All Industry Comment articles

  • People & Opinion

    Leader: The trouble with innovation

    2011-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Do cedants really need the reinsurance equivalent of Thomas Edison assuming their risk?

  • People & Opinion

    Monty: A taste of the good times

    2011-05-01T00:00:00Z

    From a shiny iPad 2 to a rump steak cooked medium rare, our man seeks the finer things in life

  • People & Opinion

    In my view: Sharing the burden of disaster

    2011-05-01T00:00:00Z

    When natural disaster strikes, it can be an arduous process to rebuild the affected region, and the financial impact can be immense. Policymakers need to assess the role that (re)insurers can play to ensure a sensible balance between public and private liability

  • Cedants

    Cedant Q&A: Michael Barber

    2011-04-15T00:00:00Z

    Twenty-five years with Aviva have taken Michael Barber from underwriting novice to reinsurance guru. A dedicated Manchester City follower, he tells us what lies behind his own game plan

  • People & Opinion

    Leader: With great loss, comes great responsibility

    2011-04-01T00:00:00Z

    Amid all the Japan loss estimates, one shouldn’t forget the realities on the ground

  • Engaged Investor
    People & Opinion

    In my view: Keep your eye on the ball

    2011-04-01T00:00:00Z

    As European players face a punishing schedule of rule changes, the trick will be for regulators to keep reinsurers focused on the main plan – protecting clients

  • People & Opinion

    In my view: That’s so 1850s…

    2011-03-04T00:00:00Z

    The reinsurance industry’s needs have changed since the 19th century, as has the technology available to it. So why are we still so technophobic?

  • People & Opinion

    In with the old

    2011-03-01T00:00:00Z

    APH liabilities have lain dormant on balance sheets since the 1980s, but Solvency II should prompt companies to look at them anew as a potential source of profit

  • People & Opinion

    Regaining momentum

    2010-12-01T00:00:00Z

    Bermuda is at the forefront of a resurgence of interest in insurance-linked securities. So what are the growing attractions of this risk diversification method?

  • News

    View from the market: GCC

    2010-11-01T00:00:00Z

    With historically low insurance penetration coupled with new Shari'ah-compliant products and major investment, the potential for growth in insurance across the Gulf is massive

  • People & Opinion

    Ratings: your flexible friends

    2010-11-01T00:00:00Z

    Rating agencies have been battered by the media, but this is because people don’t understand how they work. Instead, they need to look more closely at the agencies’ rating methodology and why they are trusted by banks, brokers and investment houses

  • Peter Hearn, Willis Re
    People & Opinion

    Up the ladder

    2010-10-05T00:00:00Z

    Willis Re's Peter Hearn on how he got to where he is today

  • Cedants roundtable, October 2010
    Analysis

    What cedants want

    2010-10-05T00:00:00Z

    Trust, flexibility, security of capital and acute awareness that begins at the underwriting stage are all key to confidence in the relationship between cedants and reinsurers. Global Reinsurance joined players from both perspectives to share insights at a roundtable discussion

  • Cartoonist: Patrick Blower
    People & Opinion

    In my view: You can’t be too careful

    2010-10-05T00:00:00Z

    With a soft market seeming inevitable, businesses will have to rely for survival on good practice built since the chaos of the late 1990s. But both brokers and underwriters will also need to adopt unprecedented levels of care and caution

  • Seymour Matthews, Heath Lambert
    People & Opinion

    A tower of strength for poorer nations

    2010-07-12T00:00:00Z

    When volcanic ash halted air traffic, Seymour Matthews saw first-hand the devastation to Kenya’s export industry. Poorer countries need third-party contingency cover for such disasters, and reinsurers can and must work with governments to provide it

  • Analysis

    Future bright for insurance – MAPFRE’s Martínez

    2010-06-07T13:31:00Z

    Chairman praises industry’s performance during crisis

  • Crash dummies
    Analysis

    We are all crash dummies

    2010-06-01T00:00:00Z

    The current financial crisis tells us that risk management is vital for every bank and insurance company. Stress testing and scenario analysis will play a big part

  • pollution
    Features

    Smoke signals

    2009-12-10T00:00:00Z

    The world’s leaders were in Copenhagen to discuss climate change and, potentially, set new targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We asked four leading firms for their hopes for the UN summit, and to spell out how they can contribute to the battle against carbon

  • Industry Matters

    Diversification: why spreading risk is good

    2009-12-10T00:00:00Z

    Hugo Crawley welcomes the gradual return to a multi-carrier approach to risk

  • Industry Matters

    The revolution has already begun

    2009-12-10T00:00:00Z

    There’s no time to waste – reinsurers must stay ahead of their clients as the market gets to grips with handling risk under the new regime