What’s new: In brief (August 18, 2004)

Boomerang Tracking is being purchased by Massachusetts-based LoJack Corp., for US$48 million in cash/stock options to shareholders. “By joining LoJack, we believe we can more effectively increase our penetration in existing markets and enter new markets through the synergy created by our two organizations,” says Boomerang CEO Peter Lashchuk. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) loss is the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America’s (PCI) gain. NAIC president Ernie Csiszar has resigned in order to become president and CEO of PCI. This means Csiszar will also leave his role as Director of Insurance for South Carolina. Csiszar will assume his new role in October.

Standard & Poor’s has issued a stable outlook for the Asia-Pacific insurance sector although it notes a wide divergence of risks facing insurers in each region, specifically dependent on the regulatory environment, market maturity and overall economic conditions. “After strengthening since 2001, pricing in Asia Pacific’s non-life insurance markets has passed the cyclical peak and is weakening. Underwriting profitability across the region is expected to turn south in 2004,” not S&P credit analyst Ian Thompson.