Ping An can sell health insurance in China

by Michael Bradford

Posted on May 27, 2005 11:36 AM CST

Print this ArticleE-mail this ArticleWrite to EditorsDiscuss Article OnlineSHANGHAI, China—Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. is setting up the second health insurance company to be licensed in China.

Ping An was granted final authority last week by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission to establish Ping An Health Insurance Co. of China Ltd. with $60 million in capital.

The new insurer follows the approval last year of China's PICC Health Insurance Co. Ltd., which was established by PICC Property & Casualty Co. Ltd. with $120 million in capital.

Ping An Health initially will provide medical and accident insurance and expects to expand into medical management services, hospital and pharmacy network management, and 24-hour medical hotline services.

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Assurex Global adds partner in Thailand

Print this ArticleE-mail this ArticleWrite to EditorsDiscuss Article OnlineBANGKOK, Thailand—Insurance broker Assurex Global has added an international brokerage partner in Thailand.

Bangkok-based Trafalgar International Ltd., an independent risk management and brokerage company, has local and multinational clients in a broad range of industries, including construction and engineering, power and energy, and telecommunications, Assurex Global said in a statement.

Columbus, Ohio-based Assurex Global now comprises more than 20,000 independent producers in 130 offices.

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Heath Lambert to ask PPF to take over its pensions

by Sarah Veysey

Posted on May 27, 2005 11:32 AM CST

Print this ArticleE-mail this ArticleWrite to EditorsDiscuss Article OnlineLONDON—London-based broker Heath Lambert Group announced Friday that it has completed the final stage of a financial restructuring of the company and that it intends to enter its defined benefit pension plans into the U.K.'s Pension Protection Fund.

Heath Lambert said that it had attracted new investors, whom a spokesman for the company declined to name, and had received increased capital from two of its existing investors: The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Credit Suisse First Boston.

The Heath Lambert spokesman declined to comment on the amount of new investment. The changes are the final part of a restructuring plan launched in December 2003, the spokesman said, when a new management team was appointed to head the broker. Since then the company has sold several noncore units.

In 2002, Heath Lambert canceled a planned initial public offering citing adverse market conditions.

In addition to the additional investment, Heath Lambert said Friday that it would enter its three employer-sponsored defined benefit pension plans into the newly created Pension Protection Fund, which is loosely based on the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., and open a new defined contribution pension for staff.

In order to qualify for the PPF, which began operations in April, pension funds must be sponsored by employers that have become insolvent.

The Heath Lambert spokesman explained that the company believed its three defined benefit plans would be eligible for the fund because they are managed by a separate company, Heath Lambert Management Ltd., which was wound up Thursday.

A spokesman for the London-based PPF said the fund had not yet received an application from Heath Lambert.

The three plans have a combined deficit of about £200 million ($364.1 million), the spokesman said, and cover about 11,000 of the company's 21,000 employees. No further details about the plans were available.

Plans seeking entrance to the PPF must undergo a preliminary assessment to judge their eligibility for the fund then are entered into a year-long assessment period during which the plan's trustee must continue to pay benefits up to the PPF level.

The PPF will pay 100% of benefits to members already in receipt of a pension and 90% of benefits owed to members still in work, up to a limit of £25,000 ($45,512) annually.

The Heath Lambert spokesman was unable to comment on how many of the company's defined benefit pension plan members are retired.

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JLT unit launches emerging markets division

Print this ArticleE-mail this ArticleWrite to EditorsDiscuss Article OnlineHOUSTON—Jardine Lloyd Thompson L.L.C., a U.S. unit of London-based broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group P.L.C., has set up a division to help U.S. clients place risks from exposures in emerging markets.

The new unit will be headed by John M. Minor, formerly national director of political risks at Aon Trade Credit, a unit of Aon Corp.

Mr. Minor will be president of the division, which will be known as Emerging Markets. JLT said in a statement that the unit would "meet the needs of U.S.-domiciled clients engaged in business in the world's emerging markets."