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.

US insurer Allmerica Financial Corp, announced last week that second quarter profits had more than doubled on the back of strong growth in the company's property and casualty segment.

Helped by a 6 percent increase in net premiums written to $3.1bn, US insurer Chubb saw operating profits rise to $461mn, or $2.28 per share, from $341mn, or $1.77 a share, for the year earlier period.

Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd has reported net income of $108.7mn, or $1.62 diluted earnings per share, for the three months to June 30, 2005 and net income of $183.2mn, or $2.72 diluted earnings per share, for the half of 2005

Everest Re reported stable second quarter operating income last week (25 July), earning $173.3mn or $3.03 a share, compared to $174.4mn or $3.07 a share in the prior-year-period.

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

But filings reveal extent of contingent commission loss

Start-up broking outfit Integro continued its roll-call of new employees this week, announcing the appointment of John Zaffino, John (Jack) Green, and Gregory Sinnott from rival Willis to its New York office.

Leading Lloyd's IT provider Room Solutions is looking for a buyer, Insider Week can reveal.

A benign quarter for catastrophes and strong investment returns has helped propel US insurer St Paul Travelers (STA) to a record second quarter profit of £1.07bn.

Bermudian reinsurer PXRE has announced growth in net income to $43.5mn, or $1.30 per diluted share, compared to $32.3mn, or $1.20 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2004.