Weekly news roundup
Intact completes sale of AXA Life; A.M. Best rates top 10 global insurers; Marsh acquires South African brokerage.
January 5, 2012
Company news
Intact has completed the $300 million sale of AXA Life Insurance Inc. to SSQ, Life Insurance Company Inc. AXA Life Insurance Inc. was acquired in September 2011 by Intact as part of the $2.6 billion acquisition of AXA Canada. Intact intends to allocate most of the proceeds to repay the term loan facility used to partially finance the acquisition of AXA Canada.
Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings, has announced the rebranding of its executive risks practice to FINEX North America, effective immediately. Management liability experts worldwide will operate under the FINEX name, which consists of more than 100 professionals in 13 offices across the platform. The practice specializes in D&O liability, network liability, E&O, professional liability, fidelity bonds, employment practices liability and fiduciary liability.
Marsh has completed its acquisition of the brokerage business of Alexander Forbes (AF). This transaction comprises its South African insurance broking operations, Alexander Forbes Risk Services (AFRS) and related ancillary operations, and AF’s insurance broking operations in Botswana and Namibia. Marsh has also agreed to acquire other AF local operations across sub-Saharan Africa in Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia subject to regulatory approvals. These transactions are expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.
Western Financial Group (WFG) has acquired Roblin Insurance Travel and Realty Agencies Ltd. in Roblin, Manitoba. The brokerage, which has been serving the Roblin community since 1976, will now operate as a WFG office. to read more on this story, click here.
Global update
With the majority of this year’s catastrophe losses arising from unmodeled or inadequately modeled perils or territories, reinsurers are being more forceful in their demand for greater transparency of data, or looking to sub limit their exposures to manageable levels, according to Willis Re. Further findings point to the market being increasingly segmented, with rate movements being driven by individual loss history and perceived exposure movements, rather than by an overall blanket increase.
France’s AXA S.A. once again topped A.M. Best Co.’s ranking of the world’s 25 largest insurance companies as measured by net premiums written and Japan Post Insurance Co. Ltd. led the ranking measured by nonbanking assets. AXA had US$107.9 billion in net premiums written in 2010, up 0.2% from the previous year. A.M. Best places Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. in second place. Generali’s net premiums rose 2.87% to $87.17 billion last year.
The top ten global insurers ranked by net premiums written according to A.M. Best are:
- AXA S.A., France
- Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., Italy
- UnitedHealth Group Inc, United States
- Allianz SE, Germany
- Japan Post Insurance Co., Ltd., Japan
- National Mutual Insurance Fed. Agricultural Coop, Japan
- Munich Reinsurance Company, Germany
- WellPoint Inc., United States
- AVIVA plc, United Kingdom
- China Life Insurance (Group) Company, China
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