Live Insurance News

FDIC files lawsuit against large banks responsible for small bank closures

May 23, 2012 S.Vagus

Large banks accused of causing the failure of Illinois banks The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has filed lawsuits against several large banks this week after seizing control of two smaller banks in Illinois. These banks failed in May of 2009, but the FDIC only recently filed civil suits against the banks once its investigation into the matter came to a conclusion. The lawsuit names Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Deutche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and HSBC as defendant in the case. FDIC aims to recover…

Zurich Insurance posts first quarter profits after decline in natural disaster claims

May 11, 2012April 30, 2013

Insurer sees profits in the wake of 2011 catastrophes Zurich Insurance Group, Switzerland’s largest insurance company, has released information concerning its first quarter profits for this year. The company posted high profits this year after overcoming the challenges presented by the past two consecutive years of natural disasters. Last year’s catastrophes broke record losses throughout the world, leaving many insurance companies in a vulnerable position. Large insurers, like Zurich, have been able to recover from the disasters and have even shown promising growth in the first quarter of 2012. Zurich…

Berkshire Hathaway announces Q1 2012 insurance unit profit doubling

May 7, 2012April 30, 2013

The company made this announcement in preparation for the annual meeting with Chairman Warren Buffet. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has announced its first quarter profit as having doubled following derivative bets and insurance units that performed significantly better than anticipated. The company’s net income rose to $3.25 billion, which means $1,966 per share. In 2011 at the same time, it reported an income of $1.51 billion, which was $917 per share. The lower numbers last year were blamed on the losses from the claims made following the Japan earthquake and Tsunami.…

International Monetary Fund claims global economy is improving due to international cooperation

March 21, 2012 Marc

The global economy is showing significant signs of improvement, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director Christine Lagarde. Lagarde traveled to Beijing this week to discuss the economic improvements that are being seen all over the world. Much of the improvements come from bold moves made in the insurance industry as a way to remedy the European financial crisis. With the help of insurers and reinsurers, the European Union was able to conduct the largest debt restructure in history and pull Greece from the brink of economic calamity. Lagarde notes…

New Entrants Adopt AIR Catastrophe Models to Better Manage Portfolios of ILS and Reinsurance Contracts

March 1, 2012March 2, 2012 Guest Author

BOSTON, March 1, 2012 – Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) announced that investment companies such as ILS Capital Management are leveraging catastrophe modeling solutions to better manage portfolios of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance contracts. “We selected AIR as the main model for our risk management architecture because it is the best solution for modeling a diverse portfolio of ILS and traditional reinsurance contracts,” said Tim Tetlow, president and COO of ILS Capital Management, Ltd. “Its event-driven approach is critical in allowing portfolio correlation and seasonal aspects of…

Review shows decrease of 30 percent in global mining insurance market capacity, following losses

February 9, 2012February 9, 2012 Marc

The mining insurance marketplace was buffeted with losses from every direction in 2011, including $2.7 billion from natural catastrophes, in addition to a total of $835 million from more than 60 operational losses. According to a report from the global insurance broker, Willis Group Holding plc, called the Mining Market Review, the estimate of $3.5 billion in total losses that are faced by insurers in the mining industry has caused the insurance capacity to face a withdrawal of 30 percent since the beginning of last year. The timing of the…

Federal regulators close banks in Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania, each putting a dent in the nation’s insurance fund

January 23, 2012January 23, 2012 Nordstrom

Federal regulators from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) seized banks in Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania late last week. The seizures mark the first bank failures of 2012, continuing an unfortunate trend that began with the economic recession of 2008. Hundreds of banks have fallen prey to closures during the economic crisis. Last year, 92 banks were shut down by the FDIC, markedly lower than the 157 closures seen in 2010. Regulators expect that the number of closures will be lower this year than it had been in previous years.…