If you do business with Iran, it's probably going to be harder to get insurance coverage. Regulators and lawmakers in the U.S. are looking for stiffer penalties to thrust upon companies that do business with Iran. And insurers, likely acutely aware of how risk can spread, are starting to pull back.

Munich Re (0KFE) and Allianz (AZSEY) announced that they are suspending business in Iran, according to a report by Business Insurance. Neither company, however, stands to lose much. For Allianz, the lost premium is "negligible," and for Munich Re, it's only around $13.6 million.

Continue reading Insurance Industry Faces More Pressure on Iran

Insurance Industry Faces More Pressure on Iran originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Insurance Companies to See Hot Cat Bond Market

Insurance Companies to See Hot Cat Bond Market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bermuda Stock Exchange Tries to Forget 2009

Bermuda Stock Exchange Tries to Forget 2009 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Reinsurance Rates Off up to 15% for January Renewal

Reinsurance Rates Off up to 15% for January Renewal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading AIG Puts Off Chartis IPO

AIG Puts Off Chartis IPO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The expectation, last year, that damage to insurers' balance sheets and an increase in claims -- particularly for financial services liability coverage -- didn't materialize, as carriers had enough capital on hand to absorb the losses sustained on both sides of the balance sheet. As a result, insurance pricing has been kept under control.

Continue reading Premium income down 18% in UK insurance market

Premium income down 18% in UK insurance market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Does today's record 936 point rally in the Dow mean that happy days are here again? I think it's a gift to investors who want to stop their losses after having seen their portfolios plummet in the last year. Last week, the Dow fell 22%, destroying $2.4 trillion in market value -- it gained back $940 billion of that today. As an unpleasant reminder, after today's 11% rally, the S&P 500 has lost 36% of its value in the last year. And, while I hope I am wrong, I don't see the conditions yet in place to believe that we have reached bottom with the economy and can now expect the earnings growth that would justify investment in stocks

Today's rally feels good but it is highly likely that there was an element of short covering driving up the market. Last Wednesday, the SEC lifted its ban on short selling. Investors who shorted financial and insurance companies were doing quite well last week as fears of another financial bankruptcy mounted. With today's successful save of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), anyone who was short that firm -- or other financial stocks -- was forced to buy those stocks as they spiked in order to repay their stock loans. This probably contributed significantly to a buying panic.

If you need your money in the next six years, you could sell first thing tomorrow morning and you will be able to limit the losses that could come from unpleasant surprises. What kind of surprises? Here are two:

• Credit Default Swap settlements. There is no central repository of information about who owes how much to whom for their CDS obligations. Nor is there solid data on how much these CDS counterparties have in their capital accounts in the event of a default that triggers their obligation to pay up. For instance, I was surprised to learn that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) had a $20 billion obligation in the event of an American International Group (NYSE: AIG) failure. Who else is out there with such obligations? Do each of these counterparties have the ability to get the government to bail them out by taking over the company to prevent them from having to pay? Probably not.

Continue reading Did you sell into today's record rally?

Did you sell into today's record rally? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Insurance giant Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) last month reported solid first-quarter 2007 earnings of $710 million in net income, $1.71 EPS, compared to $672 million, $1.58 EPS in 1Q 2006. Operating income increased a respectable 5% to $634 million, with operating income per share increasing 8% to a record $1.53. Loss and expense ratio was slightly higher in 1Q 2007 than in 1Q 2006. Chubb was able to post profits despite the fact that net written premiums declined 2% to $2.9 billion for the quarter. The 1% decrease in US-based premiums was more than offset by a 7% increase in premiums outside the US. Chubb's catastrophic reinsurrance business declined by 69% but that was due to Chubb's decision to sell its Re-Harbor Point unit. Income after taxes from property and casualty investments increased 9% to $305 million.

The Chubb personal insurance segment grew 6% to $840 million for 1Q 2007 in terms of the value of premiums with higher catastrophic losses in 2007 than 2006. Despite the major slow down in the home building industry, Chubb's homeowner insurance unit grew 7% while consumer automobile premiums declined 5%. Chubb's commercial insurance declined slightly to $1.3 billion for the quarter, with a renewal rate of 84% for US premiums. Chubb specialty insurance, including professional liability insurance, was flat at $681 million.

Chubb has plenty of money and used $605 million to repurchase almost 12 million shares of its stock. There are still 28 million shares available on the open market. In order to expand its repurchasing program, Chubb offered $1 billion of subordinated capital securities during 1Q 2007 to raise funds for accelerated repurchases. For the time being, Chubb is sticking with FY 2007 operating income per share of $5.00-$5.40. The stock recently closed at $55.64, up $0.38.

Chubb insures profitable quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 May 2007 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When the winds blow: Is Andrea a harbinger of hard times for re-insurers? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 May 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.