Today, fraudulent claims pose greater costs to the insurance industry than ever before. Unfortunately, these costs will only continue to rise unless the sector begins to utilize the mountains of data within its access to curb consumer fraud. After all, it is the policyholders who pay through hikes in premium prices. As a result, retaining loyal customers while managing unnecessary costs remains the…
The recent annual conference of the UK risk-management association, Airmic, released news of a "10 fold" increase in enquiries regarding cyber insurance products, but trends in take-ups didn't follow suit. The disparity between enquiries and the take-up of "cyber" products left many wondering when the cyber insurance market will go 'boom'. Though market practictioners hold that we will see such promising…
French insurance company Groupama recently endured a downgrade in ratings by S&P from a BBB to a BB-. Its new rating is considered sub-investment, and is commonly referred to as 'junk' status. Such a rating could potentially harm existing business relations with insurance brokers. Groupama is a mutual insurance, banking and financial services group with over 38,000 employees and 16 million customers…
As ING Group continues to sell off its overall Asian insurance operations in order to repay part of the USD $7 billion in bailout funds that it received from the European Union in 2008, the Dutch company is also getting ready to offload its separate ventures in India.
The news comes as no surprise to many as the sale is part of ING's global restructuring plan. The…
Despite many other European insurers straying away from traditional guaranteed-return saving insurance policies, Allianz Leben's, the company's German insurance unit, chief executive, Markus Faulhaber said that the company remained committed to traditional life insurance plans that offer guaranteed returns to holders. Speaking to the Financial Times Deustchland, Faulhaber said that "the criticism…
European insurance markets are looking increasingly bleak amid news of UK health insurance premiums climbing by 10 percent, and fears of expat health insurance premiums doubling in Greece. The bad news in the Euro Zone's health insurance market comes at the same time European life insurers are nervously awaiting the outcome of the Solvency II proposal's passage through the European Parliament. The…
With the International Insurance Society's (IIS) 48th annual seminar now at a close, the insurance sector is set to take on new direction with several ambitious plans. The IIS seminar allows senior executives from insurance companies worldwide to share original research by leading…
As part of a general wave of European institutions putting their Asian operations up for sale, five insurance firms have expressed an interest in purchasing British Firm, Aviva's, 49 percent stake in its joint venture with Malay bank, CIMB. These sales come on the back of an increasingly unstable European economy which has affected both Aviva and Dutch company, ING, also currently looking to sell their…
Over the past year, the Middle East & North African (MENA) Region has experienced stable A.M. Best ratings for its insurers and reinsurers, as well as an increase in A.M. Best rated entities. This has been occurring against a tumultuous backdrop of political and public unrest, making the…
The Asian insurance markets continue to witness positive changes in the insurance industry in the form of Swiss giants Ace finalizing agreements for an Indonesian acquisition and the Aetna group expanding its products within the Singaporean market. Zurich based Ace Group was established in 1985 when it was created by its policyholders to provide excess liability and directors and officers coverage.…
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