August 2008/3

Costs in sterling and revenues in dollars has been the awkward position for many London-based brokers so the deteriorating pound is providing a welcome fillip.

Lloyd's insurer Hiscox Ltd has posted a rise in pre-tax profits with reserve releases, a solid investment performance and strong underwriting returns defying the gloom of the soft market and credit crunch.

Tropical Storm Fay is expected to reach hurricane strength after crossing western Cuba and is on track to hit Florida later today (18 August), according to forecasters at Tropical Storm Risk.

Benfield Group Ltd received a boost last week after Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to "Buy" following its solid first-half year results.

When Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) put its insurance division up for sale in April, few could have predicted that four months on there would be only one genuine suitor with a circa £5bn offer on the table.

Sagicor Group of Companies has announced that group net profits increased by around $9mn compared with the prior-year period after profiting from the Lloyd's platform it acquired in September 2007.

German reinsurer Cologne Re, part of Warren Buffett's General Re group, posted first-half profits of EUR166.6mn, up from EUR129.2mn in the prior-year period, despite being hit by catastrophes in Europe and Australia.

Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance reported a 2 percent drop in its half-year profits with a rise in premium offset by a decline in its investment income as the company warned of possible further credit crunch-related losses.

US insurer Navigators Group has become the latest company to gain regulatory approval to operate in Brazil.

Bermudian energy mutual Oil Insurance Ltd has reduced the 2008 premiums due from its members at last month's board meeting.

The restoration of New York as the centre of Guy Carpenter's power was reflected last week in the migration of global chief operating officer Charlie Fry to the US.

Lloyd's insurer Amlin plc has continued its strategy of acquiring interests in small UK producers with the purchase of a minority stake in TL Dallas Group Ltd.

QBE Insurance Group's appetite for growth by M&A continued last week when it snapped up the Australasian business of struggling US mortgage insurer PMI Mortgage Insurance Ltd's for A$1bn.

Zurich Financial Services announced net profits of $2.7bn and a combined ratio of 96.2 percent for the first half of the year, but only after making higher than expected reserve releases of $609mn.

Interbroker-dealer Evolution Markets has launched a new division for trading and structuring catastrophe derivatives following its successful entry into the weather derivatives market.

Bermudian reinsurer RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd has terminated its retrocessional sidecar Starbound Reinsurance II Ltd.

Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has launched new winter storm and severe convective storm models for North America to assess losses from different weather events.

UK insurance buyers group the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (AIRMIC) has made a submission to the EU Commission supporting continuation of the block exemption.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's revised its outlook for the US commercial lines and property & casualty (P&C) sector to negative last week on the back of continued price softening and declining investment returns.

US insurer Allstate Corp has agreed to pay Florida regulators a $5mn fine and granted an additional 5.6 percent rate cut to the state's homeowners as part of its settlement with the jurisdiction.

RSA Insurance Group plc's strong results last week have once again fuelled speculation that it could be the subject of a takeover bid.

BluePoint Re Ltd, the Bermuda-based financial guaranty reinsurer owned by US bank Wachovia Corp, has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York, citing defaults on mortgage-related products.

Aon Corporation has announced the launch of a new Takaful unit, which will form part of its reinsurance arm Aon Re Global.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has maintained its Stable outlook for Lloyd's syndicates despite the increasingly challenging pricing environment they operate in.

Bermudian headquartered Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Ltd is to centralise its operating platform in Switzerland in a bid to maximise capital efficiency and take advantage of forthcoming passport rights.

Willis's recently acquired London market broking subsidiary Glencairn, part of the $2.1bn Hilb Rogal & Hobbs takeover, is set to be the core of a new, predominantly wholesale broker Faber Dumas, The Insurance Insider understands.

Rating agency Moody's Investors Services Ltd affirmed its rating on German giant Hannover Re and its subsidiary E+S Rückversicherung but simultaneously withdrew its ratings on the companies.

"Class of 2005" Bermudian Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings says it is planning to move into the primary market in India.