Insurance Jottings
350% rise in London Market brokers using electronic placement
London Market brokers are increasingly embracing the use of electronic placement with the number of risks placed this way increasing by 350 percent in the past 12 months, according to data released by the Board of the London and International Insurance Brokers Association (LIIBA).
Indian regulator ends first preference rule for domestic reinsurers
Foreign reinsurers operating in India will now stand a better chance of winning business in the country after the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDAI) changed its rules around how domestic insurers buy reinsurance, according to media reports in India.
Liberty receives regulatory nod for Luxembourg hub
Liberty Specialty Markets has secured a licence for its European insurance company Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE to operate from Luxembourg.
The new licence will enable Liberty to continue conducting insurance and reinsurance business in Europe post Brexit.
The Luxembourg-based company will be led by Dirk Billemon, LMIE’s general manager. Billemon, previously of Fortis Luxembourg, was recruited by Liberty earlier this year.
LSM said that it will continue to maintain its UK presence.
US Intends to Sign Post-Brexit Insurance Pact with Britain
The US Treasury and US Trade Representative’s office said on the 11th December that they intended to sign a new bilateral insurance agreement with Britain which will provide insurance market regulatory certainty and continuity after Britain leaves the European Union.
The Treasury and USTR said the US-UK Covered Agreement would be consistent with a similar agreement signed with the EU in 2017. Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on the 29th March 2019.
The announcement starts a 90-day notification period required by the US Congress before it can be signed and put into effect.
The US-UK agreement affirms the US state-based system of insurance regulation and is expected to aid the competitiveness of US insurance and reinsurance firms, the Treasury and USTR said.
Britain’s trade commissioner for North America, Antony Phillipson, welcomed the Treasury and USTR announcement, saying that it was part of work that the British government has been doing to ensure US-UK business continuity while exploring further bilateral trade ties.
“I am very pleased that we’ve been able to preserve the benefits of the EU-US covered agreement for UK firms in the US, the largest insurance market in the world, once the UK has left the EU,” Mr Phillipson said in a statement released by Britain’s embassy in Washington.