All articles by LII editorial
LII editorial
Regulation in Minnesota grinds to a halt
Along with all state departmental functions, insurance regulation, which forms part of the duties of the Department of Commerce, was brought to a complete halt at the end of June by an impasse in the states legislature. The shutdown of Minnesotas state departments had its origins in May this year when the states legislature adjourned following the inability of Democratic and Republican members to agree on how to deal with the elimination of a $5bn budget deficit
ING bids farewell to ING Direct USA
In a move that seemingly ensures INGs ability to repay the final 3bn ($4.3bn) of its obligation to the Dutch state ahead of its own May 2012 deadline, ING is to sell its online banking unit ING Direct USA to US bank Capital One
European premium income off the canvas
Europes insurance industry saw total premium income rise from 1.06trn ($1.56trn) in 2009 to 1.12trn in 2010, an increase of 5.2%, according to preliminary data from European insurance industry body the Comit Europen des Assurances (CEA)
LV= looks to outsource asset management
The mutual insurer, which trades under the brand LV, has announced that it has entered into exclusive talks with Threadneedle Investments, with the view to outsourcing management of the societys assets and existing external funds to the asset management company.
US insurers fearing worst over accounting standards confusion
The US-based Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the London-based International Accounting Standards Board (ISAB) have been working toward a unified standard for several months now, but leaders of both bodies recently said they have pushed back work on the handful of “priority” convergence projects they had committed to complete this year.
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Life settlement scam meets its end
Adley Abdulwahab appears set to have many decades to contemplate the error of his ways following his conviction by a jury in the US state of Virginia of a life settlements fraud involving some 800 people in 36 states and Canada
Insurance market out of the doldrums
Ending two years of shrinking premium income, the worlds life insurance market moved back on to a growth path in 2010, led, as has become the norm, by developing insurance markets as a group Ending a two-year losing streak, the worlds life insurance market rebounded last year, reports Swiss Re in the study World Insurance in 2010
US Baby Boomers on the hunt for security
For US Baby Boomers, investing for retirement used to be all about high returns Now, by a margin of almost four to one, Baby Boomers want the certainty guarantees afford their retirement savings.
ING US aims to up its 401(k) market share
One will seek to build a network of key relationships with local and regional banks, credit unions and plan intermediaries who work in the banking industry
Solvency II tests find some insurers struggling
European insurance industry body the Comit Europen des Assurances (CEA) has hailed the outcome of a stress test conducted by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) as a confirmation of the industrys financial robustness The test to ascertain the ability of insurers to comply with Solvency II minimum capital requirements (MCR) under various adverse economic and investment market scenarios was undertaken by 58 insurance groups and 71 insurance companies representing some 60% of the overall European insurance market