All articles by LII editorial
LII editorial
Standard Bank bolsters African bancassurance
In a move long lobbied for by institutional investors the Standard Bank of South Africa (SBSA) is to remove a pyramid structure through which it has controlled South African life insurer Liberty Group since 1999 To achieve the restructuring SBSA is to make a cash offer worth a total of ZAR4.4 billion ($575 million) to acquire the 40.83 percent interest it does not own in the top company in the pyramid, Liberty Holdings, which has a 52.2 percent stake in Liberty Group SBSAs ZAR219.25 per share cash offer to Liberty Holdings minorities represents a 23.2 percent premium compared with Liberty Holdings closing price immediately prior to SBSAs announcement.
Strong second quarter for US variable annuity sales
Registering the third straight quarter of growth, the VA industry recorded total net inflows of $8.7 billion in the three months to 30 June 2007, an increase of 34.8 percent compared with the first quarter of 2007 and 6.2 percent up on the second quarter of 2006 Perhaps more indicative of a rising trend in VA sales, the average quarterly net inflow during the four quarters to 30 June 2007 stood at $7.39 billion, a 15.3 percent increase compared with an average net quarterly inflow of $6.41 billion during the previous four quarters to 30 June 2006
Tough asset management market starts to become even tougher
Tough asset management market starts to become even tougher In the tough global asset management arena the insurance industry is losing ground in the contest for market share, indicates a study undertaken by consultancy Watson Wyatt This was particularly evident in 2007 when the industry conceded considerable market share to independent asset managers. According to Watson Wyatt, based on the top-20 players that accounted for 37.5 percent of the $69.4 trillion managed at year-end by the 500 largest players, insurers market share fell to 20 percent in 2007 the lowest level in 10 years and significantly below a peak of 35 percent achieved in 2004.
AIG takes a subprime tumble
The US subprime residential mortgage market fiasco that has decimated profits of countless big-name banks has made its presence painfully felt in the results of American International Group (AIG), the worlds largest insurer in terms of assets With its fourth-quarter 2007 results decimated by subprime-related realised losses of $2.63 billion ($1.71 billion after tax) and impairment charges of $11.47 billion ($7.46 billion after tax), AIG reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $5.29 billion, the biggest quarterly loss in the companys 99-year history
Regulator takes UK with-profit insurers to task
Regulator takes UK with-profit insurers to task In a letter to chief executives of all insurers that provide with-profits funds, the UK financial services regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has hammered home the need to treat policyholders fairly
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New deal for cancer survivors
One in every six American men is likely to contract prostate cancer in their lifetime and this year alone 186,000 men will be diagnosed with the disease, according to US insurer The Hartford For most of these men, 90 percent of whom are at least 55 years old, this has made obtaining life insurance extremely expensive or even either impossible The Hartford believes this is an unduly harsh approach by insurers and has announced that it has become the first US insurer to offer life insurance at standard rates to men who have been successfully treated with radiation for moderate levels of prostate cancer.
UK regulators failed abysmally
The near-collapse of the UKs oldest mutual insurer Equitable Life in 2001 was preceded by a decade of regulatory failure, concluded UK Parliamentary Ombudsman Ann Abraham in a 2,800 page report that has taken four years to complete In her report, presented to both houses of parliament, Abraham called on the government to apologise to Equitable Life policyholders and to establish and fund a compensation scheme for those policyholders. Abrahams condemnation was directed at three regulatory bodies the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the Government Actuarys Department and the former Department of Trade and Industry in relation to their regulation of Equitable Life in the period before 1 December 2001
Slack security costs UK insurer dearly
Protecting customers personal details has become a serious issue, as one of the UKs largest insurers, Norwich Union Life (NUL), discovered to its cost in December 2007 Found by the UKs financial services watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), to have failed to protect customers confidential information and manage its financial crime risks, the insurer was handed a £1.26 million ($2.5 million) fine Norwich Union Life let down its customers by not taking reasonable steps to keep their personal and financial information safe and secure, said FSA director of enforcement Margaret Cole
ING comes out top Down Under
In a hard fought battle ING Australia has walked off with the title of Best Value Life Insurer in as study conducted by Australian financial product research firm CANNEX. In its study CANNEX assessed term life insurance, trauma insurance, disability insurance, income protection insurance and packaged multi-risk life insurance products available from 15 life insurers After careful collation of results from 15 insurers included in our research, ING Life stood out for consistency across Australia in all five categories, said CANNEX in a statement.
Prudential aims to slash costs
Prudential aims to slash costs UK insurer Prudentials objective of reducing annual costs by £195 million ($403 million) by the end of 2010 has come closer to realisation thanks to a major new outsourcing agreement with Capita Group