Articles by Andrew Tjaardstra
Anbang offers $6.5bn for US hotel chain
Chinese insurance giant Anbang has offered around $6.5bn (£4.5bn) for Blackstone-owned Strategic Hotel Resorts which runs 16 luxury US-based hotels and resorts.
Gen Re to close Hong Kong and Melbourne offices in restructure
Gen Re, a global reinsurer owned by Berkshire Hathaway, has decided to close six property and casualty offices after an evaluation of the business.
Hiscox-owned Direct Asia sells Hong Kong division to Well Link
Global insurer Hiscox has decided to sell the Hong Kong division of Direct Asia to Well Link for an undisclosed sum.
Aviva benefits from Friends Life acquisition as UK profits slide
Aviva recorded a 20% increase in global profits to £2.67bn in 2015 compared with £2.21bn the previous financial year.
Qatarlyst founder Sutherland passes away
James Sutherland, commercial director, Asia-Pacific, at AM Best and founder of Qatarlyst sadly passed away suddenly on 26 February in Hong Kong at the age of 58.
Perils revises down Desmond flooding costs estimate
Catastrophe data specialist Perils has revised its storm Desmond flood property insurance market loss estimate to £662m down from £717m.
Northern Australia taskforce warns on government cyclone mutual
A Northern Australia taskforce has found a government mandated cyclone insurance scheme would cost taxpayers around A$5bn (£2.6bn) to help reduce premiums.
JLT's profit falls 7% after "challenges" in UK & Ireland employee benefits unit
Global broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson's pre-tax profit fell 7% to £170.1m in 2015 compared with the 2014 fiscal period.
Panes begins McLarens' Asia-Pacific leadership role
Global loss adjuster McLarens has confirmed the appointment of two senior managers in Asia-Pacific.
Axa's Asia P&C GWP surpassed €1bn in 2015
Axa's property and casualty gross written premiums in Asia exceeded €1bn (£789m) in 2015 for the first time.
Zurich appoints Marguin as Asia-Pacific chief underwriting officer
Zurich has appointed Asia-Pacific chief financial officer Herve Marguin as its chief underwriting officer for the same region.
C-Suite: The potential of telematics in Asia
Telematics is a great opportunity for Asia's motor insurers as competition intensifies in the region writes Pravar Gautam.
RSA unveils record underwriting profit as Hester declares turnaround 'largely complete'
UK-headquartered RSA's after tax profits climbed 221% to £224m in 2015 compared with 2014.
Aon's clients suffered $1bn of losses from Tianjin
Aon's clients alone have already suffered losses in excess of $1bn (£700m) from last year's Tianjin port disaster in China.
$500m sale of US arm will 'transform' the broker, says Cooper Gay CEO
Global wholesale and (re)insurance broker Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford has sold its US arm Swett & Crawford to US broker BB&T.
Zurich commits to Asia-Pacific after Hong Kong sale exploration report
Zurich has confirmed it has no intention of exiting the Hong Kong and Singapore markets after a Reuters report stated it was considering selling its operations in those areas.
Premium rates softened 3.4% in Asia-Pacific last year, says QBE
Australian insurance giant QBE saw rates softening on average 3.4% in Asia-Pacific (excluding Australia and New Zealand) in 2015 as competition intensified across the region.
Peak Re appoints underwriter manager and head of analytics
Hong Kong-headquartered reinsurer Peak Re has appointed Iain Reynods as head of analytics with Lawrence Cheng moving to head of product underwriting.
Asia Interview: Mark Walker, CEO - Hong Kong, QBE
Andrew Tjaardstra talks to Mark Walker six months into his role as QBE Hong Kong CEO at the Australian headquartered insurer's Quarry Bay office.
Steadfast's profit climbs 81% in first half
Australian broker network and underwriting agency Steadfast saw after tax profits climb 81% in the first half of fiscal year 2016 to A$37.9m (£19.4m).
Baxter rejoins Chubb as Asia-Pacific arts specialist
Previous Chubb employee Regina Baxter has returned to the global insurer to become the insurer's fine arts portfolio specialist for Asia-Pacific.
New Zealand remembers victims of Christchurch earthquake five years on
Christchurch has held a public memorial to remember the 185 people who died in the devastating 22 February 2011 earthquake.
20 dead after strongest storm in Fiji's recorded history
At least 20 people have died after the strongest storm ever recorded in the southern hemisphere smashed into Fiji over the weekend.
XL Catlin hires from Asia Capital Re for political risk role
XL Catlin has appointed Lim Mei Yean as an underwriter in its political risk and trade credit team based in Singapore.