According to recent reports citing an unidentified source, American International Group Inc. (AIG) plans to go ahead with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of its AIA Group life-insurance unit, later on this year.

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.

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…

China last year saw a half of a percentage point increase in its aged population, defined as those people 60 years old or above, equivalent to 7.25 million people, taking the total number of elderly to 167.14 million or roughly 12.5 percent of its total population. This increase is the largest one observed in an annual basis and raises concerns about the huge challenge it represents to the frail retirement system and medical insurance services for the elderly and the impact to the economy in the future.

Given that the current self-regulatory regime is not up to international standards, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of Hong Kong is proposing to establish an independent insurance authority to increase the strength of regulation of the industry.

In less than five years Indian Life Insurance company, Reliance Life Insurance, has crossed the 6-million policy milestone it had set and now aims to achieve an overall premium of US$4.28 billion (EUR 3.4 billion) within the next two years. Reliance Life Insurance is an associate partner of Reliance Capital, part of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.

Generali China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is leading the pack of foreign-funded life insurance companies in China, after ranking no.1 for five consecutive months from the end of 2009 to April 2010. Generali China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint-venture company; 50 percent owned by Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. (Generali) and the other 50 percent owned by China National Petroleum Corporation…

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has cleared Guohua Life Insurance Co. to increase its capital to US$147.5 million (EUR 116 million). This additional capital injection will help Guohua towards creating a foundation that guarantees its sustainable development, having started with an original registered capital of US$44.3 million (EUR 34.9 million).

Aiming to gain a sales foothold in Europe, Maiden Holdings Ltd., the Bermuda-based re-insurer has reached an agreement with British-based GMAC International Insurance Services Ltd. to buy the majority of their infrastructure, assets and liabilities. Currently, GMAC is part of Detroit-based Ally Financial.

Munich Re has been licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to open a reinsurance unit called Munich Re Underwriting Agents (DIFC) Ltd. in the Dubai International Financial Center, making it the first of the biggest reinsurance companies in the world to do so. Operating out of the Dubai International Financial Center will allow Munich Re Underwriting Agents to service the entire…