Best's Review articles from June 2006

Best's Review archives from June 2006

Hurricane warning 2006.(Editor's Prologue)
June 1, 2006... As insurers get ready for the new hurricane season beginning June 1, the industry is still reeling from the aftermath of 2005's record-setting storms. Our Big Picture package this month looks at three different aspects of those repercussions...

Looking for availability.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2006... Thanks to Mr. Bannach for a thought-provoking article ("The Return of Own-Specialty," April 2006). However, it caused me to believe I'm somewhat out of the loop when it comes to the availability of larger amounts of group long-term disability...

Quote/unquote *.
June 1, 2006... "I'm fed up with coming up the lifts in this building [Lloyd's London tower] and seeing people carrying around paper files. It's ridiculous." (The subject was Kinnect, a recently abandoned, $124 million technology initiative.) Lord Peter...

Large Florida homeowners insurer goes into receivership following hurricanes.
June 1, 2006... A member company of Florida's third-largest private homeowners insurer has been ordered into receivership by a state judge. Leon County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Bateman ordered Southern Family Insurance Co., a member of the Poe Financial...

Bolivian energy takeover concerns trade credit market.
June 1, 2006... The Bolivian government's bid to nationalize its oil and gas industry is setting off alarms in trade credit and political risk insurance markets, even though this development is a wreck experts have seen coming for some time. On May 1,...

Earthquake losses increase.(by the Great San Francisco earthquake and fire)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The June 1906 issue of Best's Review published updated loss estimates from companies affected by the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, and described those updates as "most disquieting." The magazine reported that many of the new...

L/H impairment rate remains low in 2005.(By the Numbers)(Life/Health impairments)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The seven U.S. life/health company financial impairments recorded by A.M. Best in 2005 continue a trend of low impairment since 2000, according to the A.M. Best Special Report "2005 Life/Health Impairments Bounce Off 2003-2004 Historical Lows."...

Meetings.(By the Numbers)(insurance industry)(Brief article)(Calendar)
June 1, 2006... June 7-9 America's Health Insurance Plans: Institute 2006, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego. (202) 778-3200; www.ahip.org June 8-10 National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies: Focus 2006, Sheraton New...

Allstate's Liddy brings good hands back to D.C.(Edward Liddy)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... Edward Liddy is no stranger to the nation's capital. Decades before he took the reins at the largest publicly traded personal-lines insurer, Allstate Corp.'s chairman and chief executive officer was knocking down jumpers as a star on the...

Horse racing probe could aid hurt riders.(United States. Congress. House. Committee on House Oversight)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... A congressional sub-committee probing alleged mismanagement within the trade union that represents professional thoroughbred horse racing jockeys could consider new legislation mandating some of the industry's simulcast revenues be set aside...

Life insurers seek to rein in life settlements.
June 1, 2006... Fearing the loss of favorable tax treatment and the undermining of insurable interest laws, life insurers are supporting an effort to put the reins on speculative life settlement transactions. Insurers have been revamping underwriting forms...

Lloyd's wrote cover for downed airplane.(Lloyd's Life Assurance Ltd.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The crash of an Armenian jetliner, with the loss of 113 lives, isn't likely to cause major problems for underwriters, according to Steve Jutton, claims manager for Beaufort Underwriting Agency Ltd., the lead insurer on the loss at Lloyd's. ...

Best's insurance stock indices.(Table)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Best's Insurance Stock Indices (Dec. 31. 2004 = 1.000.00) Four Weeks Ended May 11, 2006 Percent Change Index Month/ Year to Year/...

U.K. insurers, lawyers keep wary eye on asbestos issues.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The rampant costs of asbestos-related claims in the United States are worrying British insurers and lawyers, who are concerned the unique structure of the U.K. legal system, which has kept runaway litigation at bay, eventually may be breached....

XL Capital Ltd.(Property/Casualty)(named John Gallagher)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... XL CAPITAL LTD. has named JOHN GALLAGHER chief underwriting officer of the company's global property, operations. Gallagher will be located in XL's New York office and report to David Duclos, chief operating officer of XL's global insurance...

Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.(Property/Casualty)(named David Greenfield and Richard Gieryn Jr.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... AXIS CAPITAL HOLDINGS LTD. has named DAVID GREENFIELD chief financial officer. He will join the company during the third quarter. Greenfield also will join the company's executive management group. Most recently, Greenfield was global...

Ace Ltd.(Property/Casualty)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... ACE LTD. has named JOHN KEOGH chief executive officer of Ace Overseas General, the company's international property and casualty insurance organization. Before joining Ace, Keogh spent more than 20 years at American International Group...

W.R. Berkley Corp.(Property/Casualty)(named Steven Coward)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... W.R. BERKLEY CORP. has named STEVEN COWARD president and chief executive officer of Berkley Surety Group Inc., the company formerly known as Monitor Surety Managers Inc. Coward has been an officer at subsidiaries of W.R. Berkley since...

COO: clients still the main focus for Willis' North American unit.(People in Insurance)(Willis Group Holdings named Don Bailey)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Willis Group Holdings has named Don Bailey chief operating officer of the company's North American business unit. Bailey will manage the organization's day-to-day operational and sales activities with Mario Vitale, chief executive officer...

Palisades Safety & Insurance Management Corp.(Property/Casualty)(named Ed Fernandez)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... PALISADES SAFETY & INSURANCE MANAGEMENT CORP. has named ED FERNANDEZ president and chief executive officer. Most recently, Fernandez was with Chubb Corp., where he was chief field officer for Chubb Personal Insurance.

American International Group Inc.(Property/Casualty)(named John Doyle and Christopher Maleno)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC. has named JOHN DOYLE senior vice president of domestic general insurance and president and chief executive officer of National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. The company also named CHRISTOPHER...

American International Group Inc.(Property/Casualty)(named Philip Jacobs)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC. has named PHILIP JACOBS vice president and director of taxes. Jacobs succeeds Peter Lathrop, who is retiring. Most recently, Jacobs was vice president and global tax director for GE Insurance Solutions.

Safeco Corp.(Property/Casualty)(named William Jenks)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... SAFECO CORP. has named WILLIAM JENKS chief information officer, effective April 17. Most recently, Jenks was executive vice president and chief information officer of worldwide operations at Publicis Groupe, the advertising and media...

Risk Specialist Companies Inc.(Property/Casualty)(named Matthew Power)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... MATTHEW POWER has been named president of RISK SPECIALIST COMPANIES INC. He is currently senior vice president-Eastern zone of the AIG Cos. Power joined the AIG Cos. in 1993 as national accounts regional director.

Scottish RE Group Ltd.(Reinsurance)(named Michael French)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... SCOTTISH RE GROUP LTD. has announced the retirement of MICHAEL FRENCH as chairman of its board. French will continue to serve as a nonexecutive director. French was president of the company from 1998 through March 2000. He was also its...

Lexington Insurance Co.(Health/Employee Benefits)(named Peter Eastwood)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... LEXINGTON INSURANCE CO., a member company of American International Group Inc., has named PETER EASTWOOD senior executive of AIG Healthcare. He also serves as a senior vice president of Lexington. Eastwood began his insurance career in 1991...

Aon Consulting.(Health/Employee Benefits)(named Kathryn Hayley)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... AON CONSULTING has named KATHRYN HAYLEY chief executive officer of Aon Consulting U.S. Hayley will begin serving in her new position later this spring. Hayley joins Aon Consulting from Deloitte Consulting LLP, where she has worked...

Universal American Financial Corp.(Health/Employee Benefits)(named Steven Najjar)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... UNIVERSAL AMERICAN FINANCIAL CORP. has named STEVEN NAJJAR chief operating officer and legal counsel of its insurance companies. Najjar will serve as executive vice president, general counsel and chief operating officer for certain...

Integro Insurance Brokers.(appoints Steve Alexander Jr.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... INTEGRO INSURANCE BROKERS has named STEVE ALEXANDER JR. a principal in the company's Atlanta office. Alexander joins Integro from the Steve Alexander Agency, a division of Southern States Insurance, where he was president for 16 years.

Account reviews: when it's not working out.(Progressive Insurance Co., Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., advertising contract)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... RECENTLY, PROGRESSIVE DIRECT GROUP OF INSURANCE COS. AND MASS MUTUAL FINANCIAL GROUP put their advertising accounts up for review. Progressive was with Doner Detroit since 1999 and Lowe, New York, was the incumbent for MassMutual. According to...

A whale of an ad.(Pacific Life Insurance Co. uses whale as its icon)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... AMID THE REPTILES AND DUCKS appearing as brand images in insurance commercials, Pacific Life chose the humpback whale as its icon to represent strength, longevity and endurance. The 18th-largest U.S. life insurer has been using the whale in...

AXA Equitable.(Merkley & Partners, advertising contract)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... AXA EQUITABLE'S new campaign shines a light on baby boomers' needs for annuities. The print and television ad campaign encourages the country's 77 million baby boomers to stop ignoring the "800-pound gorilla" in the room--retirement planning....

Lifetime withdrawals.(Prudential Financial Inc. introduces Spousal Lifetime Five)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... When insurers first introduced them, guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits on variable annuities assured policyholders they could withdraw at least all they invested over a certain number of years, usually at 7% a year in the course of 14...

Insurance for event tickets.(World Access Service Corp. introduces insurance for online tickets)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... World Access, a specialty insurance provider and member of the Mondial Assistance Group, has introduced insurance for Americans buying tickets online to sports events, concerts and the theater. The coverage provides customers of the TicketsNow...

Safeco augments its workers' comp.(Safeco Insurance Co. to introduce worker's compensation insurance)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Safeco has received approval from 25 states for a stand-alone workers' compensation product. The monoline product gives small businesses more flexibility in acquiring coverage through independent insurance agents. Safeco already sells workers'...

Work-site cancer insurance uses group underwriting.(from Colonial Supplemental Insurance of UnumProvident Corp.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Colonial Supplemental Insurance, a part of the UnumProvident Corp., has launched a group voluntary cancer insurance product using group underwriting, which means no health questions are asked of individuals, although pre-existing limitations...

ING introduces accident insurance.(ING Groep N.V.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... ING Employee Benefits has introduced an accident insurance product for the work site in which individuals receive defined benefits for specified services and conditions resulting from a covered accident. Benefits are paid directly to insureds....

Age and net worth.(average value of family assets)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Average value of family assets in 2004, including real estate and vehicles. ($ thousands) Age 75+ $528.1 Age 65 to 74 $690.9 Age 55 to 64 $843.8 Age 45 to 54 $542.7 Age 35 to 44 $299.2 Age Under 35 ...

Best's rating changes.(Table)
June 1, 2006... This edition of Best's Rating Changes reflects all rating changes--assignments, changes or placed under review--that occurred for life, health and property/casualty insurers domiciled in North America, as well as international insurance...

Katrina's next wave: agents' E&O coverage could become the next liability target nationwide.(Hurricane Katrina)(Cover story)
June 1, 2006... In June 2005, at the start of the worst hurricane season on record, Elmer and Alexa Buente bought a new home in Gulfport, Miss. Just a few months later, Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Gulf Coast, severely damaging the Buentes' new home. The...

Not business as usual: faced with a record volume of claims and far from ideal circumstances, insurers have settled most personal lines claims from Hurricane Katrina. Now the industry is taking steps to limit its exposure to the upcoming hurricane season.
June 1, 2006... Six months after Hurricane Katrina, the largest natural catastrophe ever to strike the United States, insurers had paid most of the record volume of personal lines claims, and many took extraordinary steps to do so. Now, they're using...

Katrina: why risk management failed: the record insured losses from Hurricane Katrina show that insurance companies need more discipline in managing risk assumption.
June 1, 2006... According to several industry sources, Hurricane Katrina inflicted record property/casualty losses of $35 billion to $55 billion at the end of August 2005, an amount large enough to wipe out most of the estimated pretax operating profit of the...

A long and comfortable life: Hartford president and COO Thomas M. Marra sees a healthy future for longevity products.(chief operating officer)(Interview)
June 1, 2006... The life insurance industry is becoming serious about longevity insurance, which might typically be bought at age 65 to provide a guaranteed income stream at age 85. It also is developing the ability to sell future guaranteed income as an...

Enduring a flu pandemic: life/health insurers and reinsurers, who know a lot about risk management, believe they will be able to manage and emerge from a severe avian flu pandemic better than other businesses.
June 1, 2006... The H5N1 virus is likely to soon reach North America by means of migratory birds. It was first detected nine years ago in poultry in Hong Kong, and it has spread through much of Asia and, more recently, into Europe and Africa. If it mutates...

Private equity eyes insurance: investments in the insurance industry are booming as investors flush with capital look for new ways to invest it.
June 1, 2006... The insurance sector is benefiting from an explosion in growth from private equity investors. Investors see the disruptions in the marketplace--caused by the terrorist attacks of 2001, brokerage investigations in 2004 and 2005, and recent...

Tag, you're it: radio frequency identification technology may soon help insurers track documents, stolen items, patients, medical histories, prescription drug use and more.
June 1, 2006... In Cincinnati, two employees of video surveillance company CityWatcher.com have a new way of entering the company's secure data center. They've traded in their traditional security badges for human implantable microchips that provide them...

For the record--corporate changes 2005: all companies listed are U.S. property/casualty or life/health insurers. Changes occurred in 2005, unless otherwise indicated.
June 1, 2006... Life/Health Mergers Alliance of Poles of America (AMB# 60052), Cleveland. This company was merged into Polish Roman Catholic Union of America during 2005. American States Life Insurance Co. (AMB# 06105), Indianapolis. This company...

Beating the odds: Sierra Health has turned a physician practice into the largest health insurer in Nevada with its unusual approach of owning its own medical facilities and by making its home in one of the nation's largest booming markets.(Sierra Health Services Inc.)(Company overview)
June 1, 2006... In the early 1970s, a young Las Vegas doctor had a dream to begin his own cardiology practice. Unbeknownst to him at that time, the practice would pave the way to what is now the largest health insurer in Nevada. Today, Sierra Health...

Build a pipeline to productivity: links to a current client, center of influence, network or industry group can generate time-efficient positive leads.(Column)
June 1, 2006... In my Marcia 2006 Best's Review column, "No Time to Spare," I talked about the sales habits of the top producers in the industry. They delegate account servicing, plan their sales activities and strategies, qualify leads to avoid working with...

Risk managers: relations with brokers still fractured.
June 1, 2006... The relationship between risk managers and the brokerage community isn't healed. Ellen Vinck, outgoing president of the Risk and Insurance Management Society and vice president of risk management and benefits for BAE Systems Ship Repair,...

Aon: end of contingent fees is a 'wonderful catalyst'.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The settlements that resolved New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's investigation into alleged wrongdoing by brokers brought a positive result for Aon Corp., its president and chief executive officer said. "It's been frustrating...

Lack of uniformity in broker compensation draws fire.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... In a Honolulu hotel suite overlooking the Pacific Ocean, lush palm trees, an orchid pool and deck, Mario Vitale, the chief executive officer of Willis North America, is nibbling on sandwiches as he takes a break during the Risk and Insurance...

Commercial brokerage launches new course.(company named according to Gerardus Mercator)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... A recent player to enter the wholesale brokerage market is a company named after Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator. New York-based Mercator Risk Services, led by Chief Executive Officer ChrisTreanor, is charting a new course in...

Modeler provides grim weather forecast.(Risk Management Solutions Inc. to launch new cat models)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Several sessions at the RIMS annual conference focused on recent violent storms and how risk modelers are desperately retooling models to prepare for more frequent and severe storms. Patti VanderMarck, of Risk Management Solutions Inc.,...

Liebowitz tapped as president.(Michael Liebowitz and Janice Ochenkowski appointed at Risk and Insurance Management Society)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Michael Liebowitz, director of risk management for the Bridgeport, Conn., Hospital & Healthcare Services, has been elected president of the Risk and Insurance Management Society. Janice Ochenkowski, director of global risk management for...

Compliance issues befuddle multinationals.(insurance regulated)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... As regulations tighten, insurance programs designed to meet the needs of U.S. corporations with operations overseas have become more complex. Carriers that service multinational companies face a host of challenges, including ensuring that...

Chubb finds smallest risks loom large.(nanotechnology in use)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Risk managers should be preparing now for the wave of coming nanotechnology products, said Louise Vallee, research and development specialist for Chubb Corp. "Nanotechnologies will affect most major industries in two to five years," Vallee...

Learning curve: improvements in science and technology over the past century have made the industry more capable of predicting and responding to natural catastrophes.
June 1, 2006... This year, the nation commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906, one of America's largest insured catastrophes. The earthquake had a rupture length of almost 300 miles, measured a record 7.8 on...

More than half of U.S. drivers don't use car's turn signals.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... A new national survey reveals that 57% of American drivers admit they don't use their turn signal when changing lanes, but what is most startling are the excuses drivers gave. According to Response Insurance, a national car insurer, 42% of...

RIMS launches online tool to aid risk managers.(Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. has launched the Quality Improvement Process Wizard, an online, confidential tool to help risk managers, brokers, insurers, claims service and safety and loss control providers communicate and...

Chubb survey: loss control spending average up by 7%.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... About 43% of risk managers said spending for loss control services had increased in the past year, while 52% said spending remained the same, according to a survey by Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. The survey of 125 risk managers found the...

Tag-teaming: cooperation between a team of two brokers or agents provides a client the best of both worlds.(Column)
June 1, 2006... A man and his lawyer squared off in court against an opponent, who had two lawyers. "I want you to hire another attorney to help with my case," the man told his sole counselor. "The other fellow has two." "That's not necessary,"...

Long-term solutions: can partnership policies boost the sales of long-term-care insurance and cut future Medicaid costs?
June 1, 2006... Since 1992, four states--Connecticut, California, New York and Indiana--have implemented long-term-care public and private partnership programs. More than 200,000 long-term-care partnership insurance policies are in force today, and, the...

Changing channels: agents are likely to join independent marketing organizations, which offer greater commissions, but less service. How will insurers respond to demands for service?(Column)
June 1, 2006... When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is in sight, said Jack Welch, GE's former chief executive officer. If external change means meeting the analysts' quarterly expectations, then the Welchian dictum...

Full speed ahead: insurers shouldn't fear the roadblocks currently inherent in securitizing Triple-X reserves. They can be crossed, and the trip is worth the effort.
June 1, 2006... Triple-X securitization has generated a strong interest among structured finance professionals because of a potentially large opportunity in the life insurance industry. Application of securitization technology to the funding of Triple-X...

A new frontier: virtualization is beginning to find its place in the insurance industry.
June 1, 2006... The concept of virtualization, both for computer storage and servers, has gained significant momentum since the virtualization software pioneer, VMWare (now owned by EMC), was founded in 1998. More recently, the number of virtualization...

Insurers are wary of regulators' direction on uninsured motorists.
June 1, 2006... Efforts by state regulators to create a national uniform system to track uninsured motorists are raising concern among insurer advocates, who fear it would amount to a "Big Brother" approach. The industry meanwhile is piloting an online...

Aetna.(introduces online physician-patient communications )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Aetna announced it recently began covering online physician-patient communications for members in California and Florida through RelayHealth, a provider of secure online health-care communication services. RelayHealth enables online...

MetLife Inc.(Spanish in-language web site launched)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... MetLife Inc. launched its first Spanish in-language Web site in the United States (www.metlife.com/espanol). The site provides product information, agency locations, Life Advice brochures, and career opportunities, as well as a telephone number...

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners.(introduces public education program on insurance )(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The National Association of Insurance Commissioners launched a comprehensive public education program to assist consumers with information about insurance issues. Under the banner of Insure U, the campaign also is designed to help educate...

Tied down: despite a recent overhaul, insurance company insolvency laws are still mired in redundancy and high costs.( insurance receivership model law to be rewrited)
June 1, 2006... After spending the past few years working to rewrite the insurance receivership model law, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has adopted a new version. Many inside and outside the industry believe this initiative has...

Running on faith: for disability insurers, the good, the bad and the ugly of bad faith litigation depends on how well they investigate an insured's claim.
June 1, 2006... In recent years there has been a proliferation of bad faith lawsuits against disability insurers resulting in tens of millions of dollars in jury awards. For example, in May 2001,a Florida jury awarded $36.7 million to an eye surgeon whose...

Get emotional: MetLife exec reminds producers of their ultimate mission--to sell peace of mind.(Joseph Jordan of MetLife Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... This one wasn't about product design or sales strategy. This speech to the April 5 general session of the Life Insurance Conference was from the heart. Actually, it was from the right side of Joseph Jordan's brain, the side he was asking...

Limra: get the word out about retirement planning.(LIMRA International Inc.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Robert A. Kerzner, Limra International's president and chief executive officer, urged life insurers to better educate their distributors and clients about the need to view retirement differently than most now do. His points included: *...

Life insurers will win battle for retirement business.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Life insurers will become the hub of the retirement industry. That was the upbeat assessment of Thomas M. Marra, president and chief operating officer of Hartford Life Insurance Co. "Broker-dealers, banks and asset managers will plug into us...

Don't forget retirement risks.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The shortcomings of many financial plans today is that they are set up to last to a retiree's life expectancy, usually 85 years, thus impoverishing some retirees by design, said Brian Perlman, a member of market research firm Matthew Greenwald...

Top producers speak out.(Marc Silverman of Silverman Financial and Mario Ferreri of Financial Management Resources Inc.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... It's a tough job to start a career as an insurance producer. Marc Silverman, president of Silverman Financial in Miami, and Mario Ferreri, president of Financial Management Resources Inc., Winter Park, Fla., started their careers with life...

Rethinking our tobacco follies: life and health insurers need to take another look at tobacco-use underwriting issues.
June 1, 2006... As smoking issues heat up in the public domain--dare we observe the high-handed extent of employers not only refusing to hire smokers but also having the gall to terminate currently smoking employees--what better time than now for us to...

Zurich found new approach to claims in Katrina's wake.(Zurich American Insurance Co., Hurricane Katrina)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... When faced with the unprecedented number of claims from Hurricane Katrina, commercial insurer Zurich took an unusual approach to handling the onslaught. Christopher E. Barnes, senior vice president of field office operations, said the...

FM Global touts underwriting by engineering as superior.
June 1, 2006... If Hurricane Katrina was a boxing match, FM Global would be a faintly bruised yet unbloodied fighter, brimming with confidence after a compelling performance. The commercial property insurer's chief executive officer, Shivan S....

Ace breaks into U.S. life Re market through Hart Life shell.(Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. acquired)
June 1, 2006... Ace Ltd. is looking to expand its presence in the U.S. life reinsurance market with its acquisition of an inactive Hartford Financial Services Group shell that holds licenses in 49 states and the District of Columbia, the company said. ...

Scottish Re completes $2.1 billion life securitization.(Scottish Re Group Ltd.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Scottish Re Group Ltd. said it completed a $2.1 billion bond offering that securitizes a block of 1.7 million life insurance policies acquired from ING Re. The Bermuda-based life reinsurer floated $1.7 billion of 30-year notes and about...

U.K.'s Royal & Sun completes $500m bond exchange offer.(Royal and SunAlliance Insurance Group PLC)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc has completed an exchange offer on $500 million of subordinated guaranteed bonds. The bonds, which are due on Oct. 15, 2029, carry an interest rate of 8.95%. They have been exchanged for...

AIG units approved for expansion in China.(American International Group Inc.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... American International Group Inc. said its life and general insurance subsidiaries in China both were granted licenses to expand operations in Guangdong province, and the life operation also received the go-ahead to expand throughout Jiangsu...