Global Warming...New Report...and it ain't happy news

I really wonder by now, miniTAX, why you don't emigrate.

Fair weather brings strong profit for Lloyds of London

LONDON: Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest insurance market, on Thursday reported a pretax profit of 3.66 billion pounds (€5.4 billion, US$7.2 billion) in 2006, a year of few global catastrophes.

That reversed Lloyd's 2005 result of a loss of 103 million pounds (€152 million, US$202 million) because of hurricane damage claims.

"During the year, we benefited from strong underlying conditions and an exceptionally low level of catastrophes," said Lord Levene, Lloyd's chairman. "However, it would be unrealistic to expect such a favorable claims experience this year."

The 2005 season was the most destructive in recorded history, with 27 named storms and 14 hurricanes, including Katrina, which devastated Louisiana and Mississippi in the U.S. and killed more than 1,300 people.

Lloyd's ?- a society of corporate underwriters and wealthy individuals that make insurance transactions through 44 managing agents and 62 syndicates ?- does not report a net result, because the tax impact varies among its corporate and individual members.

minitax quoted :

Quote:

Fair weather brings strong profit for Lloyds of London

LONDON: Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest insurance market, on Thursday reported a pretax profit of 3.66 billion pounds (€5.4 billion, US$7.2 billion) in 2006, a year of few global catastrophes.

That reversed Lloyd's 2005 result of a loss of 103 million pounds (€152 million, US$202 million) because of hurricane damage claims.

"During the year, we benefited from strong underlying conditions and an exceptionally low level of catastrophes," said Lord Levene, Lloyd's chairman. "However, it would be unrealistic to expect such a favorable claims experience this year."

The 2005 season was the most destructive in recorded history, with 27 named storms and 14 hurricanes, including Katrina, which devastated Louisiana and Mississippi in the U.S. and killed more than 1,300 people.

Lloyd's ?- a society of corporate underwriters and wealthy individuals that make insurance transactions through 44 managing agents and 62 syndicates ?- does not report a net result, because the tax impact varies among its corporate and individual members.

i'm not sure what you want me to read into that .
personally , i want the insurance company that underwrites my risk to be strong and profitable .
one that loses money may also not be able to pay my claim .
since we are free to choose between various insurers offering varying premiums for the risk to be covered - and since we can usually also "self-insure" or go without it - , i certainly see nothing wrong with lloyd's or any other insurance company making a healthy profit .
(i believe it's all part of a "free market" , isn't it ? )

certainly in canada , insurance companies have to offer competetive premiums and - something equally important - good claim service or their customers will leave them .
(speaking personally , i've never hesitated to change house or car insurance if i wasn't happy with the premiums or service provided by any insurance company.)

again , i'm perfectly happy with lloyd's making a healthy profit .
if they are piling up losses , that's when i start worrying .
hbg

The only problem with insurance companies is that often you don't know that they won't pay your claim until AFTER the disaster and at that point switching to another insurance company after the fact will not help you.

I agree that if they charge too much or if they don't pay claims customers will leave, but how does that help those customers who don't have their claims paid? How does that help me when MY house gets burnt down? Sure, they'll lose my business in the future, but what about my $300k house that I'm in the hole for because I thought my insurance company would cover the loss, after all that's what I've been paying them for right? The consumer needs protections here.

You won't get any money if the insurance company is broke, but you will get satisfaction that you won the case

foxfire wrote :

Quote:

You won't get any money if the insurance company is broke, but you will get satisfaction that you won the case

do you think you'll get a lawyer to wave the fee if the insurance company is broke

to the best of my knowledge , there have been no problems with insurance companies going broke and being unable to pay for several decades in canada .
any insurance company wanting to do business in canada , has to pass pretty strict government inspection before being issued a license .
hbg

Most U.S. companies are completely solvent as well because they do base the fees on the basis of the perils they are covering in return for that fee. So those who have valid claims are getting paid. Both in Canada and the USA, however, insurance companies could easily go broke if the government or courts start ordering them to pay for damages for which the policy holders have not paid premiums or if the government should attempt to make the insurance companies assume unacceptable risk for too little compensation.

If they are required to pay claims they don't owe, no reinsurer will have anything to do with them.

Foxfyre wrote:

If they are required to pay claims they don't owe, no reinsurer will have anything to do with them.

Such can be done only by law. And then they (the insurance companies) can certainly insure themselves against this risk.

Maybe in Germany. But certainly not here. Insurance companies pull out of states all the time when the policies or rates make it too risky for them to write insurance there.

Insurance companies pull out of states all the time when the policies or rates make it too risky for them to write insurance there.

Tks for reply, MiniTax, and sorry, Foxfyre, that I had no time to translate:)

This is a good article (in English!) from the latest Economic Review >
http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2007/Jasaytragicomedy.html
> about French politics - the author agrees with MiniTax....