August 2004/5

Scandinavia’s general insurers are expected to continue churning out strong results in 2004 said Standard & Poor’s (S&P) as the rating agency published a report on Friday (20 August) maintaining its stable outlook on the sector.

After reporting a $1.6bn reserve charge and a $275mn second quarter net loss in its first interims as a combined entity, and amid growing doubts about the rationale behind its merger, US property casualty giant The St Paul Travelers Companies received a w

Insurers have continued to count the cost of Hurricane Charley this week with firmer loss estimates coming from US, Bermudian and European companies appearing to steady midpoint total loss estimates at around $7bn-$8bn.

Swiss reinsurer in crisis Converium confirmed last week (20 August) that it is on track for a 31 August announcement detailing actions it will take to shore up its capital base in the aftermath of last month’s shock $385mn reserve charge and profits warni

Wellington’s hull underwriter Peter McIntosh has replaced William Beveridge as the chairman of the marine London market body, the Joint Hull Committee.

The chairman of the French mutual insurer Groupama resigned last week. Jean Baligand, who had been chairman of the insurer’s mutual board since 1996, resigned “due to personal reasons”.

Despite its status as the second largest hurricane loss in US history, reports suggest that Hurricane Charley will have less impact on insurers than initially expected.

Despite increasing half-year net profits by 93 percent to an impressive $1.448bn, the spectre of US legacy business returned to haunt Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) as the insurer revealed it had boosted net reserves by $656mn, with $582mn targeted at it

Amlin smoothed fears over falling rates last week by providing a reassuring assessment of market conditions, while also improving slightly the forecasts on its 2002 and 2003 underwriting forecasts.

Nick Metcalf, the former head of XL Capital’s London market operations, is set to return to underwriting by joining the fast expanding (re)insurer Arch Capital Group Ltd.

Despite the collapse of its Lloyd’s parent last year and uncertainty over its future ownership, Bermudian based Rosemont Re can still attract talented underwriters, notes Shore Capital insurance analyst Eamonn Flanagan.

Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox became the latest carrier to warn over the slide in US D&O rates last week. Hiscox, which dipped a toe into the market following the sector’s significant rate rises in 2002, explained “this is a very small business for us and wil