April 2008/4

The British Property Foundation (BPF) has called on the UK Government to invest in measures to prevent a repeat of 2007's summer floods.

US reinsurer Transatlantic Re reported first quarter profit of $115.7mn, an 8 percent rise from the same period last year.

Shares in bond insurer Ambac Financial Group plummeted after the company revealed a net loss of $1.66bn for Q1 2008 compared with a prior-year profit of $213mn.

The Travelers Companies Inc is that latest insurer to reveal it has been affected by an increase in catastrophe losses in 2008's first quarter results.

Allstate Corporation saw profits fall by over 75 percent in the first quarter of 2008 after suffering from a large rise in catastrophe losses.

US insurer Safeco Corporation, which last week agreed to a takeover by rival Liberty Mutual, reported a drop in quarterly profits for the fifth consecutive quarter as higher cat losses and lower premium income took a toll.

Hilb Rogal & Hobbs (HRH) said it has seen a "significant improvement" in the performance of its London market broker Glencairn.

Bermudian-headquartered insurer Lancashire Holdings Ltd will have faced its biggest test to date so far this year and its forthcoming first quarter results will give the best indication yet of the firm's strength, according to analyst Nick Johnson of Numi

Reserve redundancies in the property and casualty (P&C) industry have passed their peak and have fallen by $1bn over the past year, according to research by analysts at Morgan Stanley.

New York State insurance superintendent Eric Dinallo is in talks with XL Capital’s troubled affiliate Security Capital Assurance Ltd (SCA) over its capital raising plans.

Australian insurer QBE has increased its presence in Asia after establishing an underwriting operation in Singapore under the Lloyd's Asia license.

First quarter profits at Platinum Underwriters have soared by more than 40 percent on the comparable prior-year period.