August 2006/2

The decision by Aon Ltd to outsource its entire back office Client Operations division could provide the framework for a new approach by London market brokers to processing their business.

AIG profits drop 29 percent; Hannover Re contemplates Scottish Re bid; Allianz raises forecasts on strong second quarter; Fairfax shares fall; Odyssey Re misses SEC filing deadline; MMC continues to face Spitzer spectre; et al:

AM Best affirms Lloyd's ratings; Heritage latest Lloyd's insurer to list on AIM; Boucher quits Endurance; Lloyd's insurers continue capacity buy-outs; Strong half for R&SA; Gallagher recruits Battman; Central Fund levy forecast to fall in 2008; et al:

In a potentially pioneering transaction, Lloyd's syndicates will have access to a pool of securitised reinsurance capacity next year following the launch of Thunderbird Re, a Cayman Islands domiciled special purpose reinsurer.

The stretched Florida insurance market has received some light relief with the announcement of a proposed state-run insurance pool along with the lowering of some of this year's hurricane predictions.

The proposed manager of the WFUM Pools Scheme of Arrangement, PRO Insurance Solutions, has issued scheme documentation and announced that the creditor voting meetings will take place on 27 October 2006.

The proposed Part VII transfer to move business out of Winterthur Swiss Insurance Company has run into objections in the High Court.

Beleaguered Bermudian reinsurer PXRE Group admitted it was heading towards run-off after announcing on 8 August that its net income had slipped to a mere $2.1mn for the second quarter.

Bermudian giant XL Capital announced the latest step in a series of organisational changes on 1 August with plans to develop an integrated European platform for its reinsurance operations.

German reinsurer R+V was awarded EUR3,528,357 in damages on 10 July from the former Lloyd's-based managing agency Risk in the latest round of their long-running dispute.

The relentless quest by (re)insurers to manage down their reinsurance exposures has inspired a new approach to crystallising the industry's recoverables.

Endurance is the latest as reinsurers trade risk with capital markets The growing popularity of reinsurance securitisations was demonstrated last month with news that Bermudian (re)insurer Endurance Specialty Insurance has acquired $235mn of...