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LONDON - As part of a plan to expand its European business, Bermuda-based excess insurer ACE Ltd. has launched a new operation in Dublin, Ireland. ACE Insurance Co. Europe Ltd. [...]

Aviation underwriters are anticipating substantial claims from the crash of a China Airlines Airbus A300-600R jet in Taipei, Taiwan, which resulted in the death of almost 200 people. China Airlines' insurance policy is managed by AIG Europe Ltd. while its hull and liability coverage were placed in the UK market through broker Aon Group Ltd. Aon Group's senior VP Martin Stevens confirmed that the hull value for the aircraft was over $70 million.

Results of a survey on the financial performances of insurance brokers in 1997 listed Aon Group Inc. with the highest revenue gain of almost 90%. Aon Group experienced a 91.6% increase in pretax profits to nearly $350 million. Other companies which experienced growth and profit include Marsh & McLennan, Sedgwick Group and Arthur J. Gallagher. Willis Corroon Group PLC was the only insurance broker who reported a five percent decline in 1997.

ACE Ltd plans to reduce its participation in Lloyd's of London as part of its cost-cutting measures and streamlining plans. Presently, it is one of the largest investors in the market with its managing agencies ACE London Underwriting Ltd, Methuen Underwriting Ltd and ACE London Aviation Ltd handling a total amount of 692 million pounds sterling, with 304.46 million pounds sterling coming from ACE Ltd. The company will consolidate its managing agencies until the year 2000., Insurer plans to combine agencies, restructure capital for syndicates LONDON - ACE Ltd. over the next two years plans to streamline its participation in Lloyd's of London by merging its [...]

The UK government intends to formulate laws which will protect policyholders of Lloyd's of London in the same way as in other insurance companies. Economic Secretary Helen Liddell plans to give the envisioned Financial Services Authority (FSA) full control over regulating Lloyd's as part of the government's efforts to reform the country's financial services. The FSA will regulate Lloyd's capital investors and will require the registration of its members and managing agents.

LONDON - Unlimited liability names at Lloyd's of London strongly oppose a proposal by limited liability investors that would alter names' representation on the Council of Lloyd's. About 60% of [...]

System will assess relative performance LONDON - Standard & Poor's Corp. is revamping and renaming its ranking system for syndicates trading at Lloyd's of London. S&P in London last week [...]

ZURICH, Switzerland - The combination of Swiss financial services giants Union Bank of Switzerland and Swiss Bank Corp. is likely to also be felt in the Swiss insurance market. Both [...]

LONDON--Although British railway companies recently posted an improved record for fatal accidents, the companies cannot become complacent about safety, a government official warns. 'I expect operators to go that extra [...]

LONDON - Lloyd's of London names that have been unable to close their accounts and leave the market now have a glimmer of hope. Speaking at last month's meeting of [...]

Alternative risk transfer products have proven to be useful in covering risks such as regulation causing a loss of value of high-value assets and weather-related revenue losses. Lack of insurance capacity, price volatility in the insurance markets and an increased need to cover business risks have prompted risk managers to seek alternative forms of risk financing. US risk managers, however, are more keen to using alternative risk financing techniques than their European counterparts.

Trieste, Italy-based insurer Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. is determined to acquire French insurer Assurances Generales de France. The company is looking for ways to stop Allianz A.G. Holding from acquiring AGF. Allianz, in its bid to become one of the world's largest insurers, has offered to buy AGF for $10 bil or $55.20 per share. Generali, on the other hand, has offered to acquire AGF at $51 per share.

Consultants Neil Harrison and Gerry Tollan believe risk management can improve quality and help achieve a company's goals. Speaking at the 27th International Insurance & Risk Management Conference in Oct 1997, the Aon Risk Consultants executive directors illustrated how risk management can save a management buyout through a case study. Throughout the buyout, risk management enhanced confidence and added value to the situation. A risk evaluation that identified the factors against the buyout's success paved the way for the development of a risk reduction and control strategy.

Effective risk management is rapidly becoming a must for organizations, but many companies have yet to develop a comprehensive approach to the issue. At the 27th International Insurance & Risk Management Conference in Brussels, Belgium, in Oct 1997, CEO Jozef de Mey of Fortis Group's AG 1824 exhorted companies to recognize the importance of risk management techniques to the success of an organization. The risk management profession continues to evolve due to technological innovations, globalization and a workforce that is becoming more and more geographically distant.

Judith C. Hanratty has given The British Petroleum Co. P.L.C. a better understanding of its risks, while showing other risk managers on a grand scale new possibilities for self-insurance. Rather [...]

Several topics were discussed during the Oct 1997 Risk Management Forum in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The three most important issues facing risk managers, for instance, were access to information on overseas exposures, differences in health and safety practices and international fraud. Other significant issues include international crisis management, the Year 2000 computer problem and the single European currency.

Lloyd's of London gets an A+ rating from Standard and Poor's in Sep. 1997. The rating was based on Lloyd's business mix, regulatory and financial improvement and the financial support by its members since its reconstruction and renewal plan was implemented. A.M. Best Company Inc. also gave an A rating to Lloyd's on the same day that Standard and Poor's made its announcement. The marketwide ratings will help Lloyd's in its bid to revive market confidence.

FLIMS, Switzerland - Solving the Year 2000 problem could cost businesses and governments around the world more than $3.5 trillion, a software consultant warns. Speaking at last month's corporate customer [...]

One year later, reinsurer making progress, despite unresolved issues While the fanfare that heralded last year's arrival of Equitas Ltd. has faded, the reinsurer is steadily making progress toward its [...]

With R&R over, market ready to compete Lloyd's of London still has some work to do to reinvent itself following its ambitious reconstruction and renewal plan, which the membership agreed [...]

LONDON - By this time last year, David Rowland had been persuaded to stay on another year as chairman of Lloyd's of London, but he agreed to do so only [...]

LONDON - Although Lloyd's of London appears to have made it through the rough water and into calmer seas with the success of its reconstruction and renewal plan, it hasn't [...]

Willis Corroon Group PLC displayed an exemplary financial performance in 1996, buoyed by the company's major restructuring initiative. The Washington, TN-based insurance broker witnessed its gross earnings increase by 2% at $1.13 billion from 1995 to 1996. One of Willis Corroon's most substantial gains was the 82% increase in pretax profits, which amounted to a total of $142.9 million. As part of the company's restructuring effort, labor force has been reduced, while some non-core US operations have been abandoned.

The long-sought merger between JIB Group PLC and Lloyd Thompson Group PLC has eventually been realized, as company officials agreed to consolidate operations on Dec 1998. The monumental merger was not only instrumental in establishing Jardine Lloyd Thompson PLC's (JLT) status as an independent insurance broker, but made the company the top 6 company in the US, as well. JLT posted premium volume of $3.12 billion in 1996, compared to $2.88 billion in 1995. Through the merger, the company was able to raise its investment income by 9%, while increasing its labor force from 3,076 to 3,500.

LONDON - The proposed $368.5 billion settlement between the tobacco industry and state attorneys general in the United States is attracting the attention of health authorities in the United Kingdom. [...]

Experts debate need for risk measures MILAN, Italy - Is risk management necessary when insurance is cheap? Wolfgang Friedel, senior vp of strategic development at Arkwright Mutual Insurance Co. in [...]

LONDON - Lloyd's of London's annual general meeting earlier this month could not have differed more from the market's meetings in recent years. Of course, much has changed in the [...]

LONDON - Sweeping reforms proposed for Lloyd's of London's regulatory system would shift the ultimate responsibility for overseeing the market to external agencies. Lloyd's last year asked a panel of [...]

LONDON - Risk managers and members of the U.K. insurance industry are still assessing what the Labour Party's victory in the general election earlier this month means to them. With [...]

LONDON - Lloyd's of London would be delighted if it manages to collect even half of the £600 million ($1.01 billion) still owed by members who rejected the market's reconstruction [...]

LONDON - British businesses are generally uninsured for the huge economic losses they have suffered as a result of terrorist attacks during the weeks running up to the May 1 [...]

LONDON - Chicago-based broker Aon Corp. is quickly bringing its acquired London operations under the Aon corporate banner. The businesses of Nicholson Jenner Leslie Ltd., Bain Hogg International Ltd. and [...]

DUBLIN, Ireland - The emerald tiger is roaring. Low inflation, a booming economy and a huge number of tourists are the outward signs of a spectacular turnaround in Ireland's fortunes. [...]

LONDON - U.K. pension advisers contend that new regulations designed to protect occupational pension plans are so onerous that they will deter the formation of new plans and put the [...]

NOTTINGHAM, England - A new industrial revolution is taking place, and risk managers, insurers and brokers must prepare to meet the challenges such change is bringing. Businesses are entering the [...]

Recent legalization of divorce exposes gray areas in pension administration DUBLIN, Ireland - Trustees of Irish employer-sponsored pension funds fear the historic introduction of divorce into Irish law last month [...]

LONDON - As many as one in four U.K. employers may be putting themselves at risk for lawsuits by failing to implement health and safety measures required under European Union [...]

LONDON - Sedgwick Group P.L.C. still is looking for a merger partner, if the partner can meet the broker's goals of expansion into emerging markets and increasing consulting revenues. But [...]

LONDON - U.K. employers that offer private health care benefits could see premiums stabilize now that two more health insurers are establishing preferred provider networks. PPP healthcare group P.L.C. and [...]

Risk managers find traditional methods sufficient for current needs LONDON - New alternative risk financing methods are capturing risk managers' interest but not their business in any substantial way, a [...]

LONDON - U.K. insurers must develop a uniform and understandable environmental risk rating system to help businesses assess the pollution liability risk of real estate, a broker says. Several insurers [...]

LIMA, Peru - Political risk underwriters show few signs of worry over the terrorist siege of the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, and little expectation that the kidnapping heralds a [...]

LONDON - Employers liability premiums in the United Kingdom will rise next year due to a higher premium tax rate that goes into effect in April and other legislation that [...]

LONDON - London-based brokers JIB Group P.L.C. and Lloyd Thompson Group P.L.C. are merging to create a new firm with a stronger global presence. Combined 1995/1996 gross revenues of the [...]

LONDON - Lawsuits against toothpaste manufacturers are among the latest signs that products liability-related litigation continues to increase in England, according to lawyers. Liability-related lawsuits have surged in recent months, [...]

PARIS - The terrorist bombing last week of a rail station in Paris is not expected to drive up rates in the French commercial property insurance market, even though terrorism [...]

Owners to focus on core activities LONDON - Signs of consolidation in the London insurance market strengthened last week as insurance and reinsurance company River Thames Insurance Co. Ltd. was [...]

Some expenses hidden, complex LONDON - Estimates that U.K. employers foot costs of £1.5 billion ($2.51 billion) each year due to workplace sickness and injury could be much higher, according [...]

HAMILTON, Bermuda - Sphere Drake Holdings Ltd. hopes to improve its image and its insurance rating with a reorganization designed to strengthen its balance sheet. 'The rating agencies want to [...]

Change is the only constant in today's world. And nobody knows this better than the risk manager of a multinational organization. After all, who would have thought 10 years ago [...]