Rotterdam port seeks $32 million from tanker operator for oil spill

8/8/2018 6:48:00 AM

Source: Business Insurance

The Port of Rotterdam Authority has filed a €28-million ($32.5 million) lawsuit against Norway-based tanker operator Odfjell S.E. related to an oil spill, World Maritime News reported. Odfjell’s chemical tanker Bow Jubail collided with a jetty and spilled more than 200 tons of fuel oil in the Rotterdam port on June 23. Harald Fotland, chief operations officer at Odfjell, said that the tanker operator would compensate the port authority for oil spill-related losses.

 

Insurers face fines for failing to disclose climate risks

8/7/2018 6:04:00 AM

Source: Business Insurance

U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority could fine three local insurers for failing to disclose climate-related risks in their annual financial reports, Ekklesia reported. Environmental organization ClientEarth reported the three insurers – Admiral Group P.L.C., Lancashire Holdings Ltd. and Phoenix Group Holdings – to the regulator. The insurers are legally obliged to include climate risks in their annual reports.

 

Insurers to increase D&O premium rates in India amid rise in fraud

8/7/2018 6:52:00 AM

Source: Business Insurance

Insurers are likely to increase premium rates for directors’ and officers’ liability insurance for banks following several loan-related corruption scandals, Business Line reported. Several banks are looking to increase coverage under their D&O liability policies to almost five times the current level to cover potential legal expenses. An official at a public-sector bank said that the bank plans to increase its D&O cover to 1 billion Indian rupees ($14.5 million).

 

Automakers face $16 billion in emission-related fines

8/7/2018 6:53:00 AM

 Source: Business Insurance

Analysis by U.K.-based IHS Markit Ltd. found that the European Union could fine automakers, including Germany-based Daimler A.G., more than $16 billion if they fail to comply with upcoming emission rules, Bloomberg reported. Analysts at France-based research firm Exane BNP Paribas S.A. found that automakers Renault S.A. and Groupe PSA would likely face the highest fines for emission-related breaches. The new regulations are expected to be introduced in phases starting in 2020 and come into full effect in 2021.

 

Magnitude-7.0 quake hits Indonesian island

8/6/2018 6:00:00 AM

Source: Business Insurance

Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency said that a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the island of Lombok damaging several buildings and disrupting power and communications on Aug. 5, Reuters reported citing media sources. The agency issued a tsunami warning which was later withdrawn. The resort island was hit by a 6.4-magnitude quake on July 29.

 

Hurricanes likely to cause billions of dollars in losses: Swiss Re

8/6/2018 6:01:00 AM

 

Source: Business Insurance

John Dacey, chief financial officer at Swiss Re Ltd., said that hurricanes are likely to become more common and powerful due to climate change and cause billions of dollars in losses, Reuters reported citing CNBC. Mr. Dacey said that hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria caused $135 billion in losses in 2017 and were a one-in-10-year event. Wildfires across the world are unlikely to cause large losses for big reinsurers such as Swiss Re, he added

 

 

Computer virus halts Taiwanese chipmaker’s operations

8/6/2018 6:05:00 AM

Source: Business Insurance

A computer virus infected several fabrication tools and halted operations at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.’s factories on Aug. 3, Bloomberg reported. The chipmaker said its factories are unlikely to resume production until Aug. 5. The virus was not introduced by a hacker, the chipmaker added. Taiwan Semiconductor manufactures chips for Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. and is the sole maker of the iPhone’s main processor.

 

 

Munich Re to back away from coal-related business: CEO

Thomson Reuters

8/6/2018 7:29:00 AM

Source : Business Insurance

Reuters) — Munich Reinsurance Co., the world’s biggest reinsurer, will stop investing in bonds and shares of companies that generate more than 30% of their sales with coal-related business, its chief executive said, caving to pressure from investors.

“In the individual risk business, where we can see the risks exactly, we will in future in principle no longer insure new coal-fired power plants or mines in industrial countries,” Joachim Wenning added in a commentary to be published in German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Monday.

Policymakers are pushing companies to do more to help meet a target, agreed in Paris in 2015, to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. Investors are increasingly using their financial muscle to reward those at the forefront of that transition.

Swiss Re Ltd., world No. 2 by share value, said in July it would not reinsure any company for which thermal coal represents more than 30% of its business, following French peer Scor S.E.

Despite being a vocal supporter of the Paris deal, Munich Re had said as recently as last month that it did not plan to copy Swiss Re in limiting its underwriting of coal companies

***IAC Presents: The Effective Board Seminar***

 

The Insurance Association of the Caribbean Inc., plans to host the seminar entitled“The Effective Board” as advertised in the 2018 IAC Training and Education Calendar.

 

Seminar Objectives

 

Participants will understand the Director and Board as being responsible for an organisation’s Corporate Governance. It looks at the role, duties and legal responsibilities of a Director, and at the workings of a Board. In particular, the course sets the context in which the Director and Board work, creating a climate that is entrepreneurial in nature, where risks are managed within an increasingly global regulated environment.

 

Please let us know, by responding to this email, if you and/or your colleagues would be interested in attending this seminar. Event particulars are as follows:

 

Seminar Theme:

 

The Effective Board

 

 

Registration Details:

 

·    Registration Fee:                IAC Members – $1,500

Non Members – $1,650

 

·    Venue:                                  Dadeland Marriott, Miami

 

·    Date:                                     Dec 3-4, 2018

 

·    Hotel Rate:                           Group Rate to be negotiated on confirmation of seminar

 

·    Confirmed Facilitator        Paul Munden, Lead Tutor, Institute of Directors, London.

                                    Chartered Director, Commercial Law Barrister

 

Module content

Day One

 

1. The Board’s Corporate Governance role

·        Evolving concepts of Corporate Governance

·        Governance principles and codes of best practice for companies and regulated industries in major jurisdictions including the US, Europe and the Caribbean including the impact on the board of working across jurisdictions

·        The Board’s role in Corporate Governance

·        Differences in the role of the Board, Shareholders and Management

·        Effective internal controls

 

2. The legal and regulatory environment for a Board of an Insurance Company

·        The concept of the insurance corporation as a separate legal entity and the concept of limited liability as it relates to its directors and officers

·        The concept of special purpose vehicles and the parent/subsidiary relationship and the Board’s relationship with its shareholders

·        Legal and regulatory environment including the legal principles underlying insolvency

 

3. The Director’s role

·        Directors’ statutory duties including the identification and mitigation of conflicts of interest

·        Types of director – de facto, alternates, nominees, shadow and associate directors

 

 

Day Two

 

4. Board structure, operations and practice

·        The role of the Chairman in leading the Board and the Chairman’s relationship with the CEO and Executive Management

·        The role of the Non-Executive Director including best practice around assurance and challenge.

·        The roles and tasks of a Board

·        Delegation to management including best practice around board terms of reference

·        Board structure, composition and skills

·        Board Committees including Audit, Risk, Governance, Compensation and Nomination committees

·        Board business cycle

·        Board dysfunction

·     Effective Board meetings including: best practice in setting agendas, writing effectual Board papers and the role these play in effective decision making, and compiling legally sound minutes

 

 

5. Strategic organizational risk evaluation and management

·        Principles of risk management

·        Risk assessment and management

·        Defining risk appetite and best practice enterprise risk management tools

·        Risk v entrepreneurial decisions

·        Establishing a risk culture

 

6. Stakeholder management

·        The concept of stakeholder management

·        Stakeholder mapping

 

 

Kindly respond to this email indicating your interest and/or feedback in order for us to confirm the timing of the course.Please contact us via email on or before 15 August 2018.

 

We thank you for your cooperation.

 

 

 

Alternative risk transfer offerings move into the mainstream

Matthew Lerner

7/31/2018 6:45:00 AM

Source: Business Insurance

 

Alternative risk transfer products such as parametric insurance and insurance-linked securities continue to move into primary insurance lines from the reinsurance sector, with more firms featuring them and more clients considering them to cover new risks.

Marsh L.L.C. in June formed its alternative risk transfer group, a virtual working group within the company to better connect its resources in the area, said Duncan Ellis, U.S. property practice leader for Marsh in New York.

“Insurance companies have created dedicated groups around these products, and as such we thought it was the right time to create a group to focus on these nonstandard solutions also known as alternative risk transfer products,” Mr. Ellis said.

The products are also drawing more attention from clients and policyholders seeking new or broader coverage, potentially on a long-term basis, according to sources.