August 2003/4

US insurer St Paul is defending fresh asbestos related litigation as plaintiffs argue the company was negligent for failing to warn of the dangers.

Houston Casualty Company Insurance Holdings Inc, the US based specialty insurer, unveiled strong earnings for the second quarter with net earnings increasing 29 percent to $34.7mn.

US (re)insurance group The Hartford Financial Services announced last Wednesday that profits for the second quarter increased nearly threefold on the same period last year.

US insurer C.N.A became the latest carrier to reveal sizable additions to loss developments last week when announcing a $308mn after-tax charge to second quarter earnings.

Bermudian reinsurer Partner Re has followed a solid first quarter with a stronger second quarter performance, comfortably beating analysts’ expectations.

London’s company market insurers have expanded their underwriting exposures in the wake of the improved rating environment, according to figures released from the representative body, the International Underwriting Association.

Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company run by billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett, announced last Friday that profits had more than doubled in the second quarter of 2003.

Reinsurance giant Swiss Re is to buy a proportion of the UK life insurance business of its compatriot Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) in a deal worth a total of $460mn. The move follows Zurich Life’s decision to stop taking on new business from 27 August.

Hot on the heels of its successful float on the New York Stock Exchange, Bermudian AXIS Holdings has reported continued strong performance for the first six months of the year.

South African insurance broker Alexander Forbes has launched a joint venture with PDS Holdings which plans to become Africa’s largest reinsurance broker, the firm announced last week.

Bermudian reinsurer PXRE announced quarter to quarter growth of 13 percent last Wednesday, as net income rose from $19.0mn for the second quarter 2002 to $21.5mn this time round.

The future of Trenwick Managing Agents Ltd was secured last week, after the Lloyd’s insurer’s management agreed a buy-out from its distressed parent, Trenwick Group Ltd.