Japan
Marine market favourable for buyers despite losses
Conditions in the marine insurance market remain generally favourable to buyers, despite a series of natural catastrophes and other significant losses since the beginning of 2011, according to a report from Marsh.
Q&A with DAC Beachcroft's Steven Dewhurst
DAC Beachcroft appointed Steven Dewhurst as an insurance partner in its Singapore offices in January with the aim of expanding its international network. Francesca Nyman spoke to him six months into the role to find out about the issues affecting the…
Mitsui Sumitomo worker claims Olympic bronze
Mitsui Sumitomo hailed the Olympic success of one of its own today after staff member Yoshie Ueno claimed bronze in the women's under 63kg judo competition.
Hiscox UK falters while group profit soars
Hiscox returned an interim pre-tax profit of £125.8m (H1 2011: loss £85.6m), following a more benign catastrophe season compared with the previous 12 months.
Insurance CEOs see Asia as most important for growth
Insurance chief executives see Asia as the most important growth region over the next 12-24 months, according to a survey by the Geneva Association.
Lancashire reports hike in profit to $102.6m
Lancashire has reported a 35.5% increase in gross written premium to $514.8m in the first half of the year, compared with $379.8m in the same period in 2011, reporting growth across three of its four main classes of business.
Top five Asian news stories
The top five Asian stories from www.insuranceinsight.com over the past seven days.
Japan's first self-insured Iranian oil shipment loaded
Japan has reportedly loaded its first self-insured shipment of Iranian crude oil on two Japanese tankers.
Asian enterprise risk management gathering steam
The Asia insurance sector lags behind Western markets in terms of enterprise risk management. Nicky Burridge investigates the issues bringing the matter to the top of the agenda.
RMS and Tokio Marine collaborate on Japanese perils
Catastrophe modelling firm Risk Management Solutions and insurer Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire have agreed to share information on Japanese earthquake and typhoon risk over a long-term period.
HSBC looking to exit Vietnamese insurer, sources say
HSBC plans to continue the sale of its insurance assets by divesting its stake in a Vietnamese insurer, according to sources.
Top five Asian news stories
The top five Asian stories from www.insuranceinsight.com over the past seven days.
South west Japan reels from record floods
Heavy rain between 11 and 16 July have caused widespread flooding and mudslides in Japan, catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide reports.
Japan flooding threatens rice crop
Heavy rainfall in south west Japan has caused widespread flooding and mudslides.
Flash flooding hits south west Japan
Intense rainfall in south west Japan has resulted in flash flooding and landslides, according to catastrophe modelling firm RMS.
Thousands of homes evacuated after floods in Japan
Homes suffered substantial damage on Wednesday after intense rainfall caused flash flooding, burst river banks and landslides in the south west region.
H1 natural catastrophe losses $70bn less than in 2011
Insured losses from natural catastrophes were approximately $12bn in the first six months of 2012, significantly less than the $82bn in the first half of 2011.
Iranian crude finds Asian buyers despite insurance sanctions
Iran is still shipping oil to China, and Japan looks likely to resume imports in August, as Iran continues to circumvent Western sanctions on ship insurance, Reuters reported.
Faber Global expands in Asia with Singapore office
Faber Global, the facultative and wholesale reinsurance arm of Willis Group, has increased established a presence in Singapore to cover facultative reinsurance for Singapore and Asia.
Challenging conditions for loss adjusters in the wake of 2011's nat-cats
Difficulty sharing information, lack of access to affected areas and cultural differences hampered loss adjusters in the aftermath of 2011's devastating natural disasters, according to industry insiders.
Losses from Typhoon Guchol expected to be under $500m
Insured losses from Typhoon Guchol are estimated to be less than $500m, according to catastrophe modelling firm Eqecat.
FM Global launches free nat cat toolkit
Commercial property insurer FM Global has launched an online resource for natural hazard planning to help businesses prepare for and protect against the growing risk of catastrophes.
Top five Asian news stories
The top five Asian stories from www.insuranceinsight.com over the past seven days.
Japan's lower house passes Iranian oil tanker bill
Japan took a major step towards circumventing the imminent EU sanctions against Iranian oil on Friday after its lower house passed a bill to provide government guarantees on insurance for Iranian crude cargoes, Reuters reported.