April 2012/4

Global broker Willis has turned its disappointing full-year 2011 fortunes around by posting overall organic commission and fee growth of 2 percent in Q1 2012 and an operating margin of 31.3 percent.

Bermudian (re)insurer Axis Capital has reacted to the brutal global catastrophe losses last year by slashing its catastrophe reinsurance underwriting during Q1 by more than 40 percent.

New York-listed Tower Group's £38.6mn injection into Lloyd's insurer Canopius to finance its proposed acquisition of Omega takes the US insurer one step closer to having an established presence within the Lloyd's market.

Everest Re continued the theme of outperformance during the early Q1 reporting of Bermudian (re)insurers, with quiet cat activity helping the firm beat the street.

In a developing theme among early Q1 reporters, Arch Capital posted strong net earnings, boosted by low cat losses and reserves releases.

Significant reserve releases and a quiet quarter of cat activity helped short tail specialist reinsurer Montpelier Re highlight the likely reversal in fortunes of cat-focussed underwriters during the first quarter of 2012, as the firm reported analyst beating earnings on a combined ratio of just 59 percent.

Global (re)insurer Ace reported analyst-topping results for the first quarter of 2012, with benign weather leading to fewer cat losses and one-off investment gains boosting results.

WR Berkley chairman and CEO Bill Berkley has argued that the US insurance industry is not in a hard market, highlighting excessive competition and irresponsible reserve management from certain companies as brakes on earnings recovery in the sector.

Shareholder proxy firm ISS is once again wielding its power by advising stockholders in Tower Group to vote against the US insurer's executive compensation plan at its upcoming 3 May annual meeting.

London-quoted insurance services provider and run-off investor Tawa completed its acquisition of Hamburger Internationale Rück (HIR) last week after receiving the necessary regulatory approvals.

The share price of Randall & Quilter (R&Q) weakened after the firm's full-year results release last week contained a technical loss of £4.7mn, which was due to a previously announced £13.5mn goodwill impairment.

The trustee liquidating failed brokerage MF Global has announced plans to pursue a lawsuit over a dispute with the firm's UK division over the rights to $700mn of customer funds.