August 2004/1

Lloyd's has today (12 August) had its financial strength rating upgraded to "A" (Excellent) from "A-" (Excellent) with a stable outlook by ratings agency AM Best. The agency said the rating, which is now in line with Standard & Poor's "A" rating, refl

Despite growing calls for Lloyd's to shrink capacity next year, evidence suggests that many syndicates are keen to maintain their own size. Lloyd's insurers have begun the process of entering their 2005 business plans to the Franchise board and many s

Refocused UK general insurer Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA) reported half year figures slightly ahead of forecasts on 12 August, and saw its share price rise 5.5 percent as markets and analysts took a more bullish line on the group's capital position and fut

Weeks after an Illinois Court gave the green light for a national class action suit to proceed against Aon over alleged hidden commissions, came news that class action giant Millberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP is suing Marsh and Willis for failing to di

Q2 results re-ignite old arguments between Fairfax bulls and bears... Analysts have again drawn sharply opposing conclusions about the liquidity of Canadian financial services holding company Fairfax Holdings after it published its Q2 2004 results.

World's largest insurer (by market cap) AIG reported strong second quarter results booking net income up 26 percent on the same period last year on the back of its general insurance and foreign life and pensions operations. Legendary AIG chairman Hank

Established Bermudians show strength but warnings grow over pricing pressures... ACE reported healthy second quarter figures with operating earnings of $380mn, or $1.29 a share, marginally up on consensus analysts' estimates of $1.25, and 33 percent hi

Unhappy legacy of former Cable & Wireless captive played out in court For C&W in July it was a litigation double whammy in London's Royal Courts of Justice with the opening shots in two legal skirmishes relating to its former insurance captive, Pender

In our regular monthly News Digest, we round up key stories from the last month, presenting them to you in easily digestable snippets.

In our regular monthly News Digest, we round up key stories from the last month, presenting them to you in easily digestable snippets.

Despite ringfencing, ACE considers purchasing further cover for run-off asbestos unit ACE Ltd is examining ways to resolve its asbestos exposures which have dogged the insurance giant since its $3.45bn acquisition of Cigna's non-life business in 1999.

Arch Capital announced strong second quarter results, booking net income of $104.3mn, or $1.42 a share, against $61.8mn, or $0.91 a share for the comparable quarter last year. The performance took the total for the year so far to $191.7mn, or $2.69 a s

Last month's shock $385mn US casualty reserves bolstering and profits warning fed through to hit reinsurer Converium's half year results hard, with a second quarter operating loss of $300mn and net loss of $660mn taking the year-to-date figures to $223mn

The Insurance Insider’s analysis of each quoted Lloyd’s insurer - some of whom were targeted by Capital - shows some are more ripe for consolidation than others... There are 14 quoted insurers - with a total market worth of around £3.8bn - that are eit

Berkshire Hathaway backed Lloyd’s consolidation vehicle withdraws AIM float after failing to generate sufficient investor interest. The Insurance Insider analyses what went wrong... On a sticky Thursday afternoon in late July, the management and advis

Ratings agency Moody's has downgraded the performance rating of property catastrophe insurer RJ Kiln Syndicate 557 from "A" Very Good to "A-" Good with a stable outlook. Moody's said the downgrade was because of management proposals to reduce the syndi

JLT is to establish a separately branded company Lloyd & Partners to focus on business produced from independent US retail brokers. Traditionally one of the strongest performing units of the London headquartered broker, JLT's management moved after rec