April 2006/3

Lloyd’s has given distressed Bermudian insurer Quanta Capital Holdings a deadline to inject new capital into its Syndicate 4000 or face the business being closed by year-end. The Bermudian headquartered insurance group revealed in a...

Hopes that PXRE harboured of engineering a move for its ongoing business to Lloyd’s are understood to be fading, as it revealed on 11 April that it has requested the withdrawal of its financial strength and issuer credit ratings by the major agencies.

SVB shares fall following restructuring announcement ; Lloyd’s to launch in Shanghai ; Aviva drops Pru bid ; GoshawK shares set for suspension ; Aon PLF: P&I renewal “successful” ; Bail bond syndicate increases loss estimates ; et al...

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...

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...

As predicted in the January issue of The Insurance Insider, Allied World Assurance Holdings Ltd (AWAC) is set to become the last of the so-called “Class of 2001” to go public after filing for an initial public offering (IPO) of up to $400mn on 17 March.

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...

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...

Hannover Re may decide not to buy catastrophe protection from the traditional retrocessional markets because of the high cost, warned the reinsurer’s chief executive Wilhelm Zeller as he unveiled a small 2005 profit. Despite a EUR1bn bill from last...

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.

Energy mutual OIL has responded to last year’s hurricane losses and spiralling premium costs by cutting members' coverage in half to a $500mn aggregation limit for multiple claims from a single occurrence. The company has also suggested it may look...

Michael Bright, the colourful founder of collapsed UK insurer Independent Insurance, will face trial on charges of conspiracy to defraud at a trial starting after Easter 2007, a preliminary hearing at Southwark Crown Court heard on the 24 March.