April 2004/3

Diana Humphreys, the managing director of the utility mutual Associated Electric & Gas Insurance Services Ltd’s (AEGIS) London arm, has suddenly resigned from the company.

UK insurer Royal & Sun Alliance has continued its programme of selling its overseas units by revealing last week that it has agreed to sell its 81.8 percent stake in its Polish life subsidiary, T U na Zycie Royal PBK S.A. (Royal PBK), after purchasing the

Willis revealed last week that the Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) had approved its 50 percent acquisition of Shanghai Pudong Insurance Brokers Ltd, giving the group a significant strategic platform to exploit the region’s growth potential.

WTC leaseholder Silverstein Properties and insurers led by reinsurance giant Swiss Re are litigating over which contractual wordings the various parties used in placing the building’s insurance cover.

US insurer Chubb has raised doubts about its commitment to the London market with the news that it has sold its stake in Hiscox.

In the same week that Lloyd's posted earnings of £1,892mn, specialist London market insurer Kiln announced its own set of record annual profits. In a statement released on 6 April the insurer said pre-tax earnings for 2003 had reached £33.1mn, up from 200

Lloyd's last week announced record profits of £1,892mn on the back of a benign loss environment and high premiums. The profits, recorded on a pro-forma annual accounting basis, represent a 127 percent increase on 2002's figure of £834mn.

Underwriting agency Dual International has announced the launch of a new operation, initially specialising in Directors & Officers (D&O) and Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance for SMEs, based in Sydney, Australia. Other areas the new business will focu

Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) chairman Jeffrey Greenberg has followed in his father’s footsteps by being appointed to a prestigious position on the New York Stock Exchange’s (NYSE) executive board.

Despite recent action to spoil the appetite of the US plaintiff bar to launch obesity class action suits against the food industry and its insurers (see IQ Winter issue), the increasing prevalence of expanding waistlines is too significant an issue for th

French insurer AXA has said that its 2003 profit measured by US GAAP accounting standards was EUR3.67bn ($4.5bn), compared to a EUR2.59bn loss in 2002 using the same standards.

Strong performance from German reinsurer Hannover Re has been rewarded with an upgrade to a positive ratings outlook from Moody’s.