August 2006/3

South African-headquartered broker Alexander Forbes Ltd has reached an £86mn deal with US broker Lockton Companies Inc and private equity firm Stone Point Capital LLC to sell Alexander Forbes Risk Services Holdings, the holding company of its London-based

Swiss giant Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) this morning reported half-year net profits of $1.96bn, up 9 percent on the first six months of 2005, and ahead of analysts’ consensus of $1.8bn.

Randall & Quilter Group Investment Holdings Ltd, the UK based acquirer of run-off businesses, has acquired Chevanstell Ltd, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Australian-headquartered (re)insurer QBE Insurance Group announced today (16 August) that its after-tax operating profits were up 20 percent to Aus$591mn for the first half of 2006.

Sports underwriter Sportscover today (15 August) announced that it is launching a new Lloyd’s syndicate specialising in covering amateur sports.

Swiss-based reinsurer Glacier Re has responded to rating agency concerns following last year’s hurricanes by further bolstering its capital base with a $30mn cash injection from existing shareholders.

Zurich Financial Services announced last week that Mike Foley, the head of McKinsey's US P&C insurance practice, will become the chief operating officer for its North American Commercial unit.

Newly floated Bermudian (re)insurer Allied World Assurance Company Ltd (AWAC) reported an increase in net income from $71.5mn in the second quarter of 2005 to $102.4mn in its first accounting period as a public company.

Martin Sullivan, the president and CEO of US giant American International Group (AIG) said the group saw no insurance impact from the terror plot exposed by UK authorities last week.

German reinsurer Hannover Re says it is on target to reach its annual return on equity target of 15 percent, despite producing a relatively modest increase in group net income of 4.2 percent for the first half of the year.

At a time of perhaps unprecedented capacity shortages for Gulf of Mexico energy risks, Willis Group has formed a global energy business designed to deliver a “deep understanding of its clients’ technical and operational needs”.

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 process their business.