All Features articles – Page 9
-
CEO Q&A
CEO Q&A: Steve Taylor-Gooby
An interview with Steve Taylor-Gooby, managing director for the Tillinghast insurance consulting business of Towers Perrin.
-
Features
Cat models and capital
Could cat models reduce capital requirements under Solvency II? Only if they are properly applied, writes David Banks.
-
Features
BER confusion
Insurers have failed to fully understand competition law and current Block Exemption Rules (BER). There is therefore doubt over whether they are compliant, writes David Banks.
-
Features
Baptism of fire
XL Capital has suffered serious problems, but can it be turned around? David Sandham spoke to Mike McGavick, the CEO.
-
Investment Analysis
Cats are back
The cat bond new issues market may have disappointed last year. But don’t give up on cats yet, writes David Sandham
-
Features
No stamp of approval
Are ratings agencies partly to blame for the financial crisis, or did investors misunderstand what they do? Liz Booth looks at both sides of the argument.
-
Features
Alien collateral
Are we near the end of collateral requirements for non-US reinsurers in the US? Simon Twigden and Caroline Bell ask whether recent moves will turn out to be a false dawn.
-
Editor's Note
Don’t blame offshore
A new wave of regulations is one of the likely consequences of the financial crisis, and the microscope will be focussed on offshore financial centres. During his election campaign, President Obama criticised “corporations that hide their profits offshore”, pointing to Bermuda. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, also has offshore in ...
-
GR Focus
Wake up to Run-Off
Financial turmoil, catastrophe losses, and legislative change could herald the start of a time of increased activity for run-off specialists, write David Banks and David Sandham.
-
Features
Where are they now?
Where have all the US independent P&C reinsurers gone? Many have been sold, merged, run-off, or liquidated, Ronald Gift Mullins discovers.
-
Features
Hunting the gorilla
There’s a new big game in town. Directors of companies caught up in the credit crunch are squarely in the sights of the big game hunters – legal claimants. Gavin Coull and Michael Wharfe guide us through the D&O jungle.
-
Country Analysis
The waiting game
The juggernaut of insurance reform has slowed to a crawl, the victim of a political stalemate. Companies operating in India must adapt themselves rather than wait for change, writes David Banks.
-
Analysis
Just an everyday pioneer
Gulf Re may be a young company, but it expects its straightforward approach and healthy capitalisation to attract the kind of attention usually reserved for well-established players. Mairi Mallon spoke to its senior managers and backers to find out more.
-
Features
The cruel and the kind
Two very different pieces of legislation are gathering momentum in the United States. One would make life much easier for international reinsurers, while the other would make life so much more difficult, David Banks writes.
-
Features
Credit crunch: Survival guide
Getting back to basics and building on relationships is key for reinsurance companies seeking to navigate their way through the current market turmoil, writes Mairi Mallon
-
CEO Q&A
CEO Q&A: Ken LeStrange
An interview with Ken LeStrange, the chief executive officer of Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd.
-
Investment Analysis
World bank buys weather derivatives
Swiss Re has entered into a weather derivative contract with the International Development Association (IDA), an arm of the World Bank.Under the terms of the contract, Swiss Re will pay out up to $5m in the event that Malawi’s farmers suffer from a drought-related shortfall in maize production. With this ...
-
Features
Watch out for the backlash
The insurance and reinsurance industry cannot stay immune from the financial crisis. So what will be the reaction of the industry’s supervisors?
-
Investment Analysis
Cat asset rules to change
Lehman Brothers’ filing for Chapter 11 protection has had a direct effect on the cat bond sector, and will change the rules governing the assets underlying cat bonds, writes David Sandham.
-
Editor's Note
Race against time
The financial world is bracing itself for recession. J.P. Morgan for example expects a contraction this quarter of 4% (on an annualised basis) in the US, 3% in the UK, and 2% in the eurozone. For 2009, it predicts 0.4% global growth, but advanced countries shrinking 0.5% and emerging regions ...
