August 2007/3

Insurance stocks remain volatile as a result of erratic trading on global financial markets, which saw most major indices plummet.

Forecaster Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) has lowered its latest North Atlantic hurricane season prediction from 40 percent above normal activity to 35 percent.

Broking giant Marsh is set to resume taking fees from insurers for some of the services it provides customers.

Andrew Carrier, the former active underwriter of Kiln’s Lloyd’s Syndicate 557 and the reinsurance division of its Syndicate 510, will join Bermudian firm Peleus Re later this year.

Newly-listed Bermudian (re)insurer Validus Holdings’ reported a strong set of inaugural results as a public company last week.

The UK’s largest privately-owned insurance group, Towergate Partnership (Towergate) announced a 31 percent increase in gross written premium despite softening market conditions.

Bermudian firm White Mountains Re has appointed Dwight Evans, the former head of Arch Worldwide, as executive vice president.

Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has appointed Rupert Bedford as head of broking for the UK operations of GCFac, the firm's dedicated facultative reinsurance unit

The average premium per airline renewal this year has dropped $1mn in comparison with last year, according to a report by Aon Aviation.

Berkley Insurance Co, a subsidiary of US (re)insurer WR Berkley, is opening an Australian operation to write casualty facultative and treaty reinsurance.

UK Bank HBOS plc has appointed the Aon UK chief operating officer Philip Gore-Randall to join the firm as part of a wider restructuring of its management.

Lloyd’s investment vehicle Hampden Underwriting plc (HUP) is planning an August float on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in a bid to raise £15mn.

Highly leveraged insurance brokers and service providers are subject to high credit risk and may face downgrades, rating agency Moody’s Investor Services warned last week.

The independent UK broker Heath Lambert Group plc has appointed corporate financiers Hawkpoint Partners to advise on options which could involve a refinancing to pay down debt and raise capital or a complete sale, The Insurance Insider revealed last week.

“Class of 2005” start-up Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Ltd reported Q2 profits hit by $31mn losses from the UK floods in June and $23.5mn from the Australian storm and flooding.

Bermudian Arch Capital Group has struck back at Gen Re in the latest round of the legal dispute over the departure of four Gen Re executives to Arch in April.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc (MMC) reported slow second quarter revenue growth in its broking division as new business wins were offset by the softening commercial (re)insurance market.

French (re)insurance giant AXA reported strong first half results for 2007 on a comparable basis with 2006, boosted further by the successful integration of Winterthur.

German (re)insurance group, Allianz has raised its estimate for the UK’s summer floods by EUR135mn to EUR158mn in total for June and July.

UK (re)insurer Aviva reported heavy losses of £235mn for the UK floods in June, dwarfing those of competitor Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA), which reported flood losses of £55mn for the second quarter.

Despite increasing second quarter profits by 45 percent to SFr1.2bn over the prior-year, world’s largest reinsurer Swiss Re failed to impress analysts with its figures.

Consultancy Towers Perrin has announced that its chairman, John Goldsmith, is to step down from the post and retire.

Despite signs earlier in the year that demand was drying up for the vehicles, a new model of sidecar is emerging, with the recent launch of Mont Gele Re and Emerson Re.

Giant US insurer American International Group (AIG) has entered into an agreement to acquire Wurttembergische und Badische Versicherungs-AG (Wuba), its subsidiaries including DARAG Deutsche Versicherungs- und Ruckversicherungs-AG (DARAG) from associates o