August 2005/1

The honeymoon period for new Aon chief executive Gregory Case continued today (3 August) after shares in the broking giant soared 16 percent on a strong second quarter.

French aviation insurer La Reunion Aerienne is understood to be the lead insurer of the Air France passenger jet that crash landed in Toronto yesterday in atrocious weather conditions, according to sources.

Investors rarely react well to steep profit falls, but shares in UK headquartered broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson group plc climbed 5.5 percent last week despite a 29 percent slump in trading profits.

Australian reinsurer QBE has bought National Farmers Union Property and Casualty Co (NFU), a small US insurer, for about $140mn in order to boost premium income.

Jardine Lloyd Thompson group plc plans to separate its reinsurance division into a new trading operation, JLT Re, that will begin trading next year as the broking group continues its drive to grow its reinsurance market share.

Bermudian post-9/11 start-up Endurance last week (26 July) announced second quarter net profit of $110.0mn, or $1.67 a share – marginally down on the $114.8mn or $1.69 a share earned in the prior-year period.

Wellington spin-off Aspen Re last week (27 July) reported second quarter net earnings of $83.8mn, or $1.16 a share, marginally ahead of the $80.9mn booked in the same period last year.

Bermuda’s Arch Capital Group Ltd reported second quarter net income of $126.0mn or $1.69 a share, an increase over the $104.3mn or $1.42 a share recorded in the same period last year as the company benefited from improved investment returns.

On the face of it, the scrutiny surrounding RenaissanceRe and its chairman and CEO Jim Stanard failed to halt the Bermudian’s progress in the second quarter of 2005 as it reported $172.0mn net income and $170.4mn operating income –up on the $148.1mn and..

Hamilton headquartered reinsurance giant ACE came out ahead of consensus to book a 13 percent increase in operating profit to $443mn, or $1.50 per share, in its latest set of quarterly results. This compared with operating profits of $391mn, or $1.33 per

As expected, Bermudian giant XL Capital last week (27 July) reported a 68 percent drop in second quarter earnings as the $191mn pre-tax reserve charge revealed earlier in the month fed through to the bottom line.

World's largest insurance broker Marsh & McLennan has announced that it will pay its new chief executive Michael Cherkasky at least $3.5mn in salary and bonus for 2005 under a new three-year employment contract.