April 2009/2

The furore over bonuses at American International Group’s decimated financial products (AIGFP) unit may have been counterproductive, according to its head Gerry Pasciucco.

New cat bond sponsor Assurant Inc has launched a $150mn US wind transaction, while Allianz has increased the size of its Blue Fin II cat bond to $180mn...

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;

The European insurance and reinsurance federation, the CEA, has emphasised its support for re-considering Solvency II’s contentious group provision after the directive has been in place for three years.

Zurich Financial Services Group has named former Converium CEO Inga Beale as global chief underwriting officer in a management reshuffle.

Fairfield Greenwich – one of the largest institutional investors in Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50bn Ponzi scheme – has been accused of “flagrant and recurring misrepresentations” that “give rise to fraud” by Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Will

UK FTSE 100 companies are purchasing 20 percent more directors’ and officers’ (D&O) insurance compared to 12 months ago, amid heightened concerns over litigation, shareholder action, and increased regulator scrutiny...

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

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.

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

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.

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.