April 2006/3

London insurers are showing new enthusiam for personal accident after recent market exodus The personal accident (PA) sector is enjoying a new found popularity in the London market after falling out of fashion in the late nineties.

The chances of a reform of the difficulties created by the Lloyd’s annual venture in time for the 2007 underwriting year look less sure following the meeting of the Society’s Franchise Board last month. Although there were no definitive proposals...

The fraud trial brought by Cable & Wireless (C&W) against five former employees of its collapsed captive insurer Pender Mutual continues as one of the defendants has gone missing without signing the final settlement. Of the 17 named defendants on...

Despite widespread acknowledgement from Lloyd’s insurers about its difficulties, the annual venture has received support from Keefe Bruyette & Woods (KBW) analyst Chris Hitchings in a research note assessing post-Katrina capital raising in London...

As the hurricane season raged last year, Lloyd’s revealed that it had made a £1.38bn profit in the first half of 2005. The devastating impact of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma (KRW) was unlikely to see the performance sustained, but the Society’s...

Deteriorating losses from failing insurer filter through in 2005 The scale of the damage caused to the Lloyd’s Central Fund by the failure of GoshawK’s Syndicate 102 is becoming apparent with the Society paying £76mn last year to cover claims...

With last year’s record hurricane losses continuing to rise there was further bad news for hard-hit (re)insurers as two separate forecasts warned of another over-active year ahead in the Atlantic. Forecasters Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) updated this...

Profits nearly double at Allianz German insurer Allianz AG almost doubled profits last year, with 2005 net income up to EUR4.38bn, a 93 percent rise from the previous year’s EUR2.66bn. Total revenues rose by 4.2 percent from EUR96.9bn in 2004 to EUR100.

Stone Point Capital, the former private equity arm of MMC, has agreed terms to acquire the business of AXA Re and form a new reinsurer, Paris Re. AXA Re’s parent AXA SA will take a stake of between 5 and 10 percent in Paris Re Holdings Ltd...

Lloyd’s Names transferring to Hampden Private Capital following its acquisition of the CBS members’ agency face the possibility of a hike in profit commissions from 2008. Hampden Private Capital is now one of only two remaining Lloyd’s members’...

Despite stagnating underwriting conditions, capacity continues to hunt for a home in the aviation (re)insurance sector, with the imminent $1bn initial public offering (IPO) of Augsburg Re and a new Limit syndicate at Lloyd’s due to start underwriting...

Ingosstrakh, Russia’s second largest insurer, was linked with an IPO in London later this year after appointing three banks to advise the company. According to press reports, Ingosstrakh has hired investment banks Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and...