A new report released by A.M. Best Co. Inc., has stated that the unprecedented number of natural disasters, poor returns from investments, and an economy that continued to struggle in 2011, has made it exceptionally difficult for the American property and casualty insurance industry’s commercial insurance and reinsurance sectors to grow and has caused notable hurt to their operating performances. It’s estimated by the rating agency, based in Oldwick, New Jersey, that last year’s underwriting losses from underwriters in the commercial property and casualty sector were approximately $15.2 billion. This…
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Samsung Life Insurance to invest in distressed assets from U.S. and Europe
As the economies of Europe and America continue to struggle, Asian insurers are seeing great opportunity for investments. Samsung Life Insurance, the largest insurance group in South Korea, has taken a keen interest in distressed assets that banks in Europe and the U.S. have put up for sale. The company had stepped back from investments when the recession of 2008 made a major impact on the global economy. Now, however, the opportunities seem to great to ignore. Samsung has more than $130 billion in assets and is willing to invest…
Read MoreEstimates of combined ratio for Property and Casualty in 2011 at 107.5 percent
The American property and casualty (P/C) industry has released its estimates for the losses it experienced in 2011 – a year filled with catastrophe – and has reported the largest underwriting losses that it has seen since 2006. According to A.M. Best Co., the ratings agency, in 2011, insurance companies were impacted by a tremendous number of natural catastrophes, unlike the volumes that have ever been experienced either within the United States or internationally. As a result, the losses from catastrophe-related damages were more than twice the amount that had…
Read MoreFederal Insurance Office anticipated report on modernizing insurance regulations delayed
The Federal Insurance Office was supposed to submit its much anticipated report on the modernization of insurance regulation to Congress in January, but the agency has missed that deadline. The U.S. Treasury Department, which oversees the Federal Insurance Office, claims that there must be more work done on the report before it can be released. This delay could mean that the report will not be released for week or months; news that insurers were not happy to hear. The report is meant to show Congress how the country’s insurance regulations…
Read MoreWillis Group claims captive insurance companies could be key to future of insurance industry resiliency
The global insurance industry is undergoing extreme change. The change is brought on by the rapidly evolving risks that the industry is facing. As risk changes, insurers are feeling pressure to become more adaptive and resilient against emerging threats. The Willis Groups, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, believes that captive insurance companies could be the key to weathering the storms of the future. Joe Plumeri, CEO of the Willis Group, attending this year’s World Captive Forum in Miami, Florida, highlighted the usefulness of captives to insurers around the…
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