August 2005/6

When Lloyd’s insurer Beazley Group plc reports its 2005 half results on 7 September, they are likely to be higher than expected at over £35mn because of the impact of accounting changes, the company explained last week.

Bermuda-based (re)insurer White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd revealed last week that the Massachusetts attorney general is investigating one of its units.

Last week’s Peruvian air crash will cost insurers £3mn but the repercussions of the five air crashes this month are multiplying.

In a surprise move, reinsurance giant Swiss Re announced last week that Jacques Aigrain will succeed John Coomber as its chief executive.

SVB Holdings, the Lloyd's insurer battling against its legacy liability exposures, issued a steady trading statement last week but still saw its corporate broker downgrade the company’s full-year earnings forecast.

Pat Ryan, the founding chairman of broking giant Aon Corp, announced plans to sell five million shares in the company, equivalent to some $146mn.

The head of General Electric’s (re)insurance arm confirmed last week that the giant conglomerate will probably sell or spin-off all its underwriting units in due course.

Reinsurance broker Benfield has won the account for Californian State Compensation Insurance Fund from incumbents Aon Re and Guy Carpenter, Insider Week can reveal.