Swiss Re announced this past week that it had submitted its application to Brazil's industry regulator, the Superintendence of Private Insurance (SUSEP), for a local reinsurance registration in the populous South American country. A local license would enable the world's second largest reinsurance firm to better participate in the emerging Brazilian insurance industry, servicing a more comprehensive…

International Medical Group, also known simply as IMG, announced the launch of two new international travel health insurance policies for the coverage of groups overseas. The plans, Patriot Platinum Group Travel Medical Insurance and Patriot Green Group Travel Medical Insurance are intended to cover groups of five or more people while they are overseas. As part of the company's aim…

While yesterday's news of a potential insurance slowdown in the Middle East may have concerned some of our readers, news of a different sort has come about today with both Manulife Vietnam and BUPA showing strong profits in the second quarter and first half of the year, respectively. Manulife Vietnam's life insurance division saw 32 percent growth during Q2 2011, compared to the same quarter in 2010.…

A number of financial reports released by Qatari insurance companies on Monday indicate that the country's insurance sector may be poised to experience a significant slowdown. Five Qatari insurance companies, operating mainly in the non-life insurance market, have indicated that the sector's total net profits have risen by only 2 percent during 2011, compared to 9 percent for the same period in 2010. The…

China's insurance boom is set to continue in the wake of a stellar first half of the year by the nation's third largest life insurer; China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co (CPIC). China Pacific released a report on Monday which revealed that the insurers total net profits for the first half of 2011 had risen by 44.7 percent to RMB 5.82 billion (US$ 911.04 million), while sales revenues grew by 14.2 percent…

Merger and acquisition activity in two of Asia's largest insurance industries has continued this week, with regulatory authorities in India and China approving new measures to allow foreign firms access to their lucrative emerging markets. India's Finance Ministry made an important move in granting local insurance firms greater flexibility in selling their shares. Indian insurance companies will no…

A new tax report released this week from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers demonstrates the important role that the domestic insurance industry continues to play in driving the United Kingdom's economy forward. The ABI asked 28 of its members to participate in the 2011 study and to provide data on their tax payments for their accounting year ended to 31 March 2011.…

Fresh analysis released this week by worldwide insurance and credit rating agency AM Best highlights the pronounced effect natural disasters and catastrophic events have had on insurers' balance sheets, in what is now perhaps the most influential trend affecting the international insurance industry this year. AM Best surveyed over a hundred United States-based property and casualty (p&c) insurers…

Australian insurance giant QBE has reported a significant rise in half-year profits, but have, at the same time, also been quick to downplay their full-year margin expectations due to the unprecedented string of heavy catastrophe claims incurred in 2011. In a statement released to the Australian Stock Exchange, QBE posted a 53 percent rise in net profit for the six months of 2011 to June 30, up to…

A new report released this week by investment banking firm Alpen Capital LLC has highlighted the tremendous potential for growth within the Gulf insurance industry due to the relatively low insurance penetration levels, positive demographic trends and pronounced infrastructure development occurring throughout the region. According to the…