Untitled Document

In 2009 we obtained a national licence to open an insurance broking subsidiary in Thailand.

We now have a team of insurance Professionals based in Phuket and will be opening other regional offices in Thailand as the business grows.

Please follow this link for contact details Lambert Brothers Insurance Broker (Thailand) Ltd

A new venture for us in Hong Kong that opened for business on 1st April 2010.

The Agencies company is designed to service many of our personal clients and to offer web based insurance products with automated transactions and fast delivery.

Warace Chin is leading the company as Director of Operations and can be contacted on
Tel.: 2585 8232
email: wchin@lbiagencies.com.hk

Lloyd's chairman Lord Levene has said the world is seeing the biggest upsurge in piracy for four centuries, but talking up piracy is boosting insurers profits the FT reports. Chief executive Richard Ward has spoken of millions of young men in failing states around the world looking with envy at pirate attacks perpetrated by gangs of marauding Somalis in the Gulf of Aden. But the number of piracy attacks is down in many regions. Nearly 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year. Actual and attempted piracy and armed robbery incidents in the region numbered 100. That average of 11 attacks per month would mean less than 0.7% of shipping was affected. The FT says insurers playing up the fears have benefited. From 2005, piracy risks have moved from a yearly hull insurance policy to pricier "war risk" coverage per voyage. This has given insurers about $300m-$500m of premium in the Gulf of Aden in 2008 compared with roughly $100m (£60m, €70m) paid in ransoms.

UK-based insurer Admiral has signed new reinsurance contracts with Munich Re and Hannover Re for its new US motor insurance operation Elephant. Under the quota share deal, Munich Re and Hannover Re will each take one third of the US risks, with Admiral retaining the other third. The Hannover Re contract runs for up to 10 years, while the Munich Re agreement is for up to 15 years. Both agreements have break clauses, but the details of these have not been revealed. Meanwhile in Europe, Admiral has extended its reinsurance agreements with Munich Re in Spain and in Italy to 15 years. Admiral said that the terms of the agreements had been revised to give Admiral higher commissions if results are "very positive".

UK-based Aviva and RSA Insurance, along with European insurers AXA and Zurich Financial Services, are to appeal last week's Scottish court ruling that people with pleural plaques are eligible for asbestos-related compensation. Insurers had sought a judicial review of the Damages (Asbestos Related Conditions)(Scotland) Act, passed in June 2009, which overturned a House of Lords ruling that pleural plaques, which are symptomless, should not qualify as a compensable condition.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled to maintain the Act. Association of British Insurers (ABI) Director of General Insurance & Health Nick Starling said that "after careful consideration and legal advice, insurers consider that there are good grounds for this appeal". He added that the insurers concerned had not taken lightly the decision to appeal, but they felt strongly that the Damages Act was "fundamentally flawed as it ignores overwhelming medical evidence that plaques are symptomless, and the well-established legal principle that compensation is payable only when there are physical symptoms".

It estimates £3.2bn worth of damage was caused, but a quarter of households were not insured. The floods of summer 2007 cost the country a total of £3.2bn, including more than £2bn to homeowners and businesses and 400 000 lost pupil days, a report from the Environment Agency revealed today. The report, published some two months since the Cumbria floods in November, illustrates the wide-ranging and substantial costs of flooding. In what it calls "the most comprehensive review of the economic impact of the 2007 floods", the EA calculated that households and businesses incurred the majority (some two-thirds) of the total.

The average cost was between £23 000 and £30 000 per flooded home but a quarter of homeowners were not fully covered by insurance. Some 30 per cent of households were forced to relocate to temporary accommodation, one third of which for more than a year. The average cost incurred per flooded business was between £75 000 and £112 000, with 95 per cent of companies covered by insurance.

ACAL, owner of Syndicate 1965, receives new capital from Mitsui Group. Syndicate 1965 is expected to expand its property/casualty and marine reinsurance business after a major investment in its Singapore-based holding company, ACAL. Mitsui Group, the diversified trading company, has bought a controlling stake in ACAL, which operates Syndicate 1965 via ACAL Underwriting Ltd, a corporate member at Lloyd's. The syndicate is managed by Argenta. The syndicate is expected to use its Mitsui's business network to build a broader portfolio of business in Asia. Mitsui has made other investments in reinsurance companies since 2001, mainly through Stone Point Capital. The investment makes Mitsui Group the first Japanese trading company to invest in a Lloyd's syndicate.

Insurers are not expected to face claims following Eurostar's announcement that it will pay up to £10m in compensation to passengers affected by the travel chaos it experienced before Christmas. In December, poor weather caused condensation to build up inside the electrics of five trains causing them to break down. As a result, Eurostar cancelled all services for three days, leaving thousands of people stranded on both sides of the Channel while it carried out safety checks. Insurance Day sources indicated it was unlikely Eurostar would have business interruption cover for passengers unable to travel, and consequently the cross-channel rail company may have to take the compensation payments on the chin.

The competitiveness of the UK's financial services sector at risk from unilateral regulation industry leaders told a Future of Financial Services survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Lloyd's chairman Lord Levene voiced concern about what he described as "politically motivated changes to the tax system." He said: "Traditionally our biggest market has been the US, followed by continental Europe. The burgeoning eastern market presents another big opportunity." Stuart Fraser, Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee, City of London Corporation, said: "London's strengths are fantastic. But you can't constantly bash it and tax it and expect it to stay that way." Further waves of regulation are anticipated and the UK government is expected to remain active in the industry for some time to come. The leaders wanted co-ordinated global action rather than on a territory by territory basis.

Chaucer Holdings, one of only three publicly traded Lloyd's insurers based in the UK, is considering relocating overseas to reduce its tax bill, according to Bloomberg. "It's on our list of items to look at this year," CEO Robert Stuchbery said in an interview with the newswire. "Our peer group has an advantage over us when it comes to tax." Chaucer, Amlin and the Novae Group are the only firms among 19 publicly traded Lloyd's insurers to have their headquarters located in the UK. "People will come and go but London is still a good place to do business," Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling told the Financial Times in an interview published today. "We have a critical mass here that you can't find in other parts of the world and I'm determined that it remains that way."

Kraft Food's successful $19.5bn bid for Cadbury could eventually result in the loss of business for one of the major insurance brokers. Insurance Day has learned that US food and beverage company, Kraft, whose largest shareholder is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, and UK confectionary firm Cadbury both have two captives based in Dublin; one reinsurance captive and one direct captive each. The two Kraft captives are managed by Marsh, while rival Aon manages the Cadbury vehicles. With Kraft being the buying party, it is Aon that looks most at risk. Neither broker would comment on what the deal means for them, but captive experts believe consolidation of the insurance operations to be a likely outcome of the Kraft/Cadbury deal.

Barack Obama's healthcare reforms are in danger after Republican senator Scott Brown stunningly won a Massachusetts primary. Scott Brown beat out favourite Martha Coakley last night to win the formerly 'safe' Democratic seat, meaning that he will be a new roadblock to Obama's hopes of progressing the bill through Senate unhindered. Brown, who used the unpopularity of the bill to win over voters, will likely vote against Obama's bill, which needed a huge battle to get it through on Christmas Eve.

Chaucer could follow Brit, Beazley, Hiscox, Omega and Hardy Underwriting in redomiciling outside the UK, warned new Chaucer CEO Bob Stuchbery in an interview with Bloomberg. He said that he would be putting a relocation proposal to the Chaucer board by the end of the third quarter, adding that "I would much prefer to stay in the UK and have a corporation tax environment which put us on a level playing field with our international competition". Of the 19 publicly traded insurers in the London market, only Chaucer, Amlin and Novae are still headquartered in the UK. Brit is now in Ireland, while Beazley is in the Netherlands. Hiscox, Omega, Hardy and Catlin are in Bermuda.

The UK tax authority has changed its procedure on reinsurance portfolio transfers and is no longer offering a fast route for companies to avoid VAT payments. Previously, UK insurers and reinsurers were able to secure exemption from VAT in advance of their transactions, by stating why their forthcoming transfer qualified as a 'Transfer-of-a-Going-Concern', which is exempt from VAT. Now, pre-clearance of this kind has been stopped by the UK tax authority. Reinsurers believe it signals a tightening of the rules by tax officials after Swiss Re was ordered in October 2009 to pay €2m to tax authorities in Munich, Germany, for the transfer of 195 life insurance portfolios from a German subsidiary to the Switzerland-based parent in 2002.

Insurers have so far paid Eurotunnel just €36m out of the possible €280m total damages from the fire that restricted the tunnel from 11 September 2008 to 9 February 2009, the FT reports. Eurotunnel said 2009 traffic and revenue figures were down 18.9% to €571m ($819m) because of the fire. The company was still in discussions with its insurers about the extent of its fire-related operating losses and how much it would be paid for the year's shortfalls. Payments were halted after tunnel users made their own claims on Eurotunnel's insurance.

Japan's Fuji Fire & Marine is to raise ¥13.5bn ($147m) by issuing new shares to Chartis Group, the non-life subsidiary of New York-based AIG, reports Dow Jones. Fuji F&M will issue about 157m new shares at ¥86 per share. The deal will raise Chartis's stake in Fuji F&M to 54.79% from 41.69%. Fuji F&M has been through a series of cost-cutting measures in Japan's mature and competitive insurance market, which is currently undergoing significant consolidation. The Osaka-based company announced cuts of ¥7bn, probably through the sale of its Tokyo offices and the cancellation of bonus payments.

Personal injury lawyers have accused Lord Justice Jackson of bowing to insurers and reducing access to justice, the Law Society Gazette reports. "The champagne corks will be popping at insurers' headquarters"' said Tom Jones, head of policy and public affairs at national trade union firm Thompsons. "They have got almost everything they have been lobbying for. Claimants are going to be paying out of their damages and insurers will be paying out to their shareholders." John McQuater, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said costs would shift to the claimant and a 10% increase in damages will not compensate. Law Society president Robert Heslett said: "We are hopeful...that the proposition to abolish the recovery of success fees from the wrongdoer does not result in less, rather than more, access to justice."

Morgan Stanley has reiterated its positive view on UK-based Amlin after an investor update from the insurer on Amlin Corporate Insurance (ACI), the business formerly known as Fortis Corporate Insurance that Amlin bought in July last year. Last August Amlin said that its underwriters were working with those from ACI to address "known issues" in the marine portfolio it inherited with the purchase. Yesterday Amlin gave an update on ACI which Morgan Stanley termed "very positive". Amlin has effectively re-underwritten 20% of the marine policies, equivalent to 38% of premium and 70% of claims. Amlin also said yesterday that a local managing agency had shifted €60m ($84.4m) of business, equal to about 8% of ACI's total gross written premiums, back to ACI from Swiss Re, having withdrawn its business from Fortis Corporate Insurance when Fortis was nationalized.

Joe Plumeri's contract extended from April 2011 to July 2013. Willis has extended the contract of its chairman and CEO, Joe Plumeri, until July 2013. His contract was to expire in April 2011. The board said: "Under Joe's leadership, Willis has advanced its competitive position around the world and successfully navigated the strong headwinds of the continuing soft insurance market and the global economic downturn. "Since joining in 2000, Joe has led the company through a decade of expansion through quality client service, a commitment to transparency, strategic acquisitions and sector-leading margins. "We are delighted that Joe has agreed to stay at the helm to continue the company's progress well into 2013."

Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett said that it was proper for the insurance and investment holding's General Re subsidiary to pay $92.2m to settle federal and shareholder charges over the company's role in striking sham reinsurance deals with AIG and US Prudential that allowed those companies to artificially burnish financial records. Speaking on the Fox Business television network, Mr Buffett said, "We did something wrong and we paid the price. It shouldn't have been done, and there's nothing inappropriate about the fine we paid, so I have no problem with it". Under the settlement, Gen Re agreed to pay $60.5m in restitution to AIG shareholders and a combined $31.7m in fines and investigative costs to the SEC and the US Postal Inspection Service. Gen Re previously surrendered to federal authorities the $5m in fees that it had accepted from AIG in arranging two sham reinsurance deals.

The National Fraud Authority (NFA) has said all forms of fraud cost the UK £30bn a year, or £621 per adult, with losses were paid for through taxes and rising prices of products and services, the BBC reports.

58% of fraud was in the public sector, at a cost of £17bn
£15.2bn lost through tax fraud - 3% of tax liabilities
Consumer scams £3.5bn
31% of losses came in the private sector
Financial services sector lost an estimated £3.8bn
Insurance fraud £2bn
Mortgage fraud £1bn
Consumer goods industry £1.3bn
Manufacturing £1bn a year
Technology, media and telecommunications lost £948m.

"Although the figure appears on the face of it far greater than the previous estimate, we know this is because we have included many additional figures that other studies have not," said NFA chief executive Bernard Herdan. "With this vital information we can develop clearer priorities to prevent, detect and deter fraudsters. We will use the data to help identify those areas of fraud that cause the most harm to the UK economy.

News Releases



Article	Date


Our Office in Thailand
In 2009 we obtained a national licence to open an insurance broking subsidiary in Thailand. We now have a team of insurance Professionals based in Phuket and will be opening other regional offices in Thailand as the business grows. Please follow this link for contact details Lambert Brothers Insurance Broker (Thailand) Ltd

LBI Agencies Ltd
A new venture for us in Hong Kong that opened for business on 1st April 2010. The Agencies company is designed to service many of our personal clients and to offer web based insurance products with automated transactions and fast delivery. Warace Chin is leading the company as Director of Operations and can be contacted on Tel.: 2585 8232 email: wchin@lbiagencies.com.hk

Piracy fears have made profits — Insurance Times	18 January 2010
Lloyd's chairman Lord Levene has said the world is seeing the biggest upsurge in piracy for four centuries, but talking up piracy is boosting insurers profits the FT reports. Chief executive Richard Ward has spoken of millions of young men in failing states around the world looking with envy at pirate attacks perpetrated by gangs of marauding Somalis in the Gulf of Aden. But the number of piracy attacks is down in many regions. Nearly 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year. Actual and attempted piracy and armed robbery incidents in the region numbered 100. That average of 11 attacks per month would mean less than 0.7% of shipping was affected. The FT says insurers playing up the fears have benefited. From 2005, piracy risks have moved from a yearly hull insurance policy to pricier "war risk" coverage per voyage. This has given insurers about $300m-$500m of premium in the Gulf of Aden in 2008 compared with roughly $100m (£60m, €70m) paid in ransoms.

Admiral signs US reinsurance deals — Insurance Day
UK-based insurer Admiral has signed new reinsurance contracts with Munich Re and Hannover Re for its new US motor insurance operation Elephant. Under the quota share deal, Munich Re and Hannover Re will each take one third of the US risks, with Admiral retaining the other third. The Hannover Re contract runs for up to 10 years, while the Munich Re agreement is for up to 15 years. Both agreements have break clauses, but the details of these have not been revealed. Meanwhile in Europe, Admiral has extended its reinsurance agreements with Munich Re in Spain and in Italy to 15 years. Admiral said that the terms of the agreements had been revised to give Admiral higher commissions if results are "very positive".

Insurers to appeal Scottish asbestos ruling — Insurance Day
UK-based Aviva and RSA Insurance, along with European insurers AXA and Zurich Financial Services, are to appeal last week's Scottish court ruling that people with pleural plaques are eligible for asbestos-related compensation. Insurers had sought a judicial review of the Damages (Asbestos Related Conditions)(Scotland) Act, passed in June 2009, which overturned a House of Lords ruling that pleural plaques, which are symptomless, should not qualify as a compensable condition. The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled to maintain the Act. Association of British Insurers (ABI) Director of General Insurance & Health Nick Starling said that "after careful consideration and legal advice, insurers consider that there are good grounds for this appeal". He added that the insurers concerned had not taken lightly the decision to appeal, but they felt strongly that the Damages Act was "fundamentally flawed as it ignores overwhelming medical evidence that plaques are symptomless, and the well-established legal principle that compensation is payable only when there are physical symptoms".

Environment Agency publishes in-depth report into 2007 floods — Post
It estimates £3.2bn worth of damage was caused, but a quarter of households were not insured. The floods of summer 2007 cost the country a total of £3.2bn, including more than £2bn to homeowners and businesses and 400 000 lost pupil days, a report from the Environment Agency revealed today. The report, published some two months since the Cumbria floods in November, illustrates the wide-ranging and substantial costs of flooding. In what it calls "the most comprehensive review of the economic impact of the 2007 floods", the EA calculated that households and businesses incurred the majority (some two-thirds) of the total. The average cost was between £23 000 and £30 000 per flooded home but a quarter of homeowners were not fully covered by insurance. Some 30 per cent of households were forced to relocate to temporary accommodation, one third of which for more than a year. The average cost incurred per flooded business was between £75 000 and £112 000, with 95 per cent of companies covered by insurance.



Lloyd's syndicate gains Japanese investment — Insurance Times	19 January 2010
ACAL, owner of Syndicate 1965, receives new capital from Mitsui Group. Syndicate 1965 is expected to expand its property/casualty and marine reinsurance business after a major investment in its Singapore-based holding company, ACAL. Mitsui Group, the diversified trading company, has bought a controlling stake in ACAL, which operates Syndicate 1965 via ACAL Underwriting Ltd, a corporate member at Lloyd's. The syndicate is managed by Argenta. The syndicate is expected to use its Mitsui's business network to build a broader portfolio of business in Asia. Mitsui has made other investments in reinsurance companies since 2001, mainly through Stone Point Capital. The investment makes Mitsui Group the first Japanese trading company to invest in a Lloyd's syndicate.

Insurers off the hook on Eurostar pay outs — Insurance Day
Insurers are not expected to face claims following Eurostar's announcement that it will pay up to £10m in compensation to passengers affected by the travel chaos it experienced before Christmas. In December, poor weather caused condensation to build up inside the electrics of five trains causing them to break down. As a result, Eurostar cancelled all services for three days, leaving thousands of people stranded on both sides of the Channel while it carried out safety checks. Insurance Day sources indicated it was unlikely Eurostar would have business interruption cover for passengers unable to travel, and consequently the cross-channel rail company may have to take the compensation payments on the chin.

Fears of unilateral regulation — Insurance Times
The competitiveness of the UK's financial services sector at risk from unilateral regulation industry leaders told a Future of Financial Services survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Lloyd's chairman Lord Levene voiced concern about what he described as "politically motivated changes to the tax system." He said: "Traditionally our biggest market has been the US, followed by continental Europe. The burgeoning eastern market presents another big opportunity." Stuart Fraser, Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee, City of London Corporation, said: "London's strengths are fantastic. But you can't constantly bash it and tax it and expect it to stay that way." Further waves of regulation are anticipated and the UK government is expected to remain active in the industry for some time to come. The leaders wanted co-ordinated global action rather than on a territory by territory basis.

Chaucer considering re-domestication — Post
Chaucer Holdings, one of only three publicly traded Lloyd's insurers based in the UK, is considering relocating overseas to reduce its tax bill, according to Bloomberg. "It's on our list of items to look at this year," CEO Robert Stuchbery said in an interview with the newswire. "Our peer group has an advantage over us when it comes to tax." Chaucer, Amlin and the Novae Group are the only firms among 19 publicly traded Lloyd's insurers to have their headquarters located in the UK. "People will come and go but London is still a good place to do business," Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling told the Financial Times in an interview published today. "We have a critical mass here that you can't find in other parts of the world and I'm determined that it remains that way."



Captive consolidation likely after Kraft buy — Insurance Day	20 January 2010
Kraft Food's successful $19.5bn bid for Cadbury could eventually result in the loss of business for one of the major insurance brokers. Insurance Day has learned that US food and beverage company, Kraft, whose largest shareholder is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, and UK confectionary firm Cadbury both have two captives based in Dublin; one reinsurance captive and one direct captive each. The two Kraft captives are managed by Marsh, while rival Aon manages the Cadbury vehicles. With Kraft being the buying party, it is Aon that looks most at risk. Neither broker would comment on what the deal means for them, but captive experts believe consolidation of the insurance operations to be a likely outcome of the Kraft/Cadbury deal.

Obama health care reforms in danger — Post
Barack Obama's healthcare reforms are in danger after Republican senator Scott Brown stunningly won a Massachusetts primary. Scott Brown beat out favourite Martha Coakley last night to win the formerly 'safe' Democratic seat, meaning that he will be a new roadblock to Obama's hopes of progressing the bill through Senate unhindered. Brown, who used the unpopularity of the bill to win over voters, will likely vote against Obama's bill, which needed a huge battle to get it through on Christmas Eve.

Stuchbery says Chaucer may join UK exodus — Insurance Day
Chaucer could follow Brit, Beazley, Hiscox, Omega and Hardy Underwriting in redomiciling outside the UK, warned new Chaucer CEO Bob Stuchbery in an interview with Bloomberg. He said that he would be putting a relocation proposal to the Chaucer board by the end of the third quarter, adding that "I would much prefer to stay in the UK and have a corporation tax environment which put us on a level playing field with our international competition". Of the 19 publicly traded insurers in the London market, only Chaucer, Amlin and Novae are still headquartered in the UK. Brit is now in Ireland, while Beazley is in the Netherlands. Hiscox, Omega, Hardy and Catlin are in Bermuda.

UK 'taking closer look' at reinsurance transfers — Insurance Times
The UK tax authority has changed its procedure on reinsurance portfolio transfers and is no longer offering a fast route for companies to avoid VAT payments. Previously, UK insurers and reinsurers were able to secure exemption from VAT in advance of their transactions, by stating why their forthcoming transfer qualified as a 'Transfer-of-a-Going-Concern', which is exempt from VAT. Now, pre-clearance of this kind has been stopped by the UK tax authority. Reinsurers believe it signals a tightening of the rules by tax officials after Swiss Re was ordered in October 2009 to pay €2m to tax authorities in Munich, Germany, for the transfer of 195 life insurance portfolios from a German subsidiary to the Switzerland-based parent in 2002.



Slow pay for tunnel fire claim — Insurance Times	21 January 2010
Insurers have so far paid Eurotunnel just €36m out of the possible €280m total damages from the fire that restricted the tunnel from 11 September 2008 to 9 February 2009, the FT reports. Eurotunnel said 2009 traffic and revenue figures were down 18.9% to €571m ($819m) because of the fire. The company was still in discussions with its insurers about the extent of its fire-related operating losses and how much it would be paid for the year's shortfalls. Payments were halted after tunnel users made their own claims on Eurotunnel's insurance.

Chartis takes majority stake in Fuji F&M — Insurance Day
Japan's Fuji Fire & Marine is to raise ¥13.5bn ($147m) by issuing new shares to Chartis Group, the non-life subsidiary of New York-based AIG, reports Dow Jones. Fuji F&M will issue about 157m new shares at ¥86 per share. The deal will raise Chartis's stake in Fuji F&M to 54.79% from 41.69%. Fuji F&M has been through a series of cost-cutting measures in Japan's mature and competitive insurance market, which is currently undergoing significant consolidation. The Osaka-based company announced cuts of ¥7bn, probably through the sale of its Tokyo offices and the cancellation of bonus payments.

Lawyers squeal about Jackson — Insurance Times
Personal injury lawyers have accused Lord Justice Jackson of bowing to insurers and reducing access to justice, the Law Society Gazette reports. "The champagne corks will be popping at insurers' headquarters"' said Tom Jones, head of policy and public affairs at national trade union firm Thompsons. "They have got almost everything they have been lobbying for. Claimants are going to be paying out of their damages and insurers will be paying out to their shareholders." John McQuater, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said costs would shift to the claimant and a 10% increase in damages will not compensate. Law Society president Robert Heslett said: "We are hopeful...that the proposition to abolish the recovery of success fees from the wrongdoer does not result in less, rather than more, access to justice."

Amlin updates on ex-Fortis business — Insurance Day
Morgan Stanley has reiterated its positive view on UK-based Amlin after an investor update from the insurer on Amlin Corporate Insurance (ACI), the business formerly known as Fortis Corporate Insurance that Amlin bought in July last year. Last August Amlin said that its underwriters were working with those from ACI to address "known issues" in the marine portfolio it inherited with the purchase. Yesterday Amlin gave an update on ACI which Morgan Stanley termed "very positive". Amlin has effectively re-underwritten 20% of the marine policies, equivalent to 38% of premium and 70% of claims. Amlin also said yesterday that a local managing agency had shifted €60m ($84.4m) of business, equal to about 8% of ACI's total gross written premiums, back to ACI from Swiss Re, having withdrawn its business from Fortis Corporate Insurance when Fortis was nationalized.



Plumeri to run Willis to 2013 — Insurance Times	22 January 2010
Joe Plumeri's contract extended from April 2011 to July 2013. Willis has extended the contract of its chairman and CEO, Joe Plumeri, until July 2013. His contract was to expire in April 2011. The board said: "Under Joe's leadership, Willis has advanced its competitive position around the world and successfully navigated the strong headwinds of the continuing soft insurance market and the global economic downturn. "Since joining in 2000, Joe has led the company through a decade of expansion through quality client service, a commitment to transparency, strategic acquisitions and sector-leading margins. "We are delighted that Joe has agreed to stay at the helm to continue the company's progress well into 2013."

Buffett has "no problem" with GenRe settlement — Insurance Day
Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett said that it was proper for the insurance and investment holding's General Re subsidiary to pay $92.2m to settle federal and shareholder charges over the company's role in striking sham reinsurance deals with AIG and US Prudential that allowed those companies to artificially burnish financial records. Speaking on the Fox Business television network, Mr Buffett said, "We did something wrong and we paid the price. It shouldn't have been done, and there's nothing inappropriate about the fine we paid, so I have no problem with it". Under the settlement, Gen Re agreed to pay $60.5m in restitution to AIG shareholders and a combined $31.7m in fines and investigative costs to the SEC and the US Postal Inspection Service. Gen Re previously surrendered to federal authorities the $5m in fees that it had accepted from AIG in arranging two sham reinsurance deals.

Plumeri to run Willis to 2013 — Insurance Times
Joe Plumeri's contract extended from April 2011 to July 2013. Willis has extended the contract of its chairman and CEO, Joe Plumeri, until July 2013. His contract was to expire in April 2011. The board said: "Under Joe's leadership, Willis has advanced its competitive position around the world and successfully navigated the strong headwinds of the continuing soft insurance market and the global economic downturn. "Since joining in 2000, Joe has led the company through a decade of expansion through quality client service, a commitment to transparency, strategic acquisitions and sector-leading margins. "We are delighted that Joe has agreed to stay at the helm to continue the company's progress well into 2013."

AFraud costs UK £30bn a year — Insurance Times
The National Fraud Authority (NFA) has said all forms of fraud cost the UK £30bn a year, or £621 per adult, with losses were paid for through taxes and rising prices of products and services, the BBC reports. 58% of fraud was in the public sector, at a cost of £17bn £15.2bn lost through tax fraud - 3% of tax liabilities Consumer scams £3.5bn 31% of losses came in the private sector Financial services sector lost an estimated £3.8bn Insurance fraud £2bn Mortgage fraud £1bn Consumer goods industry £1.3bn Manufacturing £1bn a year Technology, media and telecommunications lost £948m. "Although the figure appears on the face of it far greater than the previous estimate, we know this is because we have included many additional figures that other studies have not," said NFA chief executive Bernard Herdan. "With this vital information we can develop clearer priorities to prevent, detect and deter fraudsters. We will use the data to help identify those areas of fraud that cause the most harm to the UK economy.





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