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保险英语Unit 9

时间:2006-01-16 16:00:00

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(单词翻译)

  [00:00.00]All aboard for Allfinanz
[00:02.72]The Germans coined the term Allfinanz,the marriage of banking1 with insurance and other services for retail2 customers,
[00:10.71]yet their banks and insurers have lagged behind European rivals in putting it into effect.
[00:17.66]French banks,for instance,sell 35% of France's life insurance;German banks a puny3 5%.
[00:26.25]But thanks to the EC'single market,Germany's insurance market will be deregulated in 1994.
[00:33.96]Foreign competition could then threaten the domestic cartels that dominate German insurance.
[00:40.72]That should force German banks to catch up.
[00:43.86]Habit,law and the balance of power among financial institutions explain Germany's backwardness.
[00:51.83]Bankers and insurance agents are not used to selling each other's products.
[00:56.89]Savers usually buy insurance from agents tied to a single insurer,rather than from banks.
[01:04.00]The tax authorities encourage segregation4 by refusing to give tax breaks to types of insurance that mimic5 banking products.
[01:14.00]And some banks have been loth to start their own insurance operations lest they offend insurers,
[01:20.93]which are among their best customers.
[01:23.46]So most banks have sought to deliver Allfinanz through alliances,a strategy that entails6 modest costs but also produces modest returns.
[01:35.66]Allianz,Germany's biggest insurer,co-operates in some areas with Dresdner Bank;
[01:42.32]in others with Bayerische Hypothekenbank or co-operative banks.
[01:47.26]Its alliances with Dresdner and Hypobank are cemented by shareholdings;its banking partners sell 17% of its life-insurance policies.
[01:58.88]Commerzbank owns 48% of its insurance policies.DBV and sells DM1 billion($600m) of DBV's life insurance.
[02:11.84]Bolder approaches have not been particularly successful.
[02:15.71]AMB,Germany's second-biggest insurer,plunged into Allfinanz by buying BFG,a former trade-union bank.
[02:25.63]It lost more than DM750m on BFG's bad loans,and the bank sold less insurance than AMB hoped.
[02:35.45]AMB has since sold BFG to a French bank(it is itself partyly-owned by a French insurer),though it continues to market insurance through BFG branches.
[02:47.73]The deregulation of Germany's insurance market in mid-1994 will free prices and allow insurers to experiment with new products.
[02:57.45]That will drive banks and insurers closer together and may promote mergers7 and takovers among companies that now co-operate.
[03:06.83]One reason is that banks can sell standard life insurance more cheaply than insurers' tied agents.
[03:14.43]As competition heats up,that price advantage will tell.
[03:19.29]A second reason,says Sven-Michael Slottko,a former head of Deutsche Bank's life insurance operation,
[03:26.68]is that mere8 allies cannot invent true banking-insurance hybrids9 without squabbling over how to split the profits.
[03:35.41]Insurers require high commissions;banks live off spreads.
[03:41.36]Only a combined Allfinanz group,says Mr Slottko,can sell an insurance policy that sacrifices commission for a high spread.
[03:50.84]Deutsche Bank's insurance venture may be a sign of things to come.
[03:55.65]Alone among big banks,Deutsche started its own company,DB Leben,in 1989.
[04:03.20]In 1992 DB Leben sold DM7.2billion worth of life insurance through Deutsche's branches,putting it among Germany's top 15 life insurers.
[04:16.08]Despite this apparent success,Deutsche suddenly abandoned its go-it-alone strategy last year by buying 65% of Deutscher Herold,a medium-sized insurer.
[04:29.58]Deutsche has since transferred its insurance business to Herold and the insurance men who run it.
[04:35.72]Hilmar Kopper,Deutsche's chairman,calls the purchase of Herold "the most significant move we have made for years."
[04:44.03]Leaking at the seams
[04:46.54]HAUNTED by catastrophes10 past,Lloyd's of London faces a bleak11 future.
[04:52.26]Some wonder whether,in any recognisable form,by 2000 it will even be there.
[04:58.74]This matters to more than just those smooth scions12 of the British upper class who work in this singular insurance market,
[05:06.47]or to those who pledge their wealth,as "names",to back the market's underwriting syndicates.
[05:13.03]Though this collective of co-operatives pulls in only as much premium13 income as some of Britain's big insurance companies,
[05:20.52]Lloyd's is synonymous with British insurance.
[05:23.94]An enfeebled Lloyd's would harm the City of London's international standing14.
[05:28.62]It was this thought that held the British government back from putting Lloyd's firmly under its thumb during the fraud-ridden years of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
[05:39.30]The market has since done much to polish up its self-regulation,though it is still far from squeaky-clean.
[05:46.75]Today,however,the biggest problem that faces David Coleridge,who took over this month as chairman of Lloyd's,is not one of scandal,but of profits.
[05:56.96]In the next couple of years these will prove uniformly bad,underscoring the steady loss of competitiveness from which Lloyd's has suffered recently.
[06:06.00]The market's share of world premium income was 2.2% in 1983,but is only half that today.
[06:14.67]The latest published figures for Lloyd's show £575m($950) of pre-tax profit in 1987(Lloyd's syndicates close their accounts only after three years),
[06:28.36]down slightly on the record profits of 1986.That was before a blast of natural and man-made catastrophes in 1988-90 sent insurance claims pouring into Lloyd's:
[06:41.42]the fire on the Piper Alpha oil platform,the spillage from the Exxon Valdez,the San Francisco earthquake,Hurricane Hugo and a spate15 of European gales16.
[06:52.55]Worse,these disasters coincided with falling premium rates in almost every one of the market's businesses.
[06:59.34]Today Chatset,an independent consultancy,reckons Lloyd's will post a meagre profit for 1988 and a loss of more than £850m for 1989,the first loss since 1967.
[07:14.31]Many of the 26,500 names would therefore love to follow the 6,000 who have already shaken the dust of Lloyd's from their feet these past three years.
[07:24.55]Yet half the names could not leave even if they wanted to:
[07:28.24]they are locked into the 58, out of the total 401 Lloyd's syndicates ,that have been unable to close one or more of their past annual accounts,
[07:37.80]so unquantifiable are the liabilities stacking up against them.
[07:42.18]Many of the resultant 92 "open years" have to do with old American liabilities-for asbestos-related risks,
[07:50.75]for example,and pollution-whose scale was undreamt-of when the insurance(or,more usually,the reinsurance) policies were underwritten.
[07:59.79]The most notorious case concerns the 1,600 names on 31 Outhwaite syndicates.
[08:05.28]These face losses,mainly on asbestosis claims,of up to £1 billion;since Lloyd's names have unlimited17 liability,many will be bankrupted.
[08:16.95]A case that looks set to rival Outhwaite in notoriety concerns two Feltrim syndicates,
[08:22.20]where at least £200m of losses are emerging on"excess-of-loss"insurance in 1987-89.
[08:29.78]Nor do the market's commerical troubles end there.
[08:33.20]Other unsuspected"long-tail"claims are now hitting it,notably untold18 billions of coming dollars for professional negligence19.
[08:41.61]Most visible are the claims arising out of the gross mismanagement during the 1980s of America's saving-and-loan institutions.
[08:50.08]Open years are proving to be open wounds for Lloyd's.


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1 banking aySz20     
n.银行业,银行学,金融业
参考例句:
  • John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
  • He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。
2 retail VWoxC     
v./n.零售;adv.以零售价格
参考例句:
  • In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
  • These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。
3 puny Bt5y6     
adj.微不足道的,弱小的
参考例句:
  • The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。
  • Antonio was a puny lad,and not strong enough to work.安东尼奥是个瘦小的小家伙,身体还不壮,还不能干活。
4 segregation SESys     
n.隔离,种族隔离
参考例句:
  • Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初,许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
  • They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。
5 mimic PD2xc     
v.模仿,戏弄;n.模仿他人言行的人
参考例句:
  • A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
  • He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。
6 entails bc08bbfc5f8710441959edc8dadcb925     
使…成为必要( entail的第三人称单数 ); 需要; 限定继承; 使必需
参考例句:
  • The job entails a lot of hard work. 这工作需要十分艰苦的努力。
  • This job entails a lot of hard work. 这项工作需要十分努力。
7 mergers b4ab62fffa9919cbf1e93fcad6d3150c     
n.(两个公司的)合并( merger的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种:横向合并,纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
  • Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务,在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
8 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
9 hybrids a5030918be299fefcf603b9326766b39     
n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 );杂交植物(或动物);杂种;(不同事物的)混合物
参考例句:
  • All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
  • The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的,这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句
10 catastrophes 9d10f3014dc151d21be6612c0d467fd0     
n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 );灾难;不幸事件;困难
参考例句:
  • Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
  • The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句
11 bleak gtWz5     
adj.(天气)阴冷的;凄凉的;暗淡的
参考例句:
  • They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
  • The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。
12 scions 2f5dd543d83d28564297e8138914f0a2     
n.接穗,幼枝( scion的名词复数 );(尤指富家)子孙
参考例句:
  • Eldritch giants are powerful scions of arcane lore. 邪术巨人是神秘奥术知识的强大传承者。 来自互联网
  • Grafting can join scions with desirable qualities to root stock that is strong and resistsand insects. 嫁接能够将理想质量的接穗嫁接到强有力抗病虫害的砧木上。 来自互联网
13 premium EPSxX     
n.加付款;赠品;adj.高级的;售价高的
参考例句:
  • You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
  • Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后,清水便因稀而贵了。
14 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
15 spate BF7zJ     
n.泛滥,洪水,突然的一阵
参考例句:
  • Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
  • Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。
16 gales c6a9115ba102941811c2e9f42af3fc0a     
龙猫
参考例句:
  • I could hear gales of laughter coming from downstairs. 我能听到来自楼下的阵阵笑声。
  • This was greeted with gales of laughter from the audience. 观众对此报以阵阵笑声。
17 unlimited MKbzB     
adj.无限的,不受控制的,无条件的
参考例句:
  • They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
  • There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。
18 untold ljhw1     
adj.数不清的,无数的
参考例句:
  • She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
  • They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖,因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。
19 negligence IjQyI     
n.疏忽,玩忽,粗心大意
参考例句:
  • They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
  • The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

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