August 2012/4

Andy Beecroft, Aon Benfield's most senior M&A adviser in London, and a number of his team members are moving to rival Guy Carpenter, The Insurance Insider has learned.

Lloyd's S&P upgrade possible; RBS direct for IPO; Benelux build out; California hit by earthquake ‘swarm'; HCC $300mn buy-back; Maiden offering; Novae CFO to exit; Validus upgraded; Southport Re recruits; Suncorp targeted more cat limit before Berkshire QS; Generali US arm up for sale; Liberty drive; Howden builds London energy team; BMS US hire

Omega's most senior staff have left the group or are in the process of doing so after the acquisition by fellow Lloyd's insurer Canopius completed, The Insurance Insider understands.

Initial fears of a $1bn+ energy loss from a Venezuelan refinery explosion have been allayed, with the market now expecting at worse a modest loss, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

For all that has been written about the much-vaunted shift of global economic power from west to east in the past decade, some phenomena seem slow to adapt to the new realities.

As Tropical storm Isaac strengthens to a Category 1 hurricane, residents of New Orleans are bracing themselves for an expected storm surge that will put the city's rebuilt flood defences to the test for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.