Features archive
Branding drives insurance into sports’ hands
December 14, 2009
SPORT, by its very nature, entails huge elements of risk taking and in most disciplines produces a winner and a loser. At the heart of insurance is an appetite for risk, one that unveils itself as ...
Gerhardt says trend towards consolidation set to continue
January 19, 2009
PARIS RE’s chief executive has said he will not rule out growth by acquisition, although he said it is not currently the firm’s main priority. While he does not expect to see many mergers ...
Lloyd’s corporates announcement
January 15, 2009
MEASURES designed to put Lloyd’s corporates on a more even footing with other specialist insurers were announced in the UK’s Pre-Budget Report 2008 (PBR), reports Will Gay, a solicitor at Lovells LLP....
Tighter controls: an industry issue
January 15, 2009
THIS has been made explicit by the FSA’s confirmation that it is conducting a thematic review into the adequacy of systems and controls in place at a number of commercial insurance intermediary firms...
Warning to firms over systems
January 15, 2009
AON discovered two suspicious groups of transactions involving third parties in June 2006. A proper assessment was not undertaken until May 2007, following enquiry from an overseas enforcement agency,...
New year brings no obvious trend
January 05, 2009
THE ONSET of a new year is a time for reflection and ambition, yet the arrival of 2009 is dogged by an unprecedented level of uncertainty, writes Scott Vincent. Today’s Insurance Day focuses on a...
Year ends with glitz, splits and new ties
December 22, 2008
A TOUCH of glitz and glamour descended on insurance in December as 500 industry leaders headed for London’s Grosvenor House Hotel for the 8th Insurance Day London Market Awards. The night’s big winner...
Chaos has left risk-averse investors demanding greater returns on capital
December 18, 2008
DESPITE the ambiguity pervading financial and reinsurance markets, it is clear that systemic risk has increased. Unprecedented chaos in financial markets has left investors ...
Solvency II: profound changes will be subject to lively political discussions
December 18, 2008
THE timeframe for implementation of Solvency II and a number of specific issues related to it are still the subject of lively political discussion. Even though we might ...
How market reform led by London will encourage a healthier global market
December 17, 2008
THE 2007 target set by the Market Reform Group (MRG) is for all submissions in London to be electronic by the end of 2009. That will mean a bit of a step change from 2008! We ...
Meltdown Monday: day it all changed
December 15, 2008
SEPTEMBER proved to be the costliest month for the insurance industry for a number of years. The month began with hurricane Gustav bearing down on the US Gulf coast. “Ghost town” was the headline of...
Damp squib followed by the real deal
December 15, 2008
AUGUST saw storm activity intensify and the third month of the 2008 hurricane season began with a warning for the Caribbean. Inhibiting conditions As August got under way, atmospheric conditions were...
Bertha an early warning of stormy months ahead
December 15, 2008
JULY saw the early start of the Cape Verde storm season as above-average sea-surface temperatures in this region of the Atlantic led to the formation of tropical storm Bertha. The storm became the...
ClimateWise has achieved a lot but needs to do more
December 12, 2008
REPRESENTING the ClimateWise group of insurance organisations at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Poznań, Poland this week in my role as chairman clearly ...
Industry has to convince commission to renew BER
December 10, 2008
FOLLOWING hot on the heels of the European Commission’s sector inquiry into business insurance has come its consultation on the future of the insurance block exemption regulation (BER). While not ...
Lloyd’s puts faith in data to manage cycle
December 10, 2008
WITH global economies facing deflation and the UK’s prime minister, Gordon Brown, lamenting his boast of having brought “an end to boom and bust”, it might appear untimely to be discussing how ...
Roll of Honour
December 08, 2008
Charitable Initiative of the Yearin association with Lloyd’s Winner: Lloyd’s Charities Trust Highly commended: Lockton International Corporate Risk Manager of the Year Winner: the insurance team of...
Lockton takes Company of the Year at ID Awards
December 08, 2008
MORE than 450 people gathered in London’s Grosvenor House Hotel to celebrate the winners of this year’s Insurance Day London Market Awards. Now in its eighth year, this event recognises innovation, ...
Hurricanes, US cat bills and ‘perfect storm’ warning
December 08, 2008
JUNE saw the official start of the hurricane season, amid predictions of above-average activity in which the east coast of the US was looking increasingly prone to a major hurricane landfall. ...
Excitement as Brazil opened its doors
December 08, 2008
APRIL will be remembered as the month Brazil opened its doors to foreign investment for the first time, after an almost 70-year monopoly held by the state-backed reinsurer IRB. This was met by great...
ID Summit well timed as China and US hit by cats
December 08, 2008
LEADING figures from the risk sector embarked on London in May for the third instalment of the Insurance Day Summit to be held in the city. From catastrophes and regulatory amendments to succeeding in...
Alarm bells ring louder as ‘perfect storm’ draws near
December 08, 2008
BY THE end of the second quarter, the first signs of the troubles to come were becoming clear. Catastrophe losses were mounting as the hurricane season approached and ripples of uncertainty ...
The beginning of the market downturn makes insurers nervous as profits fall
December 01, 2008
FOR THE insurance sector, February was to be a case of more of the same as the stormy weather that had characterised January continued to push up claims levels. The month ...
First signs of a stormy year to come
December 01, 2008
PERHAPS heralding the gloomy financial year that was to follow, the opening month of 2008 began in miserable style with storms battering both the US and the UK. Snow fell on both sides of the...
Changing times cannot pushclimate off the EAIC agenda
November 28, 2008
THE TOPICALITY of any conference agenda is always challenged by the timeframe needed to organise such a large-scale event. When plans were drawn up for the East Asian Insurance Congress (EAIC) ...