April 2008/3

Bermudian (re)insurer Ironshore Insurance Ltd's fledgling subsidiaries Ironshore Indemnity Inc (III) and Ironshore Specialty Insurance Company (ISIC) have been assigned A- financial strength ratings and issuer credit ratings of a- by AM Best.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on whether the (re)insurance industry should remain exempt from the European Union's anti-trust rules.

Analysts and investors will scour XL Capital's first quarter financials tomorrow for further guidance on the Bermudian's exposure to the sub-prime fallout, as well as the potential impact from the spate of large risk losses hitting the sector in the perio

Insurance Australia Group's (IAG) share price rocketed last week as the Australian insurer rebuffed a series of merger approaches from rival QBE Insurance with shareholders speculating that the firm is a prime candidate for takeover.

Profits for the US property & casualty industry fell by almost $5bn to $66.5bn last year compared to the prior year period, according to rating agency AM Best.

Lloyd's insurer Omega Insurance Holdings Ltd announced last week that it had terminated talks with potential suitors interested in acquiring the company.

Specialist corporate finance firm Benfield Advisory has developed a new parametric reinsurance product, aimed at transferring workers' compensation catastrophe (WCC) coverage to reinsurers and the capital markets.

(Re)insurance broker Cooper Gay & Co Ltd is in advanced talks to acquire the wholesale operations of Heath Lambert Group, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

At current pricing levels, it would take a $30-50bn ground-up property loss to reverse the slide in property cat reinsurance rates, according to Aon Re Global.

Former Wells Fargo executive LoriAnn Lowery has been appointed by Lloyd's as its new president of North America.

There is almost a 100 percent chance of a major earthquake in California within the next 30 years according to the latest findings from the US Geological Survey (USGS).

On the 18 April anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco "big one", a magnitude 5.4 earthquake shook southern Illinois last week issuing a warning to (re)insurers, some of whom are already reducing quake coverage.