Italian insurance market looks healthy, attracts foreign investors and insurers

Despite the growing economic crisis in Italy, the nation’s auto insurance industry is showing promising signs of expansion. The industry is beginning to attract the attention of foreign insurers, consumers, and independent agents due largely to its strong presence on the Internet. Insurance sold through banks in Italy is also on the rise, imbuing the industry with tentative hope for future growth and solvency. According to the Institute for the Supervision of Insurance (ISVAP), one of Italy’s regulatory authorities, online sales of auto insurance rose by 7% in the first…

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Lloyd’s of London files suit against prominent organizations in Saudi Arabia holding them responsible for 9/11 attacks

The attacks against the U.S. on September 11, 2001, have had a profound impact on nearly every aspect of life throughout the whole of the world. Terrorism is now a word that nearly everyone knows, a word that invokes varying degrees of discomfort for those that hear it. While many caught in the attacks have finally begun to put the broken pieces of their lives back together, Lloyd’s of London, one of the largest insurance companies in the world, has filed a federal lawsuit against those it believes are responsible…

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Antitrust regulator in the United Kingdom to begin motor insurance rate inquiry

An antitrust regulator in the U.K. is beginning a probe into the increasing private auto insurance premiums in the country, as a precursor to actions that may be taken to alter and better the way the marketplace functions. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will examine evidence regarding the increases in price that occurred annually over a five year period and will work with the Financial Services Authority and the Ministry of Justice throughout this investigation. The OFT says that it will release its findings in December. According to a…

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U.K. insurers market outside of Lloyd’s performs better than expected

Property and casualty insurance companies that are operating outside the Lloyd’s of London market in the United Kingdom have brought in the equivalent of approximately 75 percent of the income of their more high-profile competitors, which is a notably larger amount than had been previously predicted.  According to the first comprehensive survey of the sales of members of the International Underwriting Association (IUA), the insurers, known as the London company market, generated $26.6 billion (16.4 billion pounds) in gross premium income last year. On the other hand, last year, Lloyd’s…

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