All articles by LII editorial
LII editorial
Aon Benfield calls on Turkish insurers to adopt Solvency II
The Turkish insurance industry is in a high growth phase, so there is extra pressure to assess its risks in the most effective way,” said Marc Beckers, head of Aon Benfield Analytics for Europe, Middle East & Africa
New York Life steps up agent recruiting drive
Our recruiting goal for 2011 is to hire more than 3,500 agents, with continued focus on young professionals, ethnic communities and recent college graduates,” said Mark Pfaff, the US mutuals executive vice-president, in charge of US life insurance and agency operations
Dai-ichi Life beefs up capital base yet again
Strengthening its capital base, Japanese insurer Dai-ichi Life has completed the issue of $1.3bn in US dollar-denominated perpetual subordinated notes The notes carry a fixed interest rate of 7.25% per annum until July 2021 and a floating rate thereafter. The note issue represents Dai-ichis third major capital raising exercise in less than 12 months
US group life and disability market still in the doldrums
There was little to rejoice about in the US group term life and group disability sectors in 2010 with both remaining in the doldrums, according to studies by Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary Gen Re just released
A work still very much in progress
All is well with the insurance industry in Europe, industry body the Comit Europen des Assurances (CEA) has declared following release of the results of the fifth and final Solvency II quantitative impact study (QIS5)
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Aviva turns to technology to increase efficiency
The first of the new features added to Aviva for Advisers enables advisers to monitor and switch funds online on more than 1.6m investment bonds, individual, stakeholder and group personal pensions
Genetic testing in the UK still a no-no
A final decision on the use of genetic testing by life insurers in the UK has again been put on long-term hold Originally due to expire this year, the Concordat and Moratorium on Genetics, which dates back to 2001, has been extended to 2017, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) announced in early-April. The Concordat and Moratorium on the use of predictive genetic test results works well for consumers,” said ABI director of general insurance Nick Starling
AIG closer to settling debt
A time restriction on American International Groups (AIG) sale of equity securities it acquired when it sold its American Life Insurance Company (Alico) to fellow US insurer MetLife has been waived by MetLife AIG announced that it agreed to sell Alico to MetLife in March 2010 for $16.2bn of which $7.2bn was in cash and the remainder in MetLife securities
US Federal Insurance Office ready for business
First mooted in 2009, The Federal Insurance Office (FIO) has taken a step closer to becoming a factor in the US insurance industry with the appointment of its first director Michael McRaith, the director of the Illinois Department of Insurance The FIO, which falls under the US Treasury Department, has no regulatory powers and will be tasked with, among other things, advising the federal government on insurance issues and participate in concluding bilateral trade agreements on insurance with foreign countries
Country review: South Africa
South Africas life insurance industry weathered the global financial crisis with relative ease and has subsequently rebounded to reflect solid growth in new business Longer-term, growth potential for the countrys life insurers lies in closing a massive protection gap and, for big players, expanding into Africa.