Credit Insurance Industry News
CAPITALIZATION, CONSOLIDATION & CLOSURE
State intervention in support of AIG by the US Government has been widely publicized but the effects of the credit crunch within the Trade Credit Insurance sector have not ended there. November saw the acquisition of Exporters Insurance Company by QBE's Credit & Surety International network. The new team will be based in QBE's New York office and will continue to provide structured trade and political risk solutions. A few weeks later Amlin Credit announced that following the unprecedented market conditions they could not see a profitable future for that side of their business and had no further appetite for trade credit risk and were pulling out of the market, putting their credit insurance division in run off.
EXPANSION AT UK CREDIT
UK Credit are proud to announce further expansion within their trade credit insurance department with the arrival of Philip Bradbury and Nikki Pryer (Steane) from Culver Trade Credit. Philip and Nikki bring a wealth of experience and new contacts built over many years in the credit insurance industry both as specialist broker and underwriter.
UNDERWRITERS FACE COSTS SQUEEZE
The rise in insolvencies and the subsequent claims presented to credit insurers have been part of the daily news diet. Never before have so many household names such as, Woolworth, Entertainment UK, Zavvi, Adams Children's Wear, Whittards, the Wedgwood Waterford group etc. faced the abyss over such a short period of time. Against this background credit insurance underwriters faced the unwelcome news that their reinsurance providers are seeking premium increases of 40%. The reinsurers are themselves seeking to shore up balance sheets hard hit by exceptional hurricane losses and an undermining of capacity directly attributable to the current financial crisis.
