December 2004/1

Broker Aon has stated the potential impact of a mammoth round of energy litigation currently underway in the Royal Courts of Justice. As reported in the March edition of The Insurance Insider, the case was brought by oil giant BP against Swiss Re, AIG,

In our regular monthly News Digest, we round up key stories from the last month, presenting them to you in easily digestable snippets.

New evidence has come to light of the use of off-balance-sheet transactions by insurance giant AIG. The allegations, published in industry newsletter Inside Bermuda, relate to offshore structures in Barbados and Bermuda used by AIG in the 1980s to circ

Preliminary estimates show 7 percent fall in capacity, as aligned capital hits record levels Early estimates of Lloyd's market capacity for 2005 point to a drop of about 7 percent, as syndicates adjust to the changing cycle, and the Franchise Performa

Insurer-backed Willis plays aggressive independence card after winning Fortune Brands account Willis Group, the global insurance broker tipped by many to benefit from the Spitzer fall-out, has been aggressively marketing itself as a non-conflicted alte

World's second largest broker Aon has made public efforts this month to clear up comments attributed to outgoing CEO Pat Ryan that he was "not fazed" by the Spitzer and other investigations into the industry, and that he was "very comfortable" with the be

The beleaguered broking giant MMC took further steps to improve its corporate governance rating last month by firing five senior executives from its board of directors last week.

The irascible former England Football manager Terry "El Tel" Venables once described mixed feelings as watching your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your new car, and it is a sentiment which MMC shareholders might have some empathy. Although there

As recently as 19 November, more than 60 percent of Lloyd's brokers by number, and up to 90 percent in terms of 2003 sales, had yet to receive final authorisation from UK regulator the Final Services Authority (FSA) ahead of its takeover of watchdog duti

A year after the UK regulator Financial Services Authority issued a consumer warning against the dubious insurer Centennial Insurance Company - or CIC - the British Columbia Financial Institutions Commission ordered the company to stop doing business in t

But XL Syndicate 990 reveals stunning 40 percent loss deterioration On the face of it, Lloyd's latest release of the market's Syndicate Quarterly Returns (SQRs) reveals little change from the figures put out for the 10th quarter on the 2002 year of acc

Lloyd's-backed platform side-lined as broker goes to market with its own connectivity Brokers Aon is set to shake up the London Market IT consensus by launching an alternative to Kinnect, the Lloyd's funded platform designed to allow electronic transf

The Insurance Insider has learnt that Brian Jackson, active underwriter on up-for-sale St Paul Syndicate 779, is in advanced negotiations for a deal that would see business novate to Lloyd's managing agency Jubilee.

Litigation epic bears bitter sweet fruit for leaseholder with potential $1bn gain The jury in the second round of WTC insurance litigation has delivered its verdict in favour of the building's leaseholder Larry Silverstein. The decision, which the j

In our regular monthly News Digest, we round up key stories from the last month, presenting them to you in easily digestable snippets.

The decision by Marsh Ltd's chief executive Bruce Carnegie-Brown to commission an independent report into its activities proved to be inspired. At an apparent cost of £2mn, Marsh Ltd received "cleared of wrongdoing" headlines in all the UK newspapers read

Benfield-advised European reinsurer Glacier Re set to launch next year The legendary investor George Soros is backing a new $300mn European reinsurer that will target specialist lines in areas such as aviation and marine, The Insurance Insider can reve

Despite concerns that downwards pricing pressure is building in many property catastrophe lines, cash-rich hedge funds are increasingly drawn to the perceived high reward reinsurance sector. In addition to providing private equity capital to back star

The removal of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group's chief executive Steve McGill following a profits warning on 26 November has again focused attention on the broker's US expansion strategy.

Merrett plc, the eponymous holding company founded by former Lloyd's deputy chairman Stephen Merrett, has gone into liquidation ten years after the group stopped underwriting, The Insurance Insider can reveal. The company, which had essentially been op

RISK executives criticised in court defeat - but agency fights back with press A heady cocktail of collusion, doctored documents and "implausible" testimony came to light last month after judgement was handed down in a fraud dispute between German rein

Companies subpoenaed but observers divided over impact of latest regulatory probe The spectre of Spitzer spread to the practise of finite (re)insurance last month, as several companies, including Swiss Re, Ace, St Paul Travelers, Platinum Underwriters

Recently merged US insurance giant St Paul Travelers faces losses over and above the $252mn reserve it set aside for a surety exposure on the so-called "Big Dig" project, according to analysts at Lehman Brothers. In a note, equity analyst Chris Winans hi