April 2009/1

Lancashire Insurance Group is filling part of the growing void in Gulf of Mexico (GOM) windstorm cover by opening up its OCTOPUS product to the wider market.

German regulator Bafin has approved Augur Capital's EUR20mn acquisition of AIG subsidiary Deutsche Versicherung und Rückversicherungs-AG (Darag).

Mark Cloutier, the chief executive of run-off (re)insurer the Alea Group, will step down next year, the firm has confirmed.

Chubb’s income for first quarter 2009 almost halved compared to the same period last year – as net profits fell to $341mn compared to $664mn.

IPC Holdings has seen its first quarter net income plummet to $8.3mn – down from $86.8mn in the first quarter of 2008 – after losses from European winter storm Klaus ($15mn) and the Australian bushfires ($13.3mn).

The exodus of senior figures from American International Group (AIG) to Ironshore seen in recent months continued this week, with the appointment of Andrew Archambault as senior vice president of reinsurance.

American International Group (AIG)'s property and casualty (P&C) division, American International Underwriters (AIU), has suffered a further blow to its energy team with the departure of Rick Gibbons, head of its Global Energy Property practice, to rival

Beleaguered US insurance giant Hartford Financial Services Group may be broken up, after reports emerged that it is seeking bids for its core property and casualty (P&C) insurance business.

The chairman of Munich Re's board of management has described the emergence of a "satisfactory" first quarter result ahead of the publication of its Q1 figures on 6 May.

American International Group (AIG) is speeding up the process of ring-fencing its general insurance operations, as it looks to reposition them as an independent entity ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO).

Lloyd's has made a tender to repurchase up to £100mn of the approximate £1.1bn in long-term corporate debt it manages as part of the central assets the Society holds on behalf of the market.

The European Parliament (22 April) approved the Solvency II framework directive without the contentious group support provision – a development which European insurance and reinsurance federation the CEA described as a "missed opportunity".