April 2009/2

Aon's revamp of its UK pension structure comes as the big three global brokers continue to target cost cutting measures within a difficult trading environment.

Medniuk to retire as Global Aerospace CEO; AJ Gallagher appoints Pike to board; Chaucer hires US facultative property underwriter; Brit unveils Marine Hull Underwriter; Watson Wyatt promotes global practice director; Transatlantic board member steps down;

Rates for national US property-catastrophe reinsurance programmes rose by between 10 and 14 percent on a risk-adjusted basis at 1 April renewals, continuing the hardening trend seen in January’s renewals for catastrophe-exposed lines, according to broker

Texas-based Southwest Insurance Partners Inc (SWIP) has put on hold plans for a private offering to raise up to an additional $100mn in capital due to the uncertain economic outlook, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Global reinsurers' capital may have deteriorated by a further 10 percent in the first quarter of 2009 as stock markets continued to slide, according to Guy Carpenter (GC)’s head of business intelligence Chris Klein.

Aon unveils UK energy unit; Sagicor starts life at Lloyd's with Cassidy Davis hire; RSA acquires Irish Underwriter; Glacier opens new Swiss office; LPL expands into Caribbean.

Hurricane forecasters from Colorado State University have lowered an early prediction of 14 named storms in the upcoming Atlantic season to 12.

Insured losses from last week’s earthquake in the Abruzzo region of Italy are likely to be between EUR200mn and EUR400mn, according to risk modeling agency AIR Worldwide.

A raft of proposals are being considered by the Florida legislature to address a funding crisis at its cat fund that would leave the state in dire financial straits if hit by a major hurricane this year.

Class of 2005 start-up Lancashire Holdings said last week it expects to benefit from a surge in demand for Gulf of Mexico (GOM) energy capacity in the second quarter, after deliberately holding back capacity in the first three months.

The momentum behind hardening in the airline insurance market has seen average lead hull and liability rate rises of 5 percent in 2009, according to a sector update from Aon.

US life insurers were handed a boost last week with reports that the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is to be officially extended to the beleaguered sector.