Word: swiss
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...rambling diatribe to the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 23, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi criticized the world body for being unfair to small nations. The comment struck a chord with the Swiss, since Gaddafi has been on a self-proclaimed mission to destroy their little country...
...proposal to the U.N. to abolish Switzerland and divide it up along linguistic lines, giving parts of the country to Germany, France and Italy. Although the motion was thrown out because it violates the U.N. Charter, which states that no member country can threaten the existence of another, some Swiss leaders are still concerned that Libya could use its yearlong presidency of the U.N. General Assembly, which began on Sept. 15, to keep up Gaddafi's vitriolic attacks on their country. (See the top 10 U.N. General Assembly moments...
...soured in July 2008, when Gaddafi's son Hannibal and his wife were arrested by police in Geneva for allegedly beating their two servants at a local hotel. Gaddafi was so enraged by his son's two-day detention that he immediately retaliated by shutting down local subsidiaries of Swiss companies Nestlé and ABB in Libya, arresting two Swiss businessmen for supposed visa irregularities, canceling most commercial flights between the two countries and withdrawing about $5 billion from his Swiss bank accounts. (See TIME's exclusive interview with Gaddafi on Obama, Israel and Iran...
Insurers are trying. Munich Re is piloting flood insurance in Jakarta; Swiss Re is peddling health policies in Pakistan; Zurich Re is trying out disability coverage in China. The trickiest part, says Brandon Mathews, who heads Zurich's developing-markets business, isn't figuring out what to sell but rather connecting with customers. Some of his team's more creative ideas: sell unemployment insurance in Brazil on people's utility bills and push personal accident policies in Bolivia via scratch cards sold at newsstands...
...might seem logical to partner with established microlenders, yet insurers are finding that their policies as microloan tagalongs come with their own set of problems. In its Pakistan health-care trial, Swiss Re has seen many fewer claims than expected submitted by people receiving insurance as part of a loan. Giné, who has observed similar results in the Philippines, suspects loan officers sweep the added benefit under the rug. Reason? They fear that potential customers will walk if they feel they're paying for something they didn't ask for. So they never know about the coverage they have...