Insurance Risk
Uncertain outcomes – insurers and pension funds tackle inflation risk
With central banks’ discount windows pouring money out at rock-bottom rates but economies still slow to use up excess capacity, the outlook for inflation has never been murkier. Uncertainty has created arbitrage opportunities for inflation risk managers…
Dynamic future for post-Solvency II asset allocation
Solvency II is set to dramatically overhaul insurers’ approach to asset allocation – with potentially dramatic consequences for the bond markets. Aaron Woolner reports
Insurers prepare for M&A explosion
A number of drivers could push financial groups to dispose of life insurance assets in the near future. But a boom in M&A will also need buyers, which could prove difficult to find. By John Ferry
Mexico and Brazil on the road to risk-based regulation
Latin American economic powerhouses Brazil and Mexico are introducing new solvency regulations in their fast-growing insurance markets. But while Mexico has gone straight for a Solvency II-type approach, Brazil is emphasising gradualism and will not make…
Understanding value at risk for insurers
Deborah Cernauskas, Gabriel David and Anthony Tarantino propose an amended approach to value-at-risk that focuses on the drivers of risk and the use of agent-based modelling and simulation to capture the bounded rationality of human decision-making
Understanding the liquidity premium
The liquidity premium has moved from theory to practical reality, first in the market-consistent embedded value metric and then the Solvency II directive. Barrie & Hibbert’s Craig Turnbull explains the theory behind the liquidity premium and how to…
LLMA on course to publish first longevity index by end of 2010
LLMA will add a fillip to longevity derisking market with standardised indices
PPF offers potential £80 billion boost to longevity market
UK’s PPF is open to longevity derisking – at the right price
Brazil opts for IAIS approach to risk-based regulation
Brazil declines to take a Solvency II approach to insurance regulation choosing IAIS mode
European insurers would need regulatory action to survive Greek default
Fitch Ratings stress test concludes that eight european insurers would require "further analysis" after sovereign risk fallout
EC approves Aegon bailout without forcing coupon deferrment
Absence of measures forcing payments to Dutch state at expense of subordinated debt holders means Fitch upgrades firm's hybrid capital
Solvency II poses bigger danger to economic stability than bank refinancing
Refinancing risk dwarfed by Solvency II’s impact on insurer appetite for corporate debt
IASB includes liquidity premium in new insurance accounting proposals
Exposure draft brings convergence with Solvency II but stops short of full market consistency
Solvency II “not as comprehensive as US regulation” says New York insurance chief
Lack of Federal oversight should not be obstacle to equivalence, says key state regulator
M&G slams Cebs stress tests
Fund manager criticises sovereign risk assumptions and raises Basel III fears
US insurers and pension funds seek to hedge deflation
Extra inflation hedging demand driving split between derivatives and cash market pricing
Legal & General creates CRO role
UK insurer promotes group financial controller to oversee risk management
Morgan Stanley and UBS boost LLMA membership to 10
Life & Longevity Markets Association gains momentum
Shift to CPI will not impact pension fund inflation hedging demand – M&G
Limited impact of CPI change on pension funds inflation hedging
OECD urges pension regulators to reduce importance of market consistency in stressed periods
OECD argues market values should not drive pension regulation
The longevity challenge of care annuities
For most of the life industry, getting policyholder longevity predictions accurate to a few months of the realised experience would be cause for celebration. But for care annuity provider Partnership, this level of accuracy could be disastrous. Aaron…
A new hedging approach for Asian variable annuities
Market demand is driving insurance companies to offer variable annuities in Asia ex-Japan, despite the rough ride they received from their first steps into this market. Insurers are taking a more cautious approach to risk this time around, but have they…