New Zealand News

Best to Sponsor Australia, New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards

A.M. Best Co. announced that it will participate as a major sponsor of the Australia and New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards. Best said: “The awards, hosted by the Australia and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance, will honor the …

Royal Bank of Scotland May Not Sell Auto Insurance Unit After All

Royal Bank of Scotland looks increasingly likely to shelve plans to sell its insurance arm and turn instead to other smaller deals to top up its capital. RBS announced plans to sell Britain’s largest car insurer in April. But the …

FINEOS Claims ® selected by the Lifetime Care & Support Authority (LTCSA) of New South Wales

– FINEOS to deliver automated claims management solution for catastrophic personal injuries – Dublin, Ireland, July 14, 2008 – FINEOS Corporation, a global provider of innovative enterprise software solutions for insurance, bancassurance, and government, has been selected by the Lifetime …

Ratings Recap: Tugu, Pacific Indemnity, Torus, SIAT, Farmers Mutual (NZ), MAPFRE (Puerto Rico)

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘B++’ (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb” of Hong Kong’s Tugu Insurance Company Limited with stable outlooks. Best said: The ratings reflect Tugu’s supportive level of risk-adjusted capitalization, diversified …

Little Progress in WTO Industry Talks

Talks on industrial goods, a crucial element in negotiations for a new trade deal, are failing to overcome deep differences between rich and poor countries, diplomats and officials said Wednesday. But, they said, parallel negotiations on agriculture are making progress …

Ratings Recap: Mapfre/Commerce, Eurasia, Gulf Re, Central Re, Pioneer

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its ratings and outlook on Spain’s Mapfre S.A. (A+/Stable/–; core operating entities Mapfre Empresas, Compania de Seguros y Reaseguros, S.A. and Mapfre Re Compañía de Reaseguros, S.A. are rated AA/Stable/–) and on Massachusetts-based …

Ministers Meet in Paris to Keep Trade Talks Alive

Ministers from major trading nations will try to keep struggling world talks alive today, June 5, with supporters saying a deal could help offset the global food crisis and soften the economic slowdown. Ministers from the United States, the European …

Ratings Roundup: Civic Assurance, Ballantyne Re

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of New Zealand Local Government Insurance Corporation Limited (Civic Assurance) with a stable outlook. “The rating affirmations reflect Civic Assurance’s solid risk-based …

Proposals Issued for WTO Doha Deal

Mediators in the core agriculture and industrial goods negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued new proposals on Monday, clearing the way for a meeting of ministers to clinch an outline trade deal. The revised proposals, or texts, trigger …

QBE Ups Offer for IAG; ‘Short of Fair Value’ Says Takeover Target

Australia’s QBE Insurance Group tabled a new offer late Friday to take over the Insurance Australia Group (IAG). The “increased final proposal” offers IAG share holders 0.145 QBE shares and 90 cents cash for each IAG share, “which,” QBE said, …