April 2011/1

Guernsey has received increased interest from captives and reinsurers looking for a new domicile after deciding not to seek Solvency II (SII) equivalence, according to Peter Niven, CEO of promotional agency Guernsey Finance.

The UK government has unveiled implementation plans for new bribery laws and published final guidance for all commercial organisations with a UK presence on complying when the legislation comes into effect on 1 July.

Raising new funds could be a challenge for many collateralised reinsurers as questions remain over how much of their capital has been tied up in recent disaster losses, Willis Re said in a report on the April reinsurance renewals.

The 11 March Tohoku earthquake and tsunami appear set to activate a number of cat bonds providing second-event cover, including Swiss Re's Vega Capital 2010, Flagstone's Montana Re 2010 and Platinum's Topiary Capital.

The number of "open years" at Lloyd's has fallen by over 90 percent in the last six years, figures presented by the Society show, with all non-life syndicates prior to 2006 now closed.

The proportion of Lloyd's underwriting capital provided by Names has continued to shrink, the Society's annual results show.

The poor performance of motor underwriters has cost Lloyd's more than £500mn - which is equivalent to almost a quarter of the market's pre-tax profits in 2010.

Lloyd's ultimate losses from the first Christchurch earthquake last September are expected to come to £428mn ($684mn), which is the biggest single insured loss estimate for the event.

Premiums in Lloyd's expansive aviation segment have grown by more than 60 percent in five years, while annual re-rating pressures continue to provide a challenging environment for underwriters.

The energy sector at Lloyd's performed well in 2010, despite a number of man-made losses throughout the year.

Bermuda has outperformed Lloyd's for the second consecutive year, according to Lloyd's own figures.

Lloyd's last week delivered a £2.195bn profit for 2010 in a 43 percent drop on 2009 results, led by falling investment income, cat losses and a woeful showing from motor syndicates.

(Re)insurers are unlikely to benefit from increased interest rates until 2013, warned former Bank of England policymaker David Blanchflower at The Insurance Insider's InsiderScope 2011 event last week.

(Re)insurers are currently facing the worst operating environment in history, according to Tony Ursano, CEO of Willis Capital Markets and Advisory Services.

The top three reinsurance brokers' investment in analytical and actuarial modelling will widen the gap between themselves and the remainder of the market, according to a senior broker.

The insurance industry should start preparing for a market turning event in order to take full advantage when it comes, according to Jeffrey Greenberg, chairman of private equity firm Aquiline Holdings.

Record first quarter catastrophe losses and changes to the RMS US hurricane model were insufficient to turn the softening reinsurance market, according to Aon Benfield.

Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters resulted in economic losses of nearly $218bn in 2010 and the cost to insurers was more than $43bn, according to Swiss Re.

The imminent rate hardening expected across the general property market after the Japan earthquake and tsunami is likely to be more muted in the upstream energy sector, according to Lloyd & Partners.

American International Group (AIG) has pushed through restructuring at Chartis with a management shake-up that brings in risk management executive Peter Hancock for CEO Kristian Moor.

BP Marsh & Partners and London market stalwart Michael Wade have completed a deal to take a combined majority stake in London market broker Besso, as first predicted by The Insurance Insider.

Ariel Holdings will remain a private company after Validus withdrew its interest, The Insurance Insider understands.

The three major global reinsurance brokers' 1 April renewal reports present differing portraits of the pricing outlook following the record run of first-quarter catastrophe losses.

International direct and facultative writers face mounting contingent business inter-ruption (CBI) claims stemming from major supply-chain disruption for global companies such as Sony Ericsson, with excess layers reinsured outside of Japan.