August 2011/4

Despite UK motor rates climbing by 20-30 percent in the past year the recent Lloyd's motor pain is set to continue, with Canopius predicting further losses both this year and next on its specialist motor Syndicate 260.

Lloyd's syndicates have widened their forecast losses for the 2010 year during the past quarter as disaster claims have increased, but syndicates with third party capital support are doing slightly better than their fully aligned counterparts.

London-based insurance services firm Charles Taylor Consulting reported a £2.6mn profit for the first half, down more than 50 percent from £5.7mn in the same period last year.

Global broker MMC and Bermudian (re)insurer White Mountains both braved global stock market turmoil in announcing new share buyback schemes last week.

Ratings agency Fitch has warned that Mapfre's heavy exposure to Spanish sovereign debt could exert financial pressure on the group if the current wide credit spreads between Eurozone sovereign government debt are maintained for a prolonged period.

Transatlantic Re and Allied World shareholders will be given the chance to vote on their proposed merger on 20 September as Validus and Berkshire Hathaway look on.

Senior executive Tony Lovett has parted company with RSG Europe, the expansive start-up managing general agency (MGA) and wholesale broking subsidiary of Ryan Specialty Group, The Insurance Insider has learned.

Torus will only write property catastrophe reinsurance business as a sidecar after agreeing a deal to sell the renewal rights on its portfolio to Montpelier Re.

Sails up at R&Q; Rule Britannia; Alterra branches out in UK; IAG motors into China; Greenlight promotes Hedges to CEO; XL Liberty sell PI to struggling legal firms; Hannover buys UK home MGA; XL builds construction team; Atrium Syndicates merge; AIG's Taiwanese pay-back; Builders insured for weather risk

QBE's underwriting profit would have been $217mn lower this year if it had been operating under its 2010 reinsurance programme, the firm said, as it announced a $673mn gain for the first half of 2011.

Many expected Berkshire Hathaway's talks with Transatlantic Re to be short. After all, the sage doesn't do hostile and rarely - if ever - increases his first offer. His unsolicited approach earlier this month gave Transatlantic's board the luxury of one full working day to agree to his (impossible) terms.

Amlin CEO Charles Philipps has insisted that nothing has "gone materially wrong" in the firm's business, attributing first-half losses of £192mn to the vicissitudes of the sector.