April 2008/1

Tawa plc closed its acquisition of PXRE Reinsurance Company in a deal which saw a surprise $14.4mn investment from a trust owned by billionaire steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal family members.

Insurers are not liable for covering any part of an $80mn settlement made by troubled investment bank Bear Stearns over its stock research practices, the New York Court of Appeals has ruled.

US reinsurer General Re is to pay the US government the $5mn fee it received for a sham finite reinsurance contract with American International Group, according to reports.

Munich Re confirmed the launch in March of its second ILS transaction this year, following its extreme mortality cat bond Nathan Re in February.

The continued convergence of capital and insurance markets is one of the 'megatrends' facing the insurance industry, according to Joe Plumeri, chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings.

Marsh & McLennan Cos and Willis Group Holdings Ltd - two of the global brokers who axed contingent commissions in the aftermath of Eliot Spitzer's investigations into the industry - are complying...

Momentum continues behind legislation to scale back the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF), after the state CFO-backed bill passed both the Senate’s Governmental Operations Committee and its Banking and Insurance Committee.

American International Group (AIG) has renamed its Domestic Brokerage Group and appointed Kristian Moor as head, the insurance giant has announced.

GLOBAL Reinsurance Co - the former reinsurance arm of Germany's Gerling Group which went into run-off in 2002 - is applying to the UK courts for approval for a scheme of arrangement in the UK.

The recent surge in reinsurance-to-close (RITC) transactions is reflected in Lloyd's figures that reveal a dramatic fall in the number of run-off years of account at the end of 2007.

A US federal court has denied AJ Gallagher & Co's January request for a temporary restraining order against start-up broker Edgewood Partners Insurance Center (EPIC) following the defection of several senior employees.

Insurers owned by US giants American International Group (AIG), Chubb and CNA are facing a multi-million dollar bill for cleaning up the Fox River in Wisconsin after a jury ruled in a paper company's favour.