News
Weekly News Roundup From Canadian Insurance Top Broker
Intact completes sale of AXA Life; A.M. Best rates top 10 global insurers; Marsh acquires South African brokerage.
Company news
Intact has completed the $300 million sale ofAXA Life Insurance Inc. to SSQ, Life Insurance Company Inc. AXA Life Insurance Inc. was acquired in September 2011 by Intact as part of the $2.6 billion acquisition of AXA Canada. Intact intends to allocate most of the proceeds to repay the term loan facility used to partially finance the acquisition of AXA Canada.
Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings, has announced the rebranding of its executive risks practice to FINEX North America, effective immediately. Management liability experts worldwide will operate under the FINEX name, which consists of more than 100 professionals in 13 offices across the platform. The practice specializes in D&O liability, network liability, E&O, professional liability, fidelity bonds, employment practices liability and fiduciary liability.
Marsh has completed its acquisition of the brokerage business of Alexander Forbes (AF). This transaction comprises its South African insurance broking operations, Alexander Forbes Risk Services (AFRS) and related ancillary operations, and AF’s insurance broking operations in Botswana and Namibia. Marsh has also agreed to acquire other AF local operations across sub-Saharan Africa in Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia subject to regulatory approvals. These transactions are expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.
Western Financial Group (WFG) has acquired Roblin Insurance Travel and Realty Agencies Ltd. in Roblin, Manitoba. The brokerage, which has been serving the Roblin community since 1976, will now operate as a WFG office. to read more on this story, click here.
Global update
With the majority of this year’s catastrophe losses arising from unmodeled or inadequately modeled perils or territories, reinsurers are being more forceful in their demand for greater transparency of data, or looking to sub limit their exposures to manageable levels, according to Willis Re. Further findings point to the market being increasingly segmented, with rate movements being driven by individual loss history and perceived exposure movements, rather than by an overall blanket increase.
France’s AXA S.A. once again topped A.M. Best Co.’s ranking of the world’s 25 largest insurance companies as measured by net premiums written and Japan Post Insurance Co. Ltd. led the ranking measured by nonbanking assets. AXA had US$107.9 billion in net premiums written in 2010, up 0.2% from the previous year. A.M. Best places Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. in second place. Generali’s net premiums rose 2.87% to $87.17 billion last year.
The top ten global insurers ranked by net premiums written according to A.M. Best are:
1. AXA S.A., France
2. Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., Italy
3. UnitedHealth Group Inc, United States
4. Allianz SE, Germany
5. Japan Post Insurance Co., Ltd., Japan
6. National Mutual Insurance Fed. Agricultural Coop, Japan
7. Munich Reinsurance Company, Germany
8. WellPoint Inc., United States
9. AVIVA plc, United Kingdom
10. China Life Insurance (Group) Company, China
January 5, 2012
- Few Canadian businesses incorporating climate change risk management into regular business activitie
- Proposed Vancouver bylaw would require companies shipping oil by tanker to carry enough marine insur
- B.C, police and public insurer launch intersection safety campaign
- 4.4-magnitude quake shivers off Vancouver Island
- Sawmill explosion in B.C. hits beleaguered industry
- Earthquake-fracking link sparks Canada probe
- Flood threat lifted in West Kelowna, remains in two other BC cities
- Gap exists between how risk managers and senior executives view the role of risk management in their
- Everyday carelessness with work data a major source of data breach liability
- Risk managers cautioned to prepare for possibility of hard market
- Canada to experience extreme fire season in 2012: ICLR
- B.C. residents pay most for home insurance in Canada: InsurEye study
- IBC iPad app teaches Canadians how to prevent water damage
- 4 real cases of fraud
- FIFA to create insurance policy for national team players
- Half of all BC homeowners don’t have earthquake insurance
- BC car thieves beware
- 6 ways to fight fraud
- Canadians want more from insurers: Ernst & Young
- $10 million lawsuit launched against Via Rail and CN
- Take steps to reduce losses from cyber risk: RMS panel
- Buy pizza … and insurance
- Canada can expect to see more intense wildfires in the future: scientist
- Toronto police arrest 37 people and lay 130 charges following insurance fraud ring investigation
- CCIR posts issues paper about online insurance sales
- Price more important than safety, B.C. car buyers say
- Price tag for a sketchy driving record can be premium increase of between 20% and 25%
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- Uncertainty remains big factor in modeling risk
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- Swiss Re: Thailand floods to cost insurers $8-11B
- Auto body shops say they, not insurers, should set costs
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- Catlin Sees 2011 As Worst Year For Insurers Since 2005
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- Deterring Crime on Your Commercial Property
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- Another La Niña Winter
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- Industry must work together to combat declining broker market share: Panel
- IBC Promotes Earthquake Safety
- It’s official: Banks now banned from promoting non-authorized insurance on their Web sites
- Brokers with auto repair shop clients beware
- In Few Years, Social Network Data May Be Used in Underwriting
- Provincial elections touch on insurance issues
- Demutualization should trigger consolidation in Canadian P&C market
- Disasters Wallop Industry Earnings in First Half
- Hurricane Irene’s tentative path tracks towards North Carolina, New York and Canadian Maritimes