August 2013/3

WR Berkley Syndicate 1967 has hired a team of three aviation underwriters from Lloyd's peer Travelers as it plans to add a new line for the 2013 account, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Japanese mutual insurer Zenkyoren has returned to the cat bond market with a new $150mn earthquake offering, sister publication Trading Risk has revealed.

US fronting and motor programme business State National is being sold in a formal auction process run by Evercore, The Insurance Insider has learned.

The fast-growing Florida homeowners' insurer Federated National lowered the retention and significantly increased the limit on its 1 July reinsurance programme, as it increased its top line by 81 percent in the first half of 2013.

FM Global has taken the giant Halliburton property insurance placement from the open market to write the cover 100 percent on a two-year non-cancellable deal at a lower cost than the 2012 policy, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Lloyd's and international (re)insurer Amlin expects to shrug off falling catastrophe reinsurance prices this year thanks to buoyant growth from its UK arm and a rebound at its European operation, chief executive Charles Philipps told The Insurance Insider today (19 August).

Incoming BMS CEO Dane Douetil will look to capitalise on the independent intermediary's heavy investments in broking staff over the past few years.

NZ quake; Wesfarmers bounce; Towers Watson grows; Zurich falls; Hogan hired; Heaney quits...

London market casualty underwriting veteran Keith Rutter has returned to the market as director and general manager at niche Lloyd's broker and coverholder HBA, The Insurance Insider has learned.

Investment bank Espirito Santo is close to making new senior appointments to protect its corporate broking franchise, The Insurance Insider understands.

US workers' compensation insurer and programme manager Meadowbrook Insurance Group could be forced to immediately repay $45.5mn of outstanding loans after it violated two debt covenant agreements due to a goodwill impairment charge it reported in its delayed second quarter financials.  

We insurance journalists are accustomed to expecting the unexpected; after all, much of our job entails reacting to events that tend to come with little warning