakes, Head of Fraud, Hill Dickinson says: “Fraud risk profiling and the new MDA process is part of an ongoing Netfoil development programme.  HDFU is uniquely placed to be able to raise the bar on fraud screening in this way, due to our continued investment in our analytical expertise and our Netfoil database with its rich mix of defendant and claimant data sources.”

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Bailed-out Belgian banking and insurance company KBC is pulling out of Slovenia’s Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) and will sell its 22-percent stake back to the state, Slovenia’s finance ministry said Friday. 

“KBC and Slovenia have agreed the sale of KBC’s 22-percent stake in NLB,” the ministry said in a statement.  The 2.7-million-euro ($3.6-million) deal includes all shares owned by the Belgian company and was in accordance with KBC’s strategic programme agreed in 2009 with the European Commission, it added.

KBC, which first invested in NLB in 2002 by acquiring a 34-percent stake, is being forced to divest assets under the Commission’s oversight after being bailed out by the Belgian government during the 2007-2009 global financial crisis.

Slovenian Finance Minister Janez Sustersic said Friday that KBC had agreed to the deal under time pressure and that this meant “great losses” for the Belgian group, which has invested some 530 million euros in NLB since 2002.

KBC had pledged to the EU that it would sell its stake in the troubled NLB by year-end “but due to their small stake and little control over the bank they found no buyer and offered it to us,” Sustersic told a news conference.

The transfer will be carried out at the beginning of 2013 and the purchase “will allow a more efficient process of looking for a new long-term partner for NLB,” according to the ministry.  With the newly acquired shares from KBC, Slovenia will now hold “around 86 per cent” of NLB, Sustersic added.   The agreed price of one euro per KBC share “does not reflect the value of the bank but the result of negotiations,” he noted.   Last month, Sustersic had suggested that the government sell its stake in NLB to a foreign investor. But the junior coalition partner, the Slovenian People’s Party (SLS), opposed the move, requesting that the state keep 25 pervcent.

A so-called “bad bank” could now take over NLB’s bad loans in the first half of next year, paving the way for a new investor to be found by the end of 2013, the finance minister said Friday.   Parliament approved in October a bill setting up a “bad bank” to take over large volumes of bad debt held by state-owned banks that have raised fears the country may need a bailout.

Ljubljana, Dec 28, 2012 (AFP)

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Lloyd’s of London said claims arising from Superstorm Sandy would cost the insurance market $2.0-2.5 billion (1.5-1.9 billion euros).

“Lloyd’s, the world’s specialist insurance market, has today announced its estimated net claims before tax from Superstorm Sandy are between $2.0 billion and $2.5 billion,” it said in an official statement.

“The range of the claims estimate is consistent with insurance industry losses of between $20 billion and $25 billion. We expect minimal impact on Lloyd’s member capital and no impact on the Central Fund.”

The group stressed that it was seeking to pay claims as soon as possible to those in need.

“As always, our priority is to pay valid claims as quickly as possible and help the communities in North America and the Caribbean affected by Sandy get back on their feet,” said Lloyd’s Chief Executive Richard Ward.

“The Lloyd’s insurance market remains financially strong and, while claims from this storm could still evolve over time, the market’s total exposure is well within the worst case scenarios we model and prepare for.”

Swiss insurer Zurich Insurance Group had revealed on Monday that Superstorm Sandy had hit it with claims worth about $700 million (532 million euros).  Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama asked for $60.4 billion in emergency funds to repair devastation after the storm, which flooded the New York subway system and knocked out electricity for hundreds of thousands of people.

The floods and wind also destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals, and created chaos in fuel supplies after refineries and gas stations were damaged.

London, Dec 19, 2012 (AFP) 

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Declining yields for corporate bonds have created the potential for a ‘bond bubble’ under which a rising interest rate scenario could result in significant valuation losses for institutional fixed-income investors, according to a Fitch Ratings study.

The persistence of abnormally low interest rates – and the inevitable reversion to higher levels – is an issue with many dimensions, affecting financial markets, credit conditions, and economic growth. Fitch’s study focuses on identifying, sizing, and contextualizing the risks of rising rates to fixed-income investors.

To provide context to the interest-rate-risk portion of the ‘bond bubble,’ Fitch analyzes the potential losses on a hypothetic yet representative ‘BBB’-rated U.S. corporate bond under a various scenarios. Under one Fitch scenario, a typical investment grade U.S. corporate bond (i.e. ‘BBB,’ 10-year maturity) could lose 15% of its market value if interest rates were to rise to early-2011 levels (a 200 basis point [bp] rise). Under the same scenario, a longer duration bond (e.g. 30 years) could experience a 25% valuation loss.

By comparison, these potential market-related losses would far exceed the roughly 50bps in credit losses on Fitch-rated ‘BBB’ corporate bonds experienced in 2002, the highest historical default rate for this set.

While the $8.6 trillion U.S. corporate bond market could experience significant market value losses, the risks to longer-term, income-oriented investors (e.g. insurance companies) are mitigated by asset-liability management (ALM) and other factors.

Trading-oriented investors and outliers that deviate from sector norms (e.g. longer duration portfolios) face elevated risks in a rising rate environment. Fitch’s analysis looked at the effects across all types of major institutional investor segments.

The timing, pace, and magnitude of future rate increases is critical to how these risks play out. Monetary policy will likely remain accommodative for the next several years, reducing the near-term likelihood of a rate increase. However, a continuation of low rates could exacerbate the ultimate risks to investors, since over time a larger share of portfolios would consist of lower-coupon securities.

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Cooper Gay has this week appointed David Yip as Head of Treaty for Cooper Gay Hong Kong as part of its expansion drive in Asia.

In his new role, Yip will place particular emphasis on supporting existing and new treaty clients in Greater China. He will report to Stephen Britten, Cooper Gay’s Regional Managing Director for Asia, and work closely with his colleagues in Shanghai and London.

Before joining Cooper Gay, Yip spent 25 years with Aon, rising to the position of Executive Director at Aon Benfield China before resigning in the summer.  Prior to joining Aon as part of the acquired Heath Hudig-Langeveldt Re team, he also spent five years at SCOR Hong Kong.

Cooper Gay has been actively trading in the Chinese treaty market for ten years and opened a representative office in Shanghai seven years ago.  Following the recent announcement of a significant investment in the Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford Group (CGSC) led by Lightyear Capital, Cooper Gay intends to substantially grow its presence in the Asian market.  In particular it is intended to develop the Shanghai representative office into a fully-licenced broking operation and to establish an office in Beijing.

Stephen Britten, Cooper Gay’s Regional Managing Director for Asia said:  “We are delighted that a market practitioner of David’s experience and standing in the market has chosen to join our team in Hong Kong.

“The Greater Chinese market is an extremely important region for Cooper Gay and we are focused on driving considerable expansion in the region through the appointment of high calibre individuals and teams that will add to or widen the scope of our service.

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Mitsui Sumitomo at Lloyd’s, a leading UK non-life insurer, has further strengthened its underwriting team with two new appointments.

Neil Marking is appointed as Underwriter – Accident & Health (A&H) and will report to Steve Ranzetta, Class Underwriter. Marking has over 12 years’ experience in the A&H market, and joins from Chubb where he was UK Underwriting Manager, Accident & Health.

Jonathan Wye is appointed as Underwriter – Casualty within the Corporate team where he will focus on mid-large corporates and coverholder business. Wye was previously Liability Underwriting Manager (London Region) within Brit Insurance’s UK regional operations, the renewal rights of which were acquired by QBE early this year, and has 20 years underwriting experience in the London market.

Commenting on the new appointments, Andrew Dougall, Underwriting Manager – Casualty, Professional Lines, Accident & Health at Mitsui Sumitomo at Lloyd’s, said: “Neil and Jonathan are important additions to our underwriting teams. Both appointments demonstrate our continuing commitment to the Casualty & A&H markets and our appetite to expand the capabilities and scope of this important portfolio in the UK and internationally.”

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The AXA Wealth Investment Bond is set to be one of the few bonds to remain in the market in 2013 that will facilitate adviser charging post-RDR.

Nick Elphick, chief operating officer, AXA Wealth, said: “With the imminent introduction of RDR, adviser options in the investment bond market look limited. At a time when many businesses have decided not to facilitate adviser charging, AXA Wealth is one of the few major providers to have invested in its bond to ensure it is fully RDR-ready. We have seen growing interest in recent weeks and expect this to continue in 2013.”

The Investment Bond can be tailored to clients’ needs and can be adapted as their circumstances change. AXA Wealth is the only provider in the market to offer true segmentation, giving clients the ability to split the bond into up to 99 independent segments or policies, each with its own investment objective and strategy.

The Investment Bond also offers time-saving automated portfolio rebalancing and drip-feeding portfolio management options, allowing easier management of the bond for both the client and financial adviser.

Elphick continued: “The Investment Bond gives access to a wide range of externally managed Investment Funds, which include the Tailored Selection, Family Fund Range and Multi-Manager Fund Range, providing an investment solution, carefully selected by the Architas Investment Team.

“One of AXA Wealth’s key strengths is the breadth of the proposition we offer clients. While much attention has been paid to platforms being RDR-ready for 1 January, it should not be forgotten that AXA Wealth has a range of popular off-platform products. Our Investment Bond is one of these, which is down to its wide fund choice and flexibility to meet individual investor needs.”

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Zurich yesterday reported record levels of customers applying for life assurance ahead of the Gender Directive taking effect on 21 December 2012.  

Customer applications via intermediaries have increased by 50% compared to the year to date weekly average, suggesting growing consumer awareness about the importance of protection and securing cover at lower, gender specific rates, at the same time as G-Day enjoys greater prominence in the media. 

Peter Hamilton Zurich’s head of protection for UK Life said, 

”We cannot be sure that this increase in customer interest is being driven by the soon to be implemented Gender Directive. However, any signs that growing numbers of customers are engaging and protecting their financial position can only be a good thing.  In the current economic climate, protecting yourself and your family has never been more important.   

”At Zurich we’re doing our best to ensure that the majority of our protection policies submitted online get an instant decision, and we are doing all we can to ensure that customers have cover in place on gender specific rates before 21 December 2012.” 

The following dates apply to Zurich’s protection products:

– 10 December 2012 – gender neutral pricing took effect for Zurich’s Adaptable Life Plan (whole of life) guaranteed rates and Income Protection Plan

– 17 December 2012 – gender neutral pricing takes effect for Zurich’s Level Protection and Decreasing Mortgage Cover plan

Applications submitted before these dates will be issued on gender specific rates up until 20 December 2012. We are able to act upon requirements received up until 6.30pm on 20 December and will still issue that night. 

Applications not fully processed by 20 December 2012 will be automatically issued on gender neutral rates once all requirements are received, assuming the customer and adviser are happy to proceed with the new premium.

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The winter holiday season should be a joyous time of year. However, it is also one of the times when households are most at risk from certain types of fires and injuries. Specialist home insurer Hiscox is urging homeowners, not only to check their household insurance is up to date but to act responsibly this Christmas. Seasonal risks such as decorations which may burn easily, faulty tree lights, festive log fires and candles left burning can lead to accidents in and around the home.

National fire statistics indicate that Christmas is a particularly dangerous period, with more fires occurring in the home during this time than at any other in the year.

Steve Mayfield, Head of Direct Household at Hiscox, said: “Christmas is a time for relaxing at home with family and friends but it can be hazardous if people fail to take adequate safety precautions. People often put fire safety to the back of their minds when preparing for Christmas; however this is when there are additional fire hazards in the home and because of new and possibly more expensive gifts, there’s more to lose financially. A few simple equipment checks and other precautions can keep families safe to celebrate.”

“For example, investing in LED replacements for older style fairy lights makes sense” continues Steve. “Older light bulbs get hot, and if one bulb blows, the increased electricity to the remaining bulbs could be enough to start a fire, particularly if the tree they’re placed on has dried out.”

Hiscox has published a series of safety tips to help policyholders keep safe this Christmas:

– Fit a smoke alarm, or check the batteries on your existing alarm

– Invest in a fire extinguisher in case a small fire breaks out

– Never leave candles unattended

– Make sure candles are firmly secured and keep them away from draughts and curtains, furniture or anything else that could catch fire

– Never try to move a candle when it is alight

– Take care when throwing Christmas wrapping into the fireplace; the wrappings burn irregularly, and can send out dangerous sparks or chemicals which can cause explosions

– Test Christmas tree lights thoroughly and use no more than three strands linked together

– Never buy second hand Christmas tree lights unless they have been checked by an expert

– Remember to turn off all lights at night and when you leave the house

– We all use extra appliances at Christmas – ensure adapters and extension leads are not overloaded

– Ensure all cables and flexes are in good condition

– Upgrade old fairy lights and don’t use, or fix up, old frayed cords with tape

– If you burn a real fire, make sure it is out completely before going to bed or leaving the house

– Ashes should be taken out of the house and left to cool in a metal box

And when it comes to insurance, ensure:

– You have adequate insurance cover which is up to date

– Your contents insurance covers the value of any additional items in the house

Valuable items or gifts over the ‘Single Article Limit’ are specified on your insurance policy. Some contents insurance policies have a Single Article Limit that assumes that no single item covered by the policy is worth more than the amount stated. If you have personal possessions that exceed this amount, you will need to talk to your insurance company, or cover them under a specialist insurance policy. You may need to list and specify each item over the limit to have them included on your cover.

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France should allow doctors to “accelerate the coming of death” for terminally ill patients, a report to President Francois Hollande recommended Tuesday.

Hollande referred the report to a national council on medical ethics which will examine the precise circumstances under which such steps could be authorised with a view to producing draft legislation by June 2013.

“The existing legislation does not meet the legitimate concerns expressed by people who are gravely and incurably ill,” Hollande said. The report said physicians should be allowed to authorise interventions that ensure quicker deaths for terminal patients in three specific sets of circumstances.

In the first case, the patient involved would be capable of making an explicit request to that effect or have issued advance instructions in the event of him or her becoming incapable of expressing an opinion.

The second scenario envisages medical teams withdrawing treatment and/or nourishment on the basis of a request by the family of a dying patient who is no longer conscious and has not made any instructions.

The third would apply to cases where treatment is serving only to sustain life artificially.

The author of the report, Professor Didier Sicard, stressed that he did not support any measures which “suddenly and prematurely end life.”

“We are radically opposed to inscribing euthanasia in law,” Sicard told a press conference. He also stressed that he was not advocating Swiss-style clinics where people are provided with lethal medication to enable them to end their own lives.

Instead, Sicard said he favoured amendments to a 2005 law which already authorises doctors to administer painkilling drugs at levels they know will, as a secondary effect, shorten a patient’s life.

Sicard’s report was drawn up after extensive consultation with the terminally ill and their families which revealed widespread dissatisfaction with a “cure at all costs” culture in the medical establishment.

Paris, Dec 18, 2012 (AFP) 

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Swiss insurer Zurich Insurance Group said on Monday that Superstorm Sandy had hit it with claims worth about $700 million (532 million euros). 

“It’s difficult to say exactly how much the final amount will be,” Sylvia Gaeumann, a spokeswoman for the insurer told AFP, pointing out that the impacts of “business interruption take a while to be assessed.”

She said: “It could be a bit higher or a bit lower (but) usually our estimates are good.”

She explained that the actual amount of claims was higher than $700 million, but that the insurer was partially shielded through reinsurance coverage, which had kicked in.

This however meant that Zurich Insurance Group would need to renew its reinsurance contract, which was expected to cost an extra $58 million before tax, the company said.

The estimated costs would be recorded in the company’s fourth quarter and full-year results, which will be published on February 14, it said in a statement.

Zurich Insurance Group was not hit so hard as its compatriot Swiss Re, which late last month put its exposure to Sandy at about $900 million.

Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama asked for $60.4 billion in emergency funds to repair devastation after the storm, which flooded the New York subway system and knocked out electricity for hundreds of thousands of people.

The floods and wind also destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals, and created chaos in fuel supplies after refineries and gas stations were damaged.

Zurich, Dec 17, 2012 (AFP)

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US securities regulators charged German insurer Allianz SE on Monday with bribing Indonesian government officials, and fined the company $12.3 million for violating overseas corruption laws. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission said its investigation uncovered evidence that Allianz’s Indonesia subsidiary had made more than $650,000 in payments to officials to win some 295 insurance contracts on government projects.

Allianz “made more than $5.3 million in profits as a result of the improper payments,” the SEC said.

The payments, made in 2001-2008, broke the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which can be applied to companies with US units or whose securities are traded on US exchanges.

Allianz, which has its headquarters in Munich, Germany, agreed to pay $12.3 million to settle the charges, the SEC said.

“Allianz’s subsidiary created an ‘off-the-books’ account that served as a slush fund for bribe payments to foreign officials to win insurance contracts worth several million dollars,” Kara Brockmeyer, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s FCPA unit, said in a statement.

The US has stepped up its use of the FCPA to police corrupt behaviour by US  companies and companies with US units in overseas markets, with the aim of helping companies that do not pay bribes compete.

Washington, Dec 17, 2012 (AFP)

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New research from Zurich shows that the majority of UK adults are unaware of the limited financial support available to them if they become unable to work through illness or disability.

As part of the ICM survey (commissioned by ‘The Syndicate’ on behalf of insurers) exploring peoples knowledge of benefits, Zurich asked ‘What constitutes a typical claim period for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)?’ – a state benefit available to qualifying adults regardless of their employment status.

Worryingly, over a third of respondents (38%), said they had no idea about how long they were able to claim ESA benefit.

The findings also show that just over a fifth (22%) thought they were entitled to claim for between 4-6 months. Less than a fifth of those surveyed (16%) gave the correct answer of between 9-12 months.  Other responses varied widely, ranging from less than one month to over two years, although only 8% had an expectation of State ESA support beyond 2 years. The report will be launched in full on 23 January 2013.

Nick Homer, Zurich UK Life’s Protection Manager said: 
 “It’s encouraging to see a shift in public opinion with few people now having an expectation of long term State support, however there remains great confusion amongst the public regarding the level of State benefit provision for those who are unable to work as a result of illness or injury. Regrettably, this clouds the important message regarding the need for private provision.

“As an industry we have a role to play encouraging more people to take responsibility for their financial planning.  At Zurich, we remain committed to helping people make provision for themselves and their families – whether through their workplace or through their own private arrangements – should the worst happen.

Kevin Carr, CEO, Protection Review added 
”With ongoing reductions in Government benefits we are seeing a huge transfer of risk from Governments and large corporations onto individuals and it is important for consumers to act themselves to protect the one thing that pays for everything else, which is their income.”

ESA was introduced in 2008 and replaces a range of incapacity benefits. Following the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) period the government pays basic ESA allowance for 13 weeks while applicants are assessed.  After the 13 week assessment phase eligible applicants are put into one of two groups.  One is for people who are able to work (Work Related Activity Group) and another for those whose illness or disability severely limits what they can do (Support Group).

See table and link below for more detail.

ESA, how it works in practice:

Claim Period                         Eligibility                               Amount paid

First 13 weeks                        Under 25                             £56.25

First 13 weeks                      25 or over                              £71.00

From 14 weeks         Work Related Activity Group        Up to £99.15

From 14 weeks        Support Group                                   Up to £105.05

www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/overview

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The Financial Times and mergermarket this evening named the top M&A dealmakers in Europe at its annual awards ceremony. Hosted at The Savoy in London, this renowned industry event awarded the top dealmakers from the past year across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Corporate dealmakers
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer successfully retained their title of European Legal Adviser in 2012, with advice to UPS on its EUR5.1bn acquisition of TNT featuring among its mandates this year.

Goldman Sachs was crowned European Financial Adviser of the year, the first time it has been recognised by the judging panel in this category. The European Boutique Financial Adviser prize went to Perella Weinberg Partners, which advised on the EUR3.3bn sale of Energias de Portugal to China Three Gorges, one of the largest cross-border Chinese deals of the year.

The Corporate M&A Deal of the Year accolade was awarded to the merger of Glencore and Xstrata, which on its own represents 8% of total European M&A value this year. Ernst & Young scooped the Accountancy firm of the Year prize following its provision of transaction services on EUR79bn of European M&A deals this year, including the mega-merger. Brunswick Group won European Public Relations firm, which this year was tasked with advising the major Xstrata shareholder Qatar Holding on its communication about the Glencore merger.

Private Equity award winners
Private Equity Deal of the Year was awarded to KKR for its sale of Alliance Boots to Walgreen Company for EUR5.2bn. Acquired in what remains the largest European leveraged buyout at the height of the leverage boom in 2007, the minority stake sale is widely regarded as a landmark transaction for the private equity industry. KKR was also recognised as the Private Equity Firm of the Year.

On winning the Private Equity firm accolade, Dominic Murphy, Member of KKR and leading partner on the Alliance Boots investment, commented: “We are delighted to have received this award, which confirms the excellent capability of KKR’s European team in identifying and unlocking attractive investment opportunities though deep sector insight, strong relationships with entrepreneurial management teams, in-house operational expertise and a thoughtful approach to responsible investing. We have been at the heart of some of the most exciting investments in Europe in the past year, including the tie-up between Alliance Boots and Walgreens, and we look forward to 2013 with optimism and encouragement. Our successes have been further strengthened by the recognition we have received in winning this award.”

The accolade for Private Equity Legal Adviser was awarded to Linklaters, with notable mandates from the past year for Macquarie, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Bridgepoint. Private Equity Financial Adviser and European Mid-Market Financial Adviser were awarded to Rothschild, which was also successful in the Italian and the United Kingdom financial advisory categories. The European Mid-Market Legal Adviser prize was awarded to DLA Piper for the third consecutive year.

Giovanni Amodeo, global editor-in-chief at mergermarket, said: “This year transactions are of a significant importance for the M&A world. The sale by KKR of a successful business like Boots to a strategic investor gives hopes to the private equity industry that exit are still possible even in rough markets. The Glencore-Xstrata deal also shows that the appetite for large strategic deals is there.”

IPO prize
The inaugural award for IPO of the Year went to the listing of Direct Line, included for the first time in 2012 following the launch of mergermarket’s equity capital markets database.

Paul Geddes, Chief Executive Officer, Direct Line Group, said: “I’m delighted to receive this award on behalf of Direct Line Group and the many people who worked very hard to make this IPO a success. However, for us this is merely the start of our journey to deliver on our commitments as a quoted company.”

For a full list of winners, please click here >>

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The IT services market has suffered a blow as total contract value (TCV) dropped by a third in 3Q12 to its lowest level in nine years, according to Ovum. The number of private sector deals hit an 11-year low, with public sector TCV and deal volume at their lowest levels in three years.

In Ovum’s latest analysis of IT services contracts activity, the global analysts reveal that the TCV of IT services deals announced in the three months ending September 2012 was $18.9bn, down 33 per cent on the same period in 2011. The volume of deals fell sharply, to 332 from 438 in 3Q11, representing the least activity in a single three-month period in nearly five years, since just 324 contracts were tracked during the fourth quarter of 2007.

“The signs of recovery in the IT services market apparent in the second quarter of 2012 were largely conspicuous by their absence in 3Q12,” explains Ed Thomas, senior analyst at Ovum. “There will need to be a significant upturn in both TCV and deal volume if last year’s performance is to be matched in 2012. On current form, both annual TCV and the number of deals are set to hit 10-year lows, as the global economic crisis continues to impact the performance of the IT services industry.”

Europe dominated the few private sector contract deals that were signed in 3Q12, while activity dropped sharply in North America, a market on which many IT services vendors depend. Overall private sector TCV was given an air of respectability by two mega-deals (contracts valued at $1bn or more) announced by CSC and IBM, yet the quarterly return of $8.3bn was still the lowest since 2Q11 ($7.1bn).

For the public sector, TCV in 3Q12 was $10.6bn, down 43% on the same period of the previous year, while the number of deals tracked by Ovum fell 22% to 195, with no mega-deals. Largely as a result of the lack of large projects, the average value of public sector contracts slipped to $54.6m, almost half the average public sector award in 2Q12.

“This sharp dip in activity will wipe out any optimism engendered in the previous quarter, when an increase in the number of deals brought to an end seven consecutive quarters of decline,” concludes Thomas.

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