Industry
For the 1999 financial year the U.S. property and casualty insurance industry produced a disappointing 6.6% rate of return compared with 9.2% for 1998 and 11.9% for the year prior. The industry’s drop in shareholder returns for the year was driven by lower investment gains and a 39.5% year-on-year decline in underwriting losses to US$23.4 […]
April 30, 2000
2 min read
A broad company survey released by consultants Towers Perrin suggests that the vast majority of the 300 respondents believe e-commerce will triple in revenue terms over the next two years. The survey respondents were drawn primarily from the U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe and Australia. Over 35% of the respondents represent “traditional companies” with more than […]
1 min read
Ipositioned myself near the entrance to the dining lounge and watched as the escalator in front of me deposited a steady stream of well-dressed couples to the upper level. I had arrived at the suburban racetrack early, to be on hand to greet our guests for dinner and an evening of horse racing. As my […]
February 29, 2000
8 min read
U.S. insurers are fortifying themselves for lower profitability and a higher operating ratio in the coming year, a survey revealed at the 2000 Property & Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum recently in New York City. Industry chiefs insist that, despite heightened merger and acquisition in the year ahead, the overcapitalized insurance environment could soon be swept away by an abundance of cost-absorptive changes.
5 min read
Harmonization efforts on the east coast have not gone unnoticed by regulators nationwide, with most provincial legislators carefully watching Insurance Act rewrites across the country in an effort for more standardized rules and regulations. Most recently, the regulatory sights have been set on the adjusting profession, delegates were told at the recently held 33rd Annual […]
6 min read
The friendly bout gloves seem to have been removed in the latest acquisitional match of industry consolidation, namely the less-than-friendly bid made by listed Equisure Financial Network in the beginning of this year for its public-traded rival, Canada Brokerlink Inc. This was later followed by a friendly offer by Allianz Canada, a deal supported by […]
4 min read
Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (TSE: KFS) has announced a fourth quarter 1999 loss of 40 to 45 cents per share. The company expects to report a combined ratio of approximately 102% for fiscal 1999, a marked increase from 1998’s year-end 93.9%. Gross premiums written are on the rise, from 1998’s $409 million to $500 million […]
Emerging technologies are having a great impact upon the insurance industry, in particular the adjusting field. One innovation that is leaving its mark on adjusting in particular is digital photography. Incorporating photos into insurance reports is critical to developing comprehensive case reports, and the advent of digital photography has meant adjusters are able to do […]
In a move that has escalated global primary company consolidation, CGU Group and Norwich Union announced they will merge their operations. The new company, CGNU, will form the UK’s largest insurance group and feature worldwide premium income and retail investment sales of 26 billion pounds. The deal, more accurately characterized as a CGU acquisition, is […]
Consumer suspicion of insurance companies has reached the point that it is now part of American pop culture to view them as commonplace in the U.S., as are awards of punitive damages.
7 min read
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