August 2009/1
-
Recovering stock markets through the second quarter helped ease the woes of troubled US insurance giant the Hartford Financial Group, as it posted an operating profit that sent its share price up.
-
American International Group (AIG) has turned to another former head of a US insurance giant to chart the troubled waters after last September's government bailout, with the appointment of Robert Benmosche as its new CEO.
-
The big three global brokers saw their stocks trade up last week after the Illinois authorities decided to allow AJ Gallagher to again negotiate contingent commissions with insurers.
-
French reinsurer Scor's net income for the first six months of the year dropped by 24 percent from H1 2008 to EUR184mn, as investment income more than halved...
-
Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) impressed analysts with strong half-year figures, posting a 16 percent increase in turnover to £309.7mn.
-
The twin pressures of a lingering soft market and recession have pinned back organic growth at global broking giants Aon and Willis.
-
Improved conditions in the financial markets during Q2 helped Validus Holdings regain lost value in its investment portfolio, as strong unrealised gains helped net income climb 81.2 percent...
-
Lloyd's (re)insurer Advent reported increased pre-tax profits of £5.7mn for the first half of the year, compared to £1.6mn in the same period of 2008.
-
As RSA prepares to unveil half-year figures on Thursday (6 August), following strong 2008 results, one analyst has suggested earnings at the UK insurer are set to face "a growing list of headwinds".
-
The liability claim from the Tupolev Tu-154 passenger aircraft that crashed in north-western Iran on 15 July, killing all 168 on board, is currently estimated at up to $55mn, The Insurance Insider understands.
-
Brit Insurance Holdings said it was enjoying organic growth in its three main trading divisions, while again reassuring investors on the development of its sub-prime/financial liability exposures.
-
While WR Berkley CEO Bill Berkley is confident the sluggish US P&C markets are close to turning, similar positive rate change across each of Traveler’s business segments were not enough to fuel Q2 income growth.
-
Transatlantic Re crowned its transition into a new era of independence with a 6.9 percent Q2 increase in book value per share to reach a record high of $53.57 at 30 June.
-
As commentators digest Q2 figures from the predominantly US and Bermudian (re)insurers reporting last week, attention turns to the Continental European giants, with Swiss Re, Munich Re and Hannover Re preparing to report in the coming days.
-
Second quarter results have once again demonstrated that the choice of accounting methodology can have a significant impact on a (re)insurer's bottom line.
-
White Mountains Insurance Group is restructuring its reinsurance business by converting its Bermudian reinsurance arm into a branch of White Mountains Re Sirius.
-
Fast-expanding insurer Torus Holdings has appointed Naveen Anand - CNA Insurance’s former senior vice president of commercial insurance - as global chief operating officer...
-
The House of Lords last week ruled that accountancy firm Moore Stephens is not liable for a failure to unearth an $89mn fraud at a commodity trader that it audited.
-
Hannover Re's latest catastrophe bond, Eurus II, closed on the 29 July, providing the reinsurer with EUR150mn of European windstorm cover and taking overall 2009 cat bond issuance to $1.8bn.
-
Expansive Bermudian insurer Ironshore has grown its global property division by establishing a dedicated global energy property business.
-
Shares in Fairfax Financial Holdings traded up 5 percent Friday (31 July) after the Canadian combine unveiled a net profit of $275.4mn for the second quarter.
-
Gallagher's Global Energy initiative took another decisive step last week with news that the firm has opened a Calgary office, The Insurance Insider can reveal.
-
Shares in Novae Group traded down last week after the Lloyd's insurer posted a £2.1mn loss for the first half, driven by a £26mn hit from aviation reinsurance and credit insurance claims...
-
A trio of Bermudian (re)insurers - RenaissanceRe, Montpelier Re and Endurance Specialty Holdings - booked higher Q2 net income, bolstered by reserve releases and improving investment conditions.
-
US insurance premiums are still under pressure as demand falls in the ongoing economic difficulties, according to the latest authoritative survey by the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS).
-
XL Capital's second quarter net profits plunged 66 percent year-on-year from $237.9mn to $79.9mn, as the bottom line was dented by foreign exchange losses and a fall in net investment income.
-
The predictions of a truly hard reinsurance market have failed to materialise and 2010 could even see the market soften, according to predictions made last week.
-
Cracknell appointed head of Aon Marine in UK; JLT Aerospace recruits Willis aviation chair as partner; Evolution adds to board, relocates...
-
The Coalition for Competitive Insurances Rates (CCIR), which includes the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) as a member, has blasted the proposed Neal Bill introduced in the US House of Representatives on 30 July.
-
Lancashire Holdings expressed surprise at the markedly reduced demand for Gulf of Mexico (GOM) energy wind cover it experienced in the second quarter...
-
The exodus of staff from AIG UK has stabilised, according to the company's CEO Lex Baugh, as it prepares for a fresh start as part of Chartis.
-
RK Harrison has said that the Lloyd's broker Bowood Holdings, which it acquired in October 2008, will become the group's specialist delegated authority broker from 1 October this year...
-
The landmark House of Lords decision to unanimously re-confirm the principle that a period clause is fundamental to an English legal reinsurance contract has been praised as a "victory for common sense".
-
The decision to allow AJ Gallagher to again charge contingent commissions on US retail business showed how polarised the debate over broker remuneration/transparency is, despite the efforts of the New York attorney general in 2004-05.
-
Pamplona Capital Management, the Russian-backed private equity firm, is still waiting for clearance from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to build a pivotal stake in the listed Lloyd's insurer Chaucer Insurance Holdings.
-
Parkton Re Ltd, the cat bond put together for North Carolina's state wind pool, has become the latest 2009 issue to upsize as it increased from a planned $125mn to $200mn on closing.