New Zealand Quakes Drive Insurance Market Changes
A string of earthquakes in New Zealand is sending tremors through the global insurance market with some companies delaying underwriting policies and others turning to capital markets to offset the risk...
View ArticleNew Zealand Offers to Pay 5,000 to Leave Quake-Hit Homes
New Zealand’s government said that it will offer to pay thousands of homeowners to leave areas of the country’s second-largest city that were hardest hit by recent earthquakes. Christchurch was struck...
View ArticleAXIS Puts Q2 Cat Losses at $90-$105 Million; Updates Q1 Estimates
Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has estimated that the total net financial impact of the June 2011 aftershock in New Zealand and the series of severe weather events that occurred in the...
View Article7,500 Earthquakes Shake Resolve in Christchurch, New Zealand
It’s been 10 months since the first big earthquake struck New Zealand’s second-largest city. It’s been nearly five months since a far more devastating one killed 181 people and crippled the downtown....
View ArticleNZ Minister Says Deal in Global Climate Talks ‘Still within Reach’
A global deal on a pact to succeed the U.N.’s main climate agreement is still within reach but will not be struck this year, with the pace of talks still far too slow, New Zealand’s top climate...
View ArticleAon Benfield: Reinsurers Expected to Pay 2/3 of Australia, NZ Cat Losses
Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp, has issued a bulletin indicating that Australian and New Zealand insurers, who were hit with “catastrophic events” in...
View ArticleNew Zealand Says Oil Spill ‘Worst-ever Maritime Environmental Disaster’
Rough weather has jostled a cargo ship stuck off New Zealand’s coast and worsened its oil leak fivefold to make it the country’s worst-ever maritime environmental disaster, the government said Tuesday....
View ArticleStricken New Zealand Container Ship May Break Apart or Sink
Salvage crews raced Monday to pump oil from a stricken ship teetering on a reef off the New Zealand coast, while also preparing for the worst: Authorities believe the vessel will break apart or sink...
View ArticleBest Issues Special Report on New Zealand’s Non-Life Insurance Market
A new report from A.M. Best examines New Zealand’s non-life insurance market, which it describes as being “in a state of transformation as it grapples with prolonged earthquake activity in addition to...
View ArticleInsurance Australia Group to Acquire New Zealand Insurer AMI
Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) announced it had entered into an agreement to purchase the AMI insurance business for NZ$380 million (approximately A$288 million [US$287.96 million), enhancing...
View ArticleGuy Carpenter Analyzes 2011 Catastrophes; $108 Billion in Losses
Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has examined the past year’s natural catastrophes, which it describes as “an unusually eventful year for the (re)insurance sector.” In addition to the ongoing financial...
View ArticleEarthquakes Prompt Record Insurance Claims in 2011
Insurance industry damage claims from natural disasters like the earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand reached a record $105 billion in 2011, Munich Re , the world’s biggest reinsurer, said on...
View ArticleGrounded Cargo Ship Breaks Apart on New Zealand Reef
A cargo ship grounded off the New Zealand coast since October has split in two, spilling sea containers and debris and sparking fears of a fresh oil spill, maritime officials said Sunday. The wreck of...
View ArticleAon Benfield 2011 Catastrophe Study: $107 Bn Insured Losses; $435 Bn Economic
Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon Corp, has issued its “Annual Global Climate and Catastrophe Report,” which aggregates and analyses the natural disaster...
View ArticleSwiss Re Report Examines Insurance Role in Earthquake Disasters
Swiss Re’s new report – “Lessons from recent major earthquakes,” focuses on the most recent series of devastating quakes, which have caused extensive loss of life and injuries, along with widespread...
View ArticleAXIS Estimates Thai Flood Losses at $48 Million; Updates 2011 Loss Estimates
Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings Limited announced that the net financial impact of the severe flooding in Thailand on the Company’s fourth quarter results is expected to be $48 million – net of...
View Article$370 Billion Econ. Losses for 2011; $116 Billion Insured, Says Swiss Re
Although everyone is more or less aware that 2011 was a very bad year for losses from natural catastrophes, the figures compiled by Swiss Re evince just how bad they actually were. In its latest sigma...
View ArticleBest Announces Rating Actions on NZ’s ‘Old’&‘New’ AMI Insurance
A.M. Best Co. announced rating actions on both New Zealand’s AMI Insurance Limited, or the old AMI, and AMI Insurance (Operations) Limited, or the new AMI, following a substantial restructuring of the...
View ArticleNZ Weather Scientists Foresee Short, Weak El Nino
El Nino weather conditions, which can bring droughts to parts of Asia and affect crops, have emerged but will likely be weak and short lived, New Zealand scientists said on Tuesday. El Nino is a...
View ArticleHow Another Country’s Insurance Industry Is Facing Climate Change
Tim Grafton, chief executive of the Insurance Council of New Zealand, lives in a country surrounded by risk on all sides, and he’s unabashed in his efforts to use flooding events, frequent storms or...
View ArticleDUAL Australia Launches Suite of Marine Products with New Team
DUAL, the underwriting arm of the Hyperion Insurance Group*, has announced the continued expansion of its global marine and energy practice following the launch of a marine offering at DUAL Australia...
View ArticleQBE Names Fagen as Group Chief Strategy Officer; Plant Is Promoted
Sydney, Australia-headquartered QBE has appointed Colin Fagen as group chief strategy officer, in a new role “designed to create a strong platform for growth across the group,” according to Group Chief...
View ArticleArthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires New Zealand’s Reid Manson
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.* announced the acquisition of Reid Manson Ltd. located in Timaru, New Zealand. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded more than 30 years ago, Reid Manson is...
View ArticleBHSI Offers Cyber Liability Cover in New Zealand; Marshall to Lead Product Line
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Co. (BHSI) announced that it has introduced cyber liability insurance in New Zealand and appointed Ian Marshall to lead the product line locally as senior...
View ArticleNew Zealand Claims World’s First Pizza Delivery by Drone
New Zealand led the world when it gave women the vote and introduced inflation targeting. Now it’s claiming another world-first: pizza delivery by drone. Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd. has joined...
View ArticleUK’s BMS Launches Melbourne, Australia-based Affinity Broking Operation
BMS Group Ltd., the London-based independent specialist insurance and reinsurance broker, announced the launch of a new affinity broking operation focused on Australia and New Zealand. The team will be...
View ArticleNew Zealand EQ Insured Losses Could Top $3B: AIR Worldwide
Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide released its initial estimates of industry insured losses from the earthquake that struck New Zealand’s South Island early this week, putting a range of $762...
View ArticlePrem Watsa’s Fairfax to Pay $144M for New Zealand-Based Insurer
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. will pay $144 million for New Zealand insurer Tower Ltd., giving it an instant, significant presence in a growing, emerging market. Tower’s board of directors has...
View ArticleNew Zealand Eyes Revamping Building Standards After November Quake
New Zealand’s government said Friday [March 31] the partial collapse of a modern office building’s interior during an earthquake last November was unacceptable and could have killed people. Minister...
View ArticleAuthorities Fail to Investigate Near-Miss of Drone and Air New Zealand Plane
When a drone flew within meters of a landing plane last week, endangering 278 passengers and crew, Air New Zealand responded by saying that such reckless drone operators should be thrown in prison....
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