All articles by LII editorial
LII editorial
Smaller US life insurers win in the customer satisfaction stakes
Smaller is better, or at least that is the broad opinion of Americans when it comes to their level of satisfaction with life insurers reveals the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) compiled by the University of Michigans Ross School of Business (RSB) In its study the RSB found that life insurers achieved an overall score of 80 out of a potential 100 on the ACSI while smaller insurers scored an average of 82
Quantitative easing takes big toll on UK funds
Quantitative easing, the Bank of Englands (BoE) response to the UKs flagging economy, has done severe damage to the countrys defined benefit (DB) pension funds
Friends Life expects big savings from outsourcing deal
The outsourcing agreement covers customer services and most IT functions and is anticipated to start generating annual cost savings of £143m from 2013 for Friends Life, a wholly-owned unit of Resolution which acquired the insurer in 2007 as part of its life industry consolidation strategy
Canadian government to crack down on bank annuity-type products
No doubt much to the delight of Canadian life insurers, the countrys minister of finance Jim Flaherty has come down hard on banks that are attempting to circumvent strict rules forbidding their involvement in the sale of life insurance
An ill-conceived strategy unwound
A decade ago, Old Mutual set out to conquer the world with an aggressive global expansion strategy that, for the most part, brought costly disappointments
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New UK pension risk transfer insurer promises a better deal
Founded by the former chairman of The Pensions Regulator, David Norgrove, Long Acre has set itself the objective of reducing the cost of DB pension scheme buyouts by up to 20%
Sun Life plots a new growth path
Jumping in at the deep end, Sun Lifes new CEO Dean A Connor has outlined a new strategy aimed at jolting the insurers earnings out of stagnation
Zurich and Prudential Financial team up to serve multinationals
In an unusual move in the competitive insurance market, US insurer Prudential Financials Prudential Group Insurance unit and Swiss insurer Zurich Financials (Zurich) Zurich American Life, have joined forces to service American multinationals
Dorchester Pacific exits New Zealand life insurance market
Troubled New Zealand financial services group Dorchester Pacific has closed its doors to new life insurance business Dorchester Pacific, which until the announcement offered life cover in addition to its consumer finance operations, was saved from bankruptcy in 2010 when shareholders agreed to swap its debt for new equity. In a statement that accompanied Dorchester Pacifics results for the half-year to September 2011 its CEO Paul Byrnes commented: “Dorchester Lifes business has become too complex for its overall scale
First National Bank slashes life cover costs in South Africa
To ensure that our customers are getting the best possible value for money, we have stripped out all unnecessary distribution costs, such as advertising and broker fees, enabling us to pass the saving on to our customers,” said Johan Nagel, CEO of FNB Insurance.