Aug
31
Allianz Group Profit Up 22% for Year to Date
Filed Under Allianz, Insurance Company, United Kingdom | 1 Comment
Allianz Group, the German insurer, has reported a profit of US$4.95 billion (EUR 3.9 billion) for the first-half of 2010, equivalent to a 22% increase over the same period last year. Revenues during the first half of 2010 increased to US$71 billion (EUR 56 billion) from US$63.4 billion (EUR 49.9 billion) during the same period in 2009.
In terms of net income, the corresponding increase achieved by Allianz during the same period year-on-year was 39.5% to US$3.43 billion (EUR 2.7 billion) from US$2.4 billion (EUR 1.9 billion).
Gross written premiums for property and casualty insurance cover increased a 2% year-on-year to US$30.35 billion (EUR 23.9 billion) from US$29.7 billion (EUR 23.4 billion) achieved in the first half of 2009, with the corresponding operating profit amounting to US$2.36 billion (EUR 1.86 billion).
Allianz recorded second-quarter (Q2) of 2010 revenues in the United Kingdom of US$671 million (EUR 528 million), compared to Q2 2009 revenues of US$624 million (EUR 491 million); driven mainly by an increase in policy count in their commercial insurance lines and their new corporate partnerships in the Automotive, Retail and Financial Services industries. Allianz in the UK delivers tailored insurance solutions to these corporate partners and provides a wide range of market-leading general insurance products to companies, brokers and consumers.
The statement released by Michael Diekmann, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz SE, the holding company of Allianz Group, explained: “In a first half-year marked by exceptionally high natural catastrophe losses, our success shows that our diversified approach across business segments and regions is helping us to ensure stable results. In addition, our strong capitalization and conservative capital management underline the reliability for which Allianz is renowned.”
Insurance Company mentioned:
Allianz Group is one of the leading global services providers in insurance and asset management. With approximately 153,000 employees worldwide, the Allianz Group serves approximately 75 million customers in about 70 countries. On the insurance side, Allianz is the market leader in the German market and has a strong international presence.
Aug
18
Bajaj Allianz Star Package Covers Multiple Risks in One Policy
Filed Under Allianz, Health Insurance, Income Protection, Life Insurance, Medical Insurance, Uncategorized | 1 Comment
India-based joint-venture Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company has launched a new policy dubbed the Star Package Policy, which provides modular coverage of up to eight separate risks, ranging from health insurance coverage to home contents insurance.
Star Package provides eight coverage options which are a mix of health insurance, life insurance and general insurance risks. The policy options are incredibly flexible, offering a variety of choices in sums insured for each policy module, as well as family floaters and further options depending on the policy module. The policy requires that a minimum of three coverage options be selected when the policy is taken out. The eight coverage options are: hospital cash, health guard, critical illness, personal accident, education grant, householders contents, traveling baggage, and public liability.
The hospital cash section provides fixed cash benefits to the policy holder for every day someone covered under the policy is hospitalized for up to 30 days, relative to the sum insured. The health guard option offers cashless benefits and reimbursement for medical treatment at hospitals within Bajaj Allianz’s network, with additional options such as organ transplant cover, and medical evacuation, reconstructive surgery and physiotherapy cover.
Critical illness cover pays a lump sum benefit should the insured be diagnosed with a critical illness, subject to the conditions of the policy. The personal accident module provides coverage for the death, permanent total disability (PTD), permanent partial disability (PPD), and temporary total disability (TTD) of the policy holder, paying sums based on the sum insured as well as providing reimbursement of up to 40% of medical expenses incurred.
The education grant section pays the sum insured towards the continuing costs of education for the policyholder’s child or children in the event of the policyholder’s death or permanent total disability. The householder contents module functions the same as first loss basis coverage under Bajaj Allianz’s Standard Fire policy (including earthquakes).
The traveling baggage option pays the policyholder in respect of lost baggage while on tour or holiday. The last module, public liability, protects the insured’s legal liability for bodily injury or damage to the property of third parties.
As mentioned earlier, many of the policy sections offer family floaters, whereby spouses or children can be covered under that policy section for an additional premium. The policy does come with a number of premium discounts as well; with a minimum of 3 options selected, signing up for 4-5 policy sections gets a 10% discount, while opting for 6-8 of the policy sections receives a 15% discount on the premium. Bajaj Allianz also offers long term policy discounts with a 10% discount for 2 years and 15% for 3 years.
Insurance Company Mentioned:
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company
Established in early 2001, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited is a joint-venture company between Bajaj Finserv Limited and Allianz SE, whereby Bajaj Finserv holds a 74% stake, with Allianz SE holding the remaining 26%. Bajaj Allianz has a network spanning over 200 towns across India and has a paid up capital of INR 1.1 billion (USD 23.6 million).
Aug
12
Allianz Sees Rise in Operating Profit for Q2 2010
Filed Under Allianz, Health Insurance, Insurance Company, Life Insurance | Leave a Comment
Allianz Group has announced that its total operating profit for the second quarter of 2010 grew by more than a fifth, based on strong sales across different business lines.
Allianz’s quarterly revenue for the second quarter was EUR 25.4 billion (USD 32.7 billion) growing 14.5 percent over the 22.2 billion euros (USD 28.6 billion) in revenue from the same quarter in 2009.
Allianz’s three main business lines; property-casualty insurance, asset management and life-health insurance all showed robust sales, pushing quarterly operating profits up 22.7 percent to EUR 2.2 billion (USD 2.8 billion), from EUR 1.8 billion (USD 2.3 billion) in the same period in 2009.
Property and casualty insurance received EUR 10 billion (USD 12.9 billion) in gross business premiums in Q2 2010, helping to push quarterly operating profit for the business line up 28.2 percent to EUR 1.1 billion (USD 1.4 billion). While Allianz life insurance and health insurance businesses saw a 20 percent increase in quarterly revenue, amounting to EUR 14.1 billion (USD 18.2 billion), the company saw quarterly operating profits fall 28 percent from EUR 990 million (USD 1.3 billion) in 2009 to EUR 713 million (USD 921 million) in 2010.
The Allianz CFO Oliver Bäte said “Our Life/Health segment saw considerable top-line growth in the second quarter based on increasing demand for both traditional and unit-linked products, especially in Germany, Italy, France, the US and our growth markets in Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, operating profit is clearly on track.”
All three of the main business lines contributed towards Allianz Group’s quarterly net income of EUR 1.1 billion (USD 1.4 billion), although this was down from the net income of the second quarter in 2009 which was EUR 1.9 billion (USD 2.5 billion). The insurer put the difference down to last year’s asset sales, which included Allianz selling off their shares in the Chinese Bank ICBC.
In summation, Michael Diekmann, the CEO of Allianz SE said “We delivered an operating profit of 3.9 billion euros for the first half of 2010. Based on this very good result, we are confident that we can achieve our outlook for operating profit for the entire year of around 7.2 billion euros, with a fluctuation range of plus or minus 500 million euros.”
Insurance Company Mentioned:
Allianz
Allianz Group is one of the leading global services providers in insurance and asset management. With approximately 153,000 employees worldwide, the Allianz Group serves approximately 75 million customers in about 70 countries. On the insurance side, Allianz is the market leader in the German market and has a strong international presence.
Aug
12
Allianz and Volkswagen Extend Old Partnership and Target BRIC
Filed Under Allianz, Auto Insurance, China, Insurance Company | 1 Comment
Allianz Global Automotive and Volkswagen Financial Services have recently signed a letter of intent which will see the two companies agree to continue collaborating and strategically expand their 60 year old successful partnership.
The newly signed letter of intend pays particular attention to the expansion of the business model from a qualitative perspective, focusing on growth, as well as increasing their combined efforts towards achieving increased profitability. The target markets for this renewed partnership agreement go beyond Germany, aiming particularly to the emerging economies of the BRIC countries, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Worldwide, the car insurance market is fiercely competitive and all the major insurers want a piece of it.
Allianz sees the business done with automotive manufacturers as key to achieve growth in the highly contested global auto insurance market. Through the global strategic positioning brought by the renewed agreement, Allianz intends to offer their automotive partners and their customers improved services in the future.
The biggest market for Volkswagen used to be Germany, and it has now been overtaken by China, whilst Brazil remains their third largest market, with continuing aggressive expansion in both India and Russia.
Both Allianz and Volkswagen see their partnership as a win-win situation. Allianz is able to offer tailored products and multi-channel sales, significantly adding value to the proposition offered to their insurance customers, whilst Volkswagen can continue living up to the promise behind their brand name delivering the quality and service expected by their customers.
For both companies, the objective remains to “forge closer links between sales channels to secure profitable growth in the long term”, according to a joint statement released after the signing of their agreement.
Companies mentioned:
Allianz Group is one of the leading global services providers in insurance and asset management. With approximately 153,000 employees worldwide, the Allianz Group serves approximately 75 million customers in about 70 countries. On the insurance side, Allianz is the market leader in the German market and has a strong international presence.
The Volkswagen Group with its headquarters in Wolfsburg is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. The Group operates 61 production plants in fifteen European countries and a further six countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. Around the world, nearly 370,000 employees produce about 26,000 vehicles or are involved in vehicle-related services each working day. The Volkswagen Group sells its vehicles in more than 153 countries.
Aug
6
Gothaer Group Acquires a Stake in Polskie Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen
Filed Under Allianz, Auto Insurance, Health Insurance, Insurance Company, Life Insurance | 2 Comments
German based Gothaer Group has acquired a 45.42% stake in Polskie Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen (PTU) – PTU is one of Poland’s largest insurance companies.
The acquisition of the substantial stake in the Warsaw based PTU is part of the Gothaer Group’s strategy to venture into the growing Eastern European insurance markets. This realizes an important company objective after previous failed attempts to expand their presence in Germany.
Gothaer obtained the 45.42% equity in PTU, valued at E34m (US$44 million), from Ciech group, a Polish based Chemical company. The deal comes as a blow to the Polish arm of RE (Polskie Towarzystwo Reasekuracji) who have a 23% stake in PTU. RE initially declined an approach from Gothaer as the company had planned to increase their own stake in PTU. Techwell is another significant shareholder with a 29% stake in PTU, and is in negotiation with Gothaer regarding the possible acquisition of the Techwell share of the Polish Insurer. The rest of PTU is owned by seven smaller shareholders.
The move into Poland is seen as a positive move for Gothaer which aims to increase their E4 billion (US$5.2 billion ) insurance premium income – although still significantly smaller when compared to Allianz, the market leader, which has an E28 billion (US$ 36 billion) premium income.
The expansion into a growing Europe economy is part of the Gothaer strategy to increase their status in the Central and Eastern European insurance markets. With a population estimated at 38 million, the insurance sector in Poland has experienced significant growth since joining the EU. The demand for products such as life and health insurance grew from 2005-2009, although the premium volume for life insurance fell sharply in 2009 owing to adverse economic conditions. The forecast for the insurance sector in Poland is very positive, with an increase in demand envisaged.
Dr Gorg, a member of Gothaer board said: “The Polish economy has an enormous growth potential and has capacity to cope with financial crises…….. The high growth rates not only in the insurance sector, the safe legal system, the monetary and cultural ties with Germany are very good basis for our commitment.”
2010 has seen numerous takeover and mergers between insurance companies, partly due to changes in business strategies since the 2008-2009 economic upheaval, and changes in world markets. Gothaer moves into an emerging European market through the purchase of one of Poland’s largest insurance companies – PTU – with the expectation of significant market penetration.
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been a region of strong growth since the early 1990’s. This followed the fall of the eastern Soviet bloc, allowing countries in the region to expand their economies. However, since 2008 the demand for insurance products in the CCE has declined slightly, but there are promising signs indicating opportunities for potential growth in the region. In 2008, it was estimated that the CEE region premium income totaled US$93.3 billion, accounting for 2.31% of the global total. A sigma report indicates scope for expansion for the CEE region, in both the non-life and life insurance products.
2008 data from Polska Izba Unezpieczen (PIU) reported that the non-life insurance market in Poland was dominated by motor insurance, with health insurance only contributing PLN 120-120 (US$ 4-5 million) in premiums collected. This was explained by the lack of private health facilities present in Poland, but is seen as an opportunity for Gothaer to penetrate the health insurance market in this country, based on its expertise gained in Germany.
Insurances Companies Mentioned
Gothaer Versicherung AG
Gothaer Versicherung AG is a group company that offers insurance services to companies, individuals, and free 
lancers. Gothaer insurance has over 3.5 million customer anf 200 years of experience.
Polskie Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń
Polskie Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń S. A., established in 1990, is among the top ten largest insurers in Poland in terms of premiums collected, scale of operations, growth rate and the breadth of product range
Aug
4
Allianz Reshuffling Regional CEOs
Filed Under Allianz, Insurance Company, Life Insurance, Middle East | Leave a Comment
Allianz Group is set to move regional CEOs around the world, reorganizing the upper management due to the departure of Massimo Michaud, the previous Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Italia S.p.A.
The vacancy at the top of Allianz Italia will be filled by George Sartorel, who is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Turkey. Sartorel will be succeeded in Turkey by Mr. Alexander Ankel, who will be transferring from his current dual posting as both the CEO of Allianz Malaysia Berhad, the holding company for Allianz business in Malaysia, and CEO of Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad, positions he has held since 2008. Mr. Ankel has more than 16 years of experience in the insurance industry.
Jens Reisch, currently the CEO and Country Manager of Allianz’s Indonesian business, PT Asuransi Allianz Life Indonesia, will step into Mr. Ankel’s shoes as the CEO of Allianz Malaysia Berhad and Allianz Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad. His replacement in Indonesia has yet to be announced.
All of the aforementioned personnel transfers are dependent on the approval of the relevant regulatory authorities and supervisory boards.
In other Allianz personnel shifts not related to the global reshuffling, Dr. Abdullah Mansury has been promoted to the position of Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Takaful, taking charge of its operations in the Middle East region. Dr. Mansury has spent the last 8 years working for various Allianz subsidiaries, with his previous position at the company being the Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Allianz MENA Holding, an Allianz subsidiary based in Bahrain.
Dr. Abdullah Mansury said “Allianz has been my home since 2002 and it is a great privilege to work with family members. Within a short span of its operations, Allianz Takaful has established itself as a trustworthy company with its innovative portfolio of products and customer-focused approach. The Middle East region is one of the fastest growing markets for Allianz and I am confident that with the support of my committed colleagues and a dynamic team we can strengthen our position as a trusted financial partner of our clients.”
Insurance Companies Mentioned:
Allianz
Allianz Group is one of the leading global services providers in insurance and asset management. With approximately 153,000 employees worldwide, the Allianz Group serves approximately 75 million customers in about 70 countries. On the insurance side, Allianz is the market leader in the German market and has a strong international presence.
Allianz Takaful
A fully owned subsidiary of the Allianz Group, Allianz Takaful was established in March 2009 and is headquartered in Bahrain. Allianz Takaful is the Allianz group’s first foray into the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC, and offers Shariah-compliant products and services.
Jul
30
The UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has given authorisation to Allianz for the launch of Rosenberg Capital Management (RCM) fund in Brazil on 07 October 2010. The fund will be actively managed by a UK-domiciled Brazilian Open Ended Investment Company (OEIC), something that had never been done before.
Starting from 30 September, for eight consecutive days there will be a fixed-price offer at GBP 1.00 (EUR 1.20) per share with zero initial charges applying until 29 October. The fund will be invested in its majority towards Brazil, and nearly one third of the fund may be invested in other Latin American and international companies, provided they generate a significant proportion of their sales and earnings in Brazil.
From the investment strategy viewpoint the timing of Brazilian addition to the Allianz portfolio adds diversification and promising potential returns; given all the positive factors currently enjoyed by Brazil in terms of its economy and investment perspective. In addition to a stable government, the economy in Brazil is strong and growing at a fast pace; fuelled by a large and increasingly affluent young population, massive commodity resources and a well-developed equity market facilitating accessing these opportunities to investors.
Looking forward to next year, the earnings growth estimates of Brazilian companies rank among the highest in the world at 26 percent, whilst the market currently trades on a modest price to earnings ratio of 8.6 percent, based on the earnings estimates for 2011.
Insurance Company mentioned:
Allianz Group is one of the leading global services providers in insurance and asset management. With approximately 153,000 employees worldwide, the Allianz Group serves approximately 75 million customers in about 70 countries. On the insurance side, Allianz is the market leader in the German market and has a strong international presence.
Jul
15
Allianz-Munich Re Deal Contributes to US$250 million Risk Transactions for Perils AG
Filed Under Allianz, Switzerland | 3 Comments
Perils AG, an insurance industry initiative which aims to improve the availability of catastrophe insurance market data, has released a loss index suggesting that the latest US$63.25 million (EUR 50 million) reinsurance transaction between Allianz Risk Transfer and Munich Re, for coverage of European wind risk, has contributed to the US$250 million (EUR 198 million) total placements of insurance transactions during the first six months of 2010. The deal between Allianz Risk Transfer and Munich RE was brokered by Willis Re, a leading reinsurance broker.
For the deal, Perils provided an independent estimate of the potential insured property industry loss in the event of a severe wind storm. This loss estimate is used as a trigger for the transaction.
Using the Perils index in this transaction, the loss estimates have been used as the index base in all main forms of industry loss-based and catastrophe insurance risk transactions, according to a recent statement released by the company. Reaffirming the value of the data provided by Perils for such transactions, the head of the insurance-linked market at Allianz Risk Transfer, Brian Kirwan, commented that it “greatly improves deal execution”.
As one of the founding members of Perils AG, the Allianz Group believes that the increasing use and acceptance of the Perils index plays a central role for the future growth of trading in the European wind-storm market.
In addition of Allianz, the other shareholders that took part in the founding of Perils AG include Axa, Generali, Groupama, Guy Carpenter, Munich Re, Partner Re, Swiss Re and Zurich Financial Services.
Companies mentioned:
Allianz Group is one of the leading global services providers in insurance and asset management. With approximately 153,000 employees worldwide, the Allianz Group serves approximately 75 million customers in about 70 countries. On the insurance side, Allianz is the market leader in the German market and has a strong international presence.
Munich Re stands for exceptional solution-based expertise, consistent risk management, financial stability and client proximity. This is how Munich Re creates value for clients, shareholders and staff. It operates in all lines of insurance, with around 47,000 employees throughout the world. Especially when clients require solutions for complex risks, Munich Re is a much sought-after risk carrier. The primary insurance operations are mainly concentrated in the ERGO Insurance Group. ERGO is one of the largest insurance groups in Europe and Germany and 40 million clients in over 30 countries place their trust in the services and security it provides. In international healthcare business, Munich Re pools its insurance and reinsurance operations, as well as related services, under the Munich Health brand.
PERILS is an insurance industry initiative aimed at improving the availability of catastrophe insurance market data. PERILS’ industry data are based on information exclusively received from insurance companies writing business in the territories covered by PERILS. The data provided are quality controlled and aggregated, and subsequently extrapolated to industry (or market) level. The resulting industry benchmark data are available to all interested parties via a subscription service.
Jul
14
Allianz has Mid-term Aims for Greater Share of Earnings from Global Business Lines
Filed Under Allianz, Expat Insurance, Insurance Company | 2 Comments
According to an investors report on their website, Allianz Group is planning on their global insurance business lines making a larger contribution to earnings in the next six to twelve months, up from the 15% they contributed towards group revenue in 2009.
Included in Allianz’s list of global business lines are health insurance, life insurance, industrial insurance run under the name of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, credit insurance, automotive insurance, insurance-bound assistance and asset management.
In total, these lines of business earned the Allianz Group EUR 14.5 billion (USD 18.4 billion) in group revenue in 2009, accounting for 15% of the group’s yearly total, and adding EUR 2.5 billion (USD 3.18 billion) to operating profit, making up 34% of Allianz Group’s 2009 EUR 7.2 billion (USD 9.1 billion) operating profit.
Allianz gave different targets for each segment of the global business lines, with Allianz Global Investors – Allianz Group’s asset management business – aiming for a cost-income ratio below 65%. Their expatriate health insurance division, Allianz Worldwide Care, has seen a combined ratio of about 94% in recent years despite rapid growth and expects to earn gross written premiums of around EUR 240 million (USD 305.3 million) in 2010 based on major business deals.
Euler Hermes, Allianz’s credit insurance business which had serious troubles during the economic downturn, is targeting a combined ratio of below 100% with operating profits of EUR 100 million (USD 127 million) in 2010. Banking on an average of 4% return on investments and an average combined ratio of 84%, Allianz sees Euler Hermes making a 15% return on equity over 10 years.
The combined ratio encompasses the claims ratio and expenses ratio and is used as a measure of profitability. The sum of incurred losses and expenses are divided by the earned premium, resulting in the combined ratio. A combined ratio of less than 100% means that the insurer is making an underwriting profit, while a ratio of over 100% means the insurer is paying out more in claims and expenses than it is receiving in premiums.
Allianz’s automotive insurance division is looking to expand in either the U.S. or China where there is potential for growth, as much of their automotive insurance business involves partnerships with automobile producers and many of the largest manufacturers maintain strong presences in these markets. The automotive insurance business is intent on bringing in EUR 2 billion (USD 2.5 billion) from existing markets in gross premium income over the mid term.
Insurance Company Mentioned:
Allianz
Allianz Group is one of the leading global services providers in insurance and asset management. With approximately 153,000 employees worldwide, the Allianz Group serves approximately 75 million customers in about 70 countries. On the insurance side, Allianz is the market leader in the German market and has a strong international presence.
Allianz Worldwide Care was established in 2000 as the international medical insurance specialist of the Allianz Group. Allianz Worldwide Care is dedicated to providing superior health insurance policies to expatriates and their families all over the world. Headquartered in Ireland, this insurer has regional offices in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, serving to provide their clients with the most comprehensive support network available.
Jul
7
Standard Chartered Agrees to Sell Allianz Takaful Insurance Products in Qatar
Filed Under Allianz, Income Protection, Insurance Company, Life Insurance, Middle East | 3 Comments
Furthering their strategic alliance in the Middle East, Standard Chartered and Allianz Takaful have signed a five year agreement to sell Allianz Takaful’s insurance products through Standard Chartered Bank in Qatar.
In April this year, the two companies came to an agreement over selling Standard Chartered SME business insurance products through Allianz Takaful in Bahrain, and the new deal in Qatar serves to strengthen ties between the two regional allies. The five-year agreement will see Standard Chartered Bank promoting and selling Allianz Takaful life insurance products through their Bancassurance distributions channels.
The Allianz Takaful products which are now available throughout Standard Chartered’s branches in Qatar include protection plans, investment and savings plans, as well as child education insurance. The Chairman of Allianz Takaful, Abdulrahman Khalil Tolefat, said that “Customers can avail the services at Standard Chartered Bank’s relationship managers to tailor make Allianz Takaful products to suit their specific insurance requirements.”
Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Qatar, David Godwin said “Allianz is a major global financial services provider and we are pleased to associate with the group’s subsidiary in the Middle East. By working in collaboration with third party expertise, we are able to broaden our portfolio of products with a best-in-class offer to address the whole range of our customers’ financial well-being objectives. Additionally, the general insurance services fit well as one of the wealth protection tools that complement the bank’s overall wealth management solutions.”
Companies Mentioned:
Allianz Takaful
A fully owned subsidiary of the Allianz Group, Allianz Takaful was established in March 2009 and is headquartered in Bahrain. Allianz Takaful is the Allianz group’s first foray into the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC, and offers Shariah-compliant products and services.
Standard Chartered Bank Qatar
Standard Chartered Bank first opened a branch office in Qatar in 1950, making it the oldest foreign bank in Qatar. It operates 3 branches and 6 ATM machines in the country, employing 167 employees from 30 different countries. Their two core divisions of Wholesale and Consumer Banking have given them a 27% market share in Qatar.