December 2003/5

In echoes of the dot.com boom, the year’s largest IPO saw China Life shares rocket 27 percent last Wednesday (17 December) as its massively oversubscribed $3bn float hit the New York stock exchange. The stock debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange a day

Results for the first nine months of 2003 suggest that solid premium performance in favourable underwriting conditions has yet to show up in the earnings of European reinsurers still struggling with legacy issues, according to a report from Benfield.

Bermuda’s top 15 reinsurance and insurance outfits produced an impressive 87.5 percent combined ratio for the first nine months of 2003, according to rating agency AM Best.

The parent of disgraced broker Stirling Cooke Brown has applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while revealing that its largest creditor is London law firm Richards Butler.

Canopius – the new brand for the former Lloyd’s operation of Trenwick International – saw its Lloyd’s Syndicate 4444 upgraded by rating agency Moody’s last week.

Lloyd’s Kinnect went live last week, with Willis taking inaugural honours to pass the first risk through the platform. The platform, which is funded by Lloyd's, enables brokers and underwriters to exchange data electronically.

Swiss Re’s decision to stop writing a significant amount of Lloyd’s reinsurance business is unrelated to the Central Fund coverage dispute, the Zurich headquartered reinsurer said last week.

London based broker Heath Lambert revealed last week that the consortium of private equity houses that have owned the majority of the group’s equity since its formation in 1999 have surrendered their holdings as part of a financial restructuring first ann

UK general insurer Brit unveiled a positive trading statement last Thursday (18 December) as it highlighted “exceptionally positive” underwriting conditions and its minimal legacy exposures.

Pinault receives fine in return for immunity; Peyrelevade and five others left out in the cold

CNA has settled a lawsuit against five of its former executives who it accused of breaching confidentiality agreements and stealing trade secrets when they left to join rival Bermuda start-up Quanta Capital.

US giant property casualty insurer The Hartford announced Friday (19 December) that it has agreed a $1.15bn global claims settlement for asbestos exposures to MacArthur Company and its Western MacArthur subsidiary.