April 2007/3

Bermudian (re)insurer Max Re Capital Ltd is raising $100mn to repay short-term debt at its subsidiary Max USA Holdings Ltd.

Bermudian insurer Aspen has completed its search for a new chief financial officer with the appointment of Richard Houghton.

The US property and casualty industry has made significant progress in funding its asbestos liabilities, according to rating agency AM Best.

Lexington Insurance Company, part of American International Group (AIG), has launched a new Casualty Mid Excess unit in London with capacity of $50mn.

The failed, London-listed (re)insurer Alea Group Holdings Ltd is set to be bought by private equity-backed FIN Acquisition Ltd (FIN) in a £162mn management buy-out.

Xchanging, the outsourcing firm that runs the London market’s back office, has announced a tie-up with Web Connectivity for its Insurers’ Market Repository (IMR) Gateway service.

Lloyd's has announced tie-ups with the outsourcing firm Xchanging and the trading platform RI3K that will enable its new Chinese reinsurance operation to trade electronically.

Takaful insurance is the key to increasing insurance awareness in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), capitalising on the positive economic dynamics of the region, according to a report published by Standard & Poor's (S&P).

Royal Indemnity, previously the US arm of Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA), has settled with MBIA Inc, one of the plaintiffs in the Student Finance Corporation litigation.

Reports published in the last week have again warned the insurance industry to expect increased financial losses as weather-related catastrophes worsen as a result of climate change.

This year's North Atlantic hurricane season will provide a "litmus test" for the (re)insurance industry's ability to adapt, according to Fitch Ratings.

Undervalued reinsurance stocks should be a target for investors, despite the common belief that shares in the sector trade down as the hurricane season approaches, according to analysts at investment bank Bear Stearns.