August 2005/6

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.

Lloyd’s run-off vehicle Equitas has announced significant settlements with a further six policyholders totalling of $300mn. Among the signatories to the settlements announced today (30 August) are...

Extreme weather conditions hit Europe last week with insured claims for flood damage in Switzerland alone estimated at $395mn by Swiss Re.

Lloyd’s insurer Illium has reached a provisional agreement to expand its 2006 capacity through a coinsurance arrangement with Great Lakes UK, a subsidiary of world’s largest reinsurer Munich Re.

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

Rod Fox, the former chief executive of Benfield’s US arm, is set to return to operations at the reinsurance broker after being granted a leave of absence in the spring following allegations concerning his private life.

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.

Hurricane Katrina is still expected to be the most costly in US history with forecasts of up to $26bn in claims after the storm devastated Louisiana and halted offshore oil and gas production.