April 2010/4

US trade body the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) said it is encouraged by a new bill introduced to Congress that makes key reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Private equity firms Stone Point Capital and Hellman & Friedman have sealed a $1.1bn deal to acquire 100 percent ownership of Sedgwick Claims Management Services (Sedgwick CMS) - an insurance claims administrator that has more than 150 offices and service locations in the US and Canada.

The Lloyd's and London market directors' and officers' (D&O) insurers that underwrote the $100mn plus policy for Stanford Financial Group (SFG) executives must continue to pay out defence costs for at least another five months before being granted the opportunity to prove their exclusions have been triggered.

Beleaguered Canadian-headquartered motor insurer Kingsway Financial Services has replaced its president and CEO Colin Simpson - who was nominated to the role by Kingsway's majority investor, Stilwell Group in 2008 - with fellow Stilwell nominee Larry Swets.

ACE Bermuda names Gonsalves and Towlson as executives; Roberts to head international business for Ace Tempest; Allied World expands environmental team; Pru appoints UK chief to spearhead AIA integration; Dual appointment for Lloyd's broker; Skills council selects new chairman...

Munich Re slashes stake in Helvetia; ISG launches Lloyd’s Broker; Catlin acquires regional PI and D&O coverholder; $1-a-year Liddy received $80,000 from AIG; NFIP extended again...

Lloyd's catastrophe underwriters are likely to be forced to bolster their reserves by between 5 and 10 percent under Solvency II, according to guidance issued to managing agents by the Society.

The European Commission's latest Solvency II (SII) implementation proposals look likely to provide some relief to Lloyd's on capital requirements, as the rules on Tier 1 capital are relaxed.

The London arm of broker Colemont International placed the insurance programme for the Airbus A300 cargo aircraft that crashed on 14 April in Mexico, The Insurance Insider revealed last week.

Securities litigation filings fell 39 percent in the first quarter of 2010 from a year ago with 178 suits filed - compared to the record-breaking 294 suits filed at the height of the credit crisis backlash in Q1 2009.

Swiss Re is facing a loss related to a major Ugandan power plant construction project that was severely delayed last year by pirates, our sister title Inside FAC revealed last week.

New financial products should be subjected to the kind of rigorous testing that pharmaceuticals undergo, while financial services companies should be required to run drills with employees that simulate credit crunch-type crises.

A lawsuit filed by Madoff-hit Greenwich National Bank and several other investment institutions against US insurer Travelers and its subsidiary, St Paul Mercury Insurance Company, was dismissed last week.

In a surprise twist to what looked like a done deal, the Australian watchdog has today (19 April) blocked National Australia Bank (NAB)'s A$14bn ($12.95bn) bid for Axa Asia Pacific Holdings on competition grounds.

Former American International Group (AIG) chief executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg has asked a US judge to dismiss a 2005 civil fraud lawsuit accusing him of being liable for a sham reinsurance transaction.

US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was aware that Allen Stanford and Stanford Financial Group (SFG) were potentially orchestrating a massive fraud as far back as 1997 but did nothing to protect investors for 10 years, a damning report has claimed.

US investment bank Goldman Sachs has been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with defrauding investors in the sale of subprime financial products that allegedly cost their customers more than $1bn.

Losses in the first quarter of 2010 could drive more (re)insurers to look for capacity in the capital markets, according to Guy Carpenter.

A $100mn issuance is understood to be on the way from US insurer Assurant, which will provide cover for the company's US wind exposure.

CEO Marshall Kath resigned from Colemont Insurance Brokers and will have no future role with the company following its merger with private equity-backed US broker AmWINS, it emerged last week.

Last week's management reshuffle has seen Andrew Marcell - previously Guy Carpenter's head of American operations - unveiled to run the firm's global facultative and speciality business from London.

Investment firm Fairholme Capital Management is now the second largest shareholder in American International Group (AIG) behind the US government, after disclosing last week that it bought approximately 15 million shares to secure an 11.1 percent stake.

Underwriting returns in Berkshire Hathaway's property and casualty (P&C) operations are to fall to less than a third of 2009 levels by next year, according to Barclays Capital.

Andrew Appel, the former management consultant who masterminded the integration of Aon Re and Benfield Group, will return to the parent company as part of senior management restructuring at the world's largest reinsurance broker, The Insurance Insider revealed last week.

Forecasts for an above-average hurricane season could signal rising premiums, according to the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) and insurance data specialist Advisen.

Last week was perhaps the busiest week yet in the HSBC entrance lobby since the broker's £135mn takeover by Marsh...

2009 results for the US property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry indicate that the elusive hard market could be on its way.

HCC Insurance Holdings has reported losses totalling $20mn pre-tax, or $13mn post-tax, from the Chilean earthquake and Windstorm Xynthia. The firm said losses from the Chile disaster account for the majority of the reported figure.

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck a remote region in China on 14 April has now killed almost 2,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless, according to latest reports.

The closure of most of Europe's airspace because of a huge cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano has cost the airline industry hundreds of millions of dollars yet the impact on the insurance industry is still expected to be relatively modest.

US insurance giant Metlife has agreed to pay $13.5mn to resolve a government investigation into improper payments it made to a San Diego-based insurance broker, US federal prosecutors announced last week.

AIG unit International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) revealed last week that it was to raise almost $2bn through the sale of aircraft to Australian financial services firm Macquarie Group.

Expansive Australian insurer QBE's $565mn move to acquire NAU Country Insurance will see it pick up an 11 percent share of the US crop insurance market.

With the key 1 June Florida renewal approaching analysts are expecting a competitive market, as private reinsurers jostle to be placed on programmes with recognised carriers while trying to avoid the burgeoning small-cap specialist Florida-only homeowner insurance sector.

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) offshore wind market could see further moves towards self-insurance in the run-up to the official start of the US hurricane season on 1 June, despite improved rates and terms for buyers, our sister title Inside FAC revealed last week.

The opportunity to get over a billion in annual Euro revenues at significantly below book value is a rare one, which is why many of Europe's insurers have been keeping a watching brief on the disaster zone that is Quinn Insurance.