Trouble is brewing in the North Sea where a major natural gas leak is causing problems for Total SA, a multinational oil company. The leak began at one of the companies abandoned platforms, dubbed the “well of hell” by environmentalists. Total is claiming that it will take at least six months to shut off the flow of natural gas due to high pressures within the reservoir beneath the platform. The company now faces serious backlash from the insurance industry for being at the heart of yet another man-made environmental disaster.…
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AIR Worldwide Updates European Wind and Earthquake Catastrophe Models
MONTE CARLO, Sept. 12, 2011 – Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) released updates to its Extratropical Cyclone and Earthquake Models for Europe. Both models were significantly expanded to include additional European countries and provide a consistent and comprehensive assessment of the extratropical cyclone and earthquake risk throughout Europe. “AIR Worldwide offers complete and robust extratropical cyclone and earthquake models for Europe,” said Dr. Jayanta Guin, senior vice president of research and modeling at AIR Worldwide. “With the expanded regions and enhancements to these models, insurers and reinsurers now…
Read MoreAntitrust 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…
Read MoreReport shows insurance fraud is skyrocketing
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has released a report with statistics indicating that there was an increase of 9 percent in fraudulent insurance claims between 2009 and 2010. The report showed that in 2010, there were approximately 133,000 fraudulent claims, with a value of £919 million. This indicates that there are an average of 2,500 false claims made every week by the public. In fact, over the past five years, the value and quantity of detected fake insurance claims has increased by 100 percent. It is estimated that the…
Read MoreUnited Kingdom to comply with insurance gender rating ruling from the European Union
The United Kingdom has announced that it will be complying with an insurance ruling coming from the European Court of Justice, the judicial arm of the European Union. The rule bans European insurance companies from imposing gender-sensitive premiums and benefits. This has drawn the opposition of insurers, who argue that premiums are determined by a multitude of complex factors and that limiting their ability to calculate premiums accurately would result in pricing that is either too high or too low for risk. Despite the opposition, the rule will be enforced…
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