April 2009/3

American International Group (AIG) agreed last week to sell its 21st Century US personal auto business to Zurich Financial Services for $1.9bn, representing the biggest insurance disposal in its asset sale programme so far.

Rates on US catastrophe-exposed lines are set to rise by a further 10-20 percent at the key mid-year renewals as a result of capacity scarcity, according to analysts at London-based stockbrokers Execution Ltd. The report adds that...

Willis Group estimates that directors’ and officers’ (D&O) losses as a result of claims relating to the credit crunch and sub-prime will total $5.9bn, with $5.3bn of that attributable to settlement and defence costs.

Global broker Aon Risk Services (ARS) has unveiled a powerful real-time global trading platform under the banner of Global Risk Insight Platform (GRIP).

As the US property and casualty (P&C) industry converges on Orlando, Florida, for the annual RIMS conference, one of the key themes is the impact the economic crisis is having on the market.

Capital is willing to pour into the catastrophe reinsurance sector, but only when 30 percent+ returns become a realistic prospect once again.

Bliss & Glennon, a Californian-based wholesale broker inherited by Willis Group as part of its $2.1bn acquisition of Hilb Rogal & Hobbs, was sold by the international broker last week.

April's reinsurance renewals for life and personal accident (PA) reinsurance saw the average rate on line decline by 3.8 percent, and in some cases there were falls of as much as 10 percent.

German insurance giant Allianz's Blue Fin II cat bond – which increased in size to $180mn earlier in the month – was over-subscribed at its close last week (14 April).

AIM-listed broker THB Group plc is poised to appoint the former Marsh UK executive Stephen Matanle as the head of its largest division – Lloyd’s broker Thompson Heath & Bond (THB), as first revealed by The Insurance Insider.