US curbs flood premium increases for 2014

 US curbs flood premium increases for 2014

Moves to match US flood cover pricing to risk have hit a setback, with the Senate passing legislation to curb premium rises under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Premiums in some flood-prone areas soared under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, when insurance under the NFIP began to be priced to risk. Property values fell and there were fears insurance costs could choke economic development in areas such as Louisiana and Florida. The new Homeowner Insurance Affordability Act sets ceilings on premium increases. It restores “grandfathering” of policies in areas with new flood maps and reinstates subsidies for some properties that are bought and sold. The Biggert-Waters Act was intended to address the NFIP debt and discourage development in flood-prone areas. The Property and Casualty Insurers Association of America has praised the new legislation for addressing “unintended consequences” of the Biggert-Waters Act.

News Source :  www.insurancenews.com.au

Waves of problems for Flood Insurance

Waves of problems for Flood Insurance 

Flood Insurance Waves of problems New proposals to reform subsidised flood insurance do too little to reduce risk Mar 8th 2014 | CHERTSEY | From the print edition Timekeeper The beauty of risk pooling AT FIRST glance, Foxglove Mead in Chertsey looks like any other housing estate being built in Britain. As many as 98 homes, some worth £600,000 ($1m), are planned. But step onto the show-home’s newly laid lawn, where your correspondent felt his feet sink into the waterlogged soil, and questions over the suitability of this site become clear: these buildings are in an area at high risk of flooding. Pools of water from floods that last month inundated nearby houses (see picture) still cover neighbouring meadows. Sadly, this is but one of many new residential developments going up on floodplains and tide-swept coasts around the world: 21% of new homes built in London since 2010 are in high-risk areas. Instead of discouraging the building of flood-prone houses, governments are unwittingly encouraging homeowners to flush money down the drain. In this section Injured island Revolutionary fervour The times they aren’t a-changin’ Not so sunny Waves of problems Bank, fix thyself In a fix,

Global insurance 2014 outlook scenario

Global insurance 2014

In 2014, the global Insurance industry is finally emerging from the combination of financial turmoil and economic uncertainty that has challenged international property-casualty and life-annuity insurance companies for the last several years.” Shaun Crawford, Global Insurance Leader As the global insurance industry emerges from this challenging time, there are clear signs of rising opportunity for international property-casualty and life-annuity insurance companies. Still, complex challenges lay ahead, resulting in the prospect of slim profit margins in 2014 and fueling the need for greater customer-centricity across operations. The headlines from our 2014 Global Insurance outlook recap the industry’s most compelling storylines: Rising individual wealth and aging populations are emerging as enticing areas of product expansion and revenue growth in Asia Specific niches in Latin America are seeing substantial growth potential Capital positions for carriers in Europe and North America are rebuilding Looking on the risk side of the equation, global insurance executives are challenged by the protractedly low interest rate environment and an often confounding array of stringent international and national regulations.

Zurich Insurance Up to 800 to Save $250 Million

Zurich Insurance

Zurich Insurance Group AG (ZURN), the biggest Swiss insurer, plans to save $250 million annually by cutting as many as 800 jobs after lowering its profit goal in December, the company said. Zurich plans to remove management layers between the headquarters and the individual business units to reduce costs, the insurer said in a statement today. The company said it would achieve the savings by the end of 2015. The company’s fourth-quarter profit was below analysts’ estimates because of $600 million of reorganization costs. In December, Zurich said George Quinn will take over as chief financial officer in April, leaving his current position as Swiss Re’s CFO. He will replace Pierre Wauthier, who committed suicide in August. “We continue to make significant progress toward our strategic goal to make Zurich a focused and more profitable business,” Chief Executive Officer Martin Senn said in the statement.

Home insurance for cost campaign strikes a nerve

 Home insurance

AUSTRALIANS fed up with home insurance premiums doubling in just five years are demanding a better deal. More than 21,000 people have signed up to the News Corp Australia MoneysaverHQ initiative in less than three days, joining the fight for lower cost insurance deals. Together with consumer movement One Big Switch they are on the hunt for a better home and contents insurance deal. One Big Switch spokesman Joel Gibson said the huge response to the campaign indicated consumers had enough of being gouged by policy price hikes. “The numbers show we have hit a nerve. Consumers were waiting for this campaign and for someone to do something about home and contents insurance premiums,’’ he said. “It confirms our suspicions that this was a bill that was really starting to hurt people. “It’s similar to what happened with electricity a few years ago.

NAYAN JEEVAN MICRO INSURANCE FOR THE URBAN POOR

NAYAN JEEVAN MICRO INSURANCE

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