April 2013/4

London-headquartered independent reinsurance and wholesale broker BMS Group parted company with its CEO Carl Beardmore last week.

Private equity firm Aquiline has completed the £87mn acquisition of Equity Redstar from its long-suffering parent Insurance Australia Group (IAG).

Lloyd's (re)insurer Brit has bought renewal rights to Maiden Holdings' excess and surplus (E&S) lines property business in a deal expected to generate around £20mn-£30mn of gross written premium a year.

Cargo underwriters in the London market face an unprecedented $500mn loss from Superstorm Sandy but hull losses remain uncertain, attendees at the London Market Claims Council's Working Group roundtable said last week.

PartnerRe plans unveiled plans last week to cut its headcount by 140, or more than 10 percent of its total workforce, with a view to achieving annualised expense savings of $60mn-$70mn.

Bermudian start-up Third Point Re is engaging with potential advisers as it gears up for an initial public offering (IPO) in New York later this year, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Ratings agency Moody's has downgraded QBE's issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings by a notch to Baa1 from A3, as it said 2012 losses had weakened earnings and the company's ability to service debt.

Sometimes it's hard not to feel a little sorry for reinsurers and specialty underwriters. So much of what determines their fortunes is out of their control.

Live carrier and run-off acquirer White Mountains is among the bidders commencing due diligence on global specialty insurer Torus, The Insurance Insider can reveal.