NZ consumers soak up doubling in reinsurance costs

NZ consumers soak up doubling in reinsurance costs
April 23 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's largest insurance group, IAG, has slightly improved its underlying profit margins on insurance products while passing on a doubling in the cost global reinsurance because of the Canterbury earthquakes. In a presentation for investors in Sydney, IAG's New Zealand chief Jacki Johnson said reinsurance costs had risen to 15 percent of gross written premiums (GWP) in the first half of 2013 from around 8 percent in 2010. Underlying margin in IAG's insurance lines has risen to 11.5 percent in the first half o...