April 2009/2

Bermuda-based Ironshore has tapped into the steady stream of talent leaving struggling insurance giant American International Group (AIG) with the appointment of Tim McAuliffe - former president of AIG Excess Casualty - as president of its specialty casua

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.

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.

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.

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.

Defections from the recently formed broking leviathan Aon Benfield have continued, with confirmation that the former head of Benfield’s Brussels office, Wim Raeymaekers, is joining the Benelux leadership team of rival broker Guy Carpenter

Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has revised its outlook on French composite insurer Groupama to negative from stable, citing increased pressure on the company’s capital adequacy resulting from the sharp decline in market conditions.

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.

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.

Ratings agency Moody's has completed a hat-trick of negative agency actions against Warren Buffett-owned Berkshire Hathaway, by downgrading the financial strength ratings on its insurance subsidiaries from Aaa to Aa1.