David Lewin, Managing Director
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Introduction

The use of individual surveillance technology and monitoring to avoid insurance fraud is being discussed in the casualty insurance community - not just in Switzerland but also all over the world. The most recent driver of this in Switzerland, however, is a decision made last year by the country’s supreme court.

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David Lewin, Managing Director
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Swedish Tax Law and Capital Insurance

Under Swedish tax law, each transaction in securities, such as those involving shares and funds, triggers a 30 percent tax on profits. Consequently, capital insurance (Kapitalförsäkring) - a type of savings product - has become increasingly popular.

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David Lewin, Managing Director
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Facts of the Case

As reported in the April 2010 issue of this series, a tanker-truck was involved in a traffic accident in November 2005 on one of two parallel bridges in Sweden. The cab and the tank trailer overturned, landing between the bridges. About 55,000 liters (14,529 U.S. gallons) of an explosive and flammable liquid poured down between the bridges and ignited. The resulting fire caused extensive damage to the bridges.

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David Lewin, Managing Director
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In a decision dated May 10, 2011 ( JUR 2011/194346), the Supreme Court of Spain ruled that a policyholder breached the duty of disclosure prior to the conclusion of a contract, even though the insurer did not submit to the policyholder any questionnaire at the time the policy was initiated. Whether this decision fits into the legal framework of the Spanish Insurance Contract Act is the subject of this article.

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David Lewin, Managing Director

Introduction

Directors and officers (D&O) insurance has grown steadily in popularity since it was introduced in Poland 15 years ago. Accompanied by a rise in risk-aware corporate leadership, D&O insurance has evolved from an unknown product in the mid-1990s to a near necessity during periods of economic instability.

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David Lewin, Managing Director

Introduction

Product Liability Under Norwegian Law

Several laws, including non-statutory law, govern Norwegian product liability and apply to all businesses producing or selling a product. According to these laws, Norwegian businesses are responsible for ensuring that their products are safe and do not pose a hazard to consumers. Moreover, businesses may be held liable for any damage and/or harm caused by their products.

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Floods in Italy and France: Torrential rainfall across northern and central Italy and southeastern France has triggered widespread flooding, killing at least 11 people and causing damage to property and infrastructure. Reports said the heavy rainfall caused rivers to burst their banks and forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes. The Italian city of Genoa was badly hit on November 4 after more than 350 millimeters of rain fell in six hours. Authorities in Italy have issued fresh flood alerts and are warning thousands more people will be at risk if the flooding continues.

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Update: Floods in Thailand: Thailand has experienced its worst flooding in years over the last few months, leaving more than 420 people dead and causing severe damage across northern and central regions of the country. The floods have severely damaged and disrupted manufacturing operations in Thailand. Flooding has forced at least seven huge industrial estates in central regions to close, prompting the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) to warn that damage to the industrial sector will be in the billions of dollars.

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Guy Carpenter Asia Pacific Catastrophe Report 2011; Executive Summary: In our 2010 Asia Pacific Catastrophe report, we described how the Asia Pacific region has significant exposure to a wide variety of catastrophe perils. The events of the past 18 months have demonstrated how real these exposures are: a series of significant catastrophe losses in our region during 2010 and 2011 has turned the world’s focus on the Asia Pacific area.

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Risk Profile, Appetite and Tolerance: Fundamental Concepts in Risk Management and Reinsurance Effectiveness: Prior to the recent turbulence in the financial markets, insurers and reinsurers were increasing their use of enterprise risk management to make risk and capital management decisions. While this was driven in part by rating agencies and regulators, many carriers began to recognize the value of metric-based frameworks and capital models in evaluating their portfolios.

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Video: Chris Klein, of Guy Carpenter, Reviews Baden Baden: WRIN.tv interviews Chris Klein, Head of Guy Carpenter’s Sales Operations for the United Kingdom and EMEA regions and Market Relationships, in London, regarding the 2011 Baden Baden meetings, and panel discussions at the Reinsurance Symposium hosted by Guy Carpenter.

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GC Videocast - Risk Tolerance Influences Economic Capital (Joan Lamm-Tennant) Guy Carpenter’s Global Chief Economist Joan Lamm-Tennant describes how economic capital is a function of the risk profile that comes from simulation based models, but it also requires knowing the company’s risk tolerance. She reviews how hedging frees up the need for economic capital and reduces volatility.

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David Lewin, Managing Director
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Introduction

The public consultation by the European Commission (EC) “towards a coherent European approach to collective redress (Brussels, February 4, 2011 SEC (2011) 173 final)” shows that the topic of “mass damages” is prominent on the European agenda. We take this opportunity to provide information on the current Dutch “Class Action (financial settlement) Act” (WCAM) (1), which came into force on July 27, 2005. The act prescribes that a collective settlement is a viable and successful way of resolving mass damage claims. This situation is different from that in the United States, for example.

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David Lewin, Managing Director
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Introduction

Italy has recently enacted a statute (D.Lgs.28/2010) introducing mediation as a means to resolve the controversies arising from insurance contracts and some other specific matters. The main features of the mediation procedure are the following:

Mediator

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David Lewin, Managing Director
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Introduction

In German liability law, the injured party may bring a claim against the injuring party (the insured), but not against the injuring party’s liability insurer. Questions of liability and insurance coverage are handled separately. First, the liability judgment must include a determination of whether, and to what extent, the injuring party (the insured) is liable for causing the injury to the injured party. Once determined, this liability cannot be questioned in the court of the coverage proceedings. This is referred to as the “binding effect of the liability judgment for the coverage proceedings.”

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