Dee is new Malayan Insurance Chairman.
The Board of Directors of Malayan Insurance Co., Inc. announced yesterday the election of Helen Y. Dee as the company's new chairman, replacing Atty. Adelita Vergel de Dios who retired from Malayan Insurance, effective February 16, 2008. Dee previously served as president of Malayan Insurance from 1983...

Always read before you sign. (Property).
Do you read the loan documents your organization signs? All of them? Before anybody puts his or her stamp of approval on the dotted line? One risk manager didn't, and now he wishes he had. Out of the blue a risk manager (whose name was withheld) received...

Who's next? Ratings agencies have a habit--either by design or by coincidence--of releasing ratings reviews when buyers and sellers engage in their annual prospecting rituals in Monaco. The market holds its breath to see who gets upgraded, and who takes a hit.
Come Sept. 10, 2005, there will be plenty to talk about at the squeaky-dean sidewalk cafes of Monaco. Item No. 1 on the agenda is expected to be the winners and losers in the ratings game. "For the second or third year, all eyes are going to...

Parking capital in a new spot: "sidecar" vehicles allow reinsurers to improve their balance sheets, but with one caveat: it will be easier for investors to flee when other opportunities present themselves.
In the fourth quarter of 2005, a number of Bermuda reinsurance companies that survived Katrina, Rita and Wilma were restructured. Traditionally, that would have meant the replacement or enhancement of their capital base and a review of their books of business. Four major companies, so far, have...

Property and casualty insurers' net claims arising from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks reached $9.3 billion by Dec. 31, 2002, compared to $8.5 billion reported through December 31,2001, according to Weiss Ratings Inc., an independent provider of ratings and analyses of financial services companies, mutual funds and stocks.
Property and casualty insurers' net claims arising from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks reached $9.3 billion by Dec. 31, 2002, compared to $8.5 billion reported through December 31,2001, according to Weiss Ratings Inc., an independent provider of ratings and analyses of financial services companies, mutual funds and stocks. Weiss...

APA members get new malpractice insurer: hold on claims payments to expire July 1. (Old Policy in Force For Many).
American Psychiatric Association members who carry APA-endorsed malpractice liability insurance received some good news after 2 months of uncertainty: A new, highly rated insurer is entering the picture to take over new policies and renewals. Professional Risk Management Services Inc. (PRMS), the agent responsible for administering the...

S&P: why Munich re deserved a lashing: analyst cites the "underperformance" of the nonlife unit and its effect on the reinsurer's ability to replenish its capital base.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Munich-based global reinsurer Munich Reinsurance Co. and related core subsidiaries of the Munich Re group to 'A+' from 'AA-'. The outlook is stable. The downgrade primarily reflects a re-evaluation by Standard &...

Profits of Workers' Comp Insurers Decline.
Workers' comp insurers (defined as companies with at least 50 percent of their business in workers' compensation) suffered an 86 percent de cline in profits during the first nine months of 2000, compared with the same period in 1998, from $1 billion to $144 million, according to Weiss Ratings...

Peering into pricing's crystal ball: frequency of claims continues to decline but their severity has increased steadily since the mid-1990s, Fitch Ratings reports. Health care costs have steadily increased as well. The Fitch report said that litigation cost increases related to workers' comp have also affected loss-cost trends.
The workers' compensation insurance market has improved for insurers and will likely continue to do so throughout the year, according to Fitch Ratings, in a recent report. But the New York-based insurance rating agency warns profitability may peak soon and fail to keep pace with future loss-cost changes. That...

Hard market spurs captive growth: A variety of factors, including rising rates and tight underwriting restrictions, are driving employers into captives and risk retention groups in record numbers. (Special Report: Captives and Alternative Risk Transfer).
For nearly 10 years, the temptation was immense. Insurers were cutting rates with every renewal and aggressively pursuing employers they previously shunned. Some of those companies abandoned the captive insurers they formed during earlier insurance coverage crises and returned to standard markets for the low rates while...