April 2009/2

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.

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.

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...

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.

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

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.

One of the founders of energy specialist Torus Insurance Holdings, David Hope, has stepped down from his position as chief underwriting officer, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

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.

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.

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.

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

Validus Holdings said it will use "all available means" - including the Bermuda legal system - to win over IPC Holdings shareholders, after its offer for the cat specialist was rebuffed by the reinsurer's board.