Insurance Firms News

European Union governments tentatively agreed on Thursday on a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil - an idea of the Group of Seven (G7) nations - with an adjustment mechanism to keep the cap at 5% below the market price, according to diplomats and a document seen by Reuters.The agreement still needs approval from all EU governments in a written procedure by Friday. Poland, which had pushed for the cap to be as low as possible, had as of Thursday evening not confirmed if it would support the deal…

Members of the North and Standard Clubs have voted to approve the merger between the two marine insurance firms, creating one of the largest providers of mutual cover in the maritime industries.The P&I clubs, which revealed plans to merge earlier this year, each held special general meetings on May 27 where members voted to greenlight the move to join forces as a single, larger mutual insurer. Pending regulatory approval, NorthStandard is expected to come together as a unified…

The U.S. State Department is tracking efforts to complete Russia's Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and evaluating information on entities that appear to be involved, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday."Any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks U.S. sanctions and should immediately abandon work on the pipeline," Blinken said in a statement, adding the Biden administration is committed to complying with 2019 and 2020 legislation with regards to the pipeline and sanctions.Shortly after Blinken's statement…

Yemen's Houthi group has advised the United Nations to pause preparations to deploy a team to assess a decaying oil tanker threatening to spill 1.1 million barrels of crude oil off the war-torn country's coast, a U.N. spokesman said on Tuesday.The tanker Safer has been stranded off Yemen's Red Sea oil terminal of Ras Issa for more than five years, and U.N. officials have warned it could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.Houthi authorities gave long-awaited approval in November for a visit to assess the tanker. A U.N.

Italian worldwide leading broker for marine insurance Cambiaso Risso Group has signed a strategic partnership agreement with French insurance broker Siaci Saint Honore to foster a strong positioning in their markets.The deal will be subject to approval by the competition authorities in some of the 42 countries in which the two companies are active and will come into effect in the second quarter. It will give birth to the world’s top three marine insurance broker in the world, and second in Europe.President Marco Risso and Chief Executive Officer Mauro Iguera will keep their respective positions within Cambiaso Risso,  and will take major…

* Caution remains over U.S. SYDNEY/LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Global insurance firms are circling Iran for business opportunities following the lifting of sanctions - and the first test of their appetite could come in March when some Iranian companies seek new cover. Insurers, the reinsurers that share their risk and the brokers that forge deals are exploring ways to tap a market worth $7.4 billion in premiums after a nuclear accord between world powers and Tehran led to the removal of restrictions on financial dealings with Iran this month. Allianz, Zurich Insurance, Hannover Re and RSA, for example, said in recent days that they would evaluate potential opportunities in the country.

LOC, a leading global marine and engineering consultancy for the shipping and offshore energy industry announces the expansion of its European operations with the opening of its Paris office today (4 August 2015). The office is the first LOC operation based in France and is accessibly located in the Tour de l’Horloge at the Gare de Lyon, one of two main Paris train stations. Established to manage both global and local projects for French clients, the office will be supported by LOC London as it initially focuses on offshore projects and seeks to develop links with the French shipping sector and insurance firms. The office will be led by Hugues Delanoue…

Russian companies face billions of dollars in extra insurance costs as Western sanctions prompt foreign insurance firms to start pulling out, worried that any business they undertake is at risk from future measures and an increasingly sick economy. Russian President Vladimir Putin came under heavy criticism at a G20 summit last weekend, where Western leaders accused him of continuing to destabilise Ukraine in violation of a September peace agreement. Existing sanctions, along with an oil price tumble, have brought Russia to the brink of recession. The rouble is down some 30 percent over the year and lending costs are soaring for all companies, be they on sanctions lists or not.

Three major maritime organizations, the Company of Master Mariners of India, the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and Shipping Professionals Network-Mumbai teamed up to focus on the recent International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) initiative on container weight verification. In this regard, a joint conference was held last weekend to deliberate on “Container Weights – Vagaries and Variances’ at the Maritime Training Institute of the Shipping Corporation of India’s auditorium, Powai, Mumbai. The event saw a record number of participants from not just the shipping companies but also those into maritime training, exporters and importers, ship charterers, MTOs, freight forwarders, insurance firms, manning and ship management, logistics, et al.

Leading accountant and insurance industry adviser Moore Stephens has questioned whether data governance is being accorded the attention it deserves by the insurance industry. Recent FSA Arrow visits have highlighted a number of frequently recurring problems in insurance firms relating to risk management, governance, data and reporting. These include poor risk control culture, poor reporting, ineffective governance, inadequate allocation of control staff, lack of integration across controls and risks, and poor formalisation of roles and accountability.

Regulatory developments mean that failure to make proper use of business intelligence systems and actuarial consultancy to assess risk could lead not only to significant financial losses but also to disciplinary penalties for insurance underwriters and brokers, according to leading accountant and consultant Moore Stephens. designed to support the development of effective reserving and forecasting procedures. They are now an essential part of insurance industry practice. analytical and risk management services. Steve Downing says, "The insurance industry must embrace a centralized approach to risk management, one which has the ability to analyse data in a flexible way, to search for trends and patterns, to analyse productivity and to help business planning and forecasting.

Two insurance firms representing the company whose water taxi overturned in Baltimore's Inner Harbor in 2004, killing five people, plan to sue the U.S. Coast Guard, alleging that the maritime service certified the vessel for too many passengers. The companies, which paid confidential settlements to the victims on board the Lady D after it capsized in a sudden storm between Fort McHenry and Fells Point, said the vessel was not properly tested for stability by the Coast Guard before it was put to use. And, the lawsuit is expected to say, it never should have been permitted to carry 25 people. If successful, the suit could shift at least some attention for the accident away from the captain…