December 2005/1

Brit Insurance has become the latest (re)insurer to raise capital in expectation of 2006’s improved underwriting conditions. The firm announced that it has agreed to raise £150mn tier two long-term subordinated debt. As well as enabling Brit to take...

Despite raising sufficient capital to ensure a capacity of £150mn on its Syndicate 780 next year, Advent Capital has seen ratings agency Moody’s downgrade its rating on the syndicate following the devastating losses from this year’s storms.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has reduced its stance on Wellington Underwriting Agency’s Syndicate 2020 following the sudden increase in its estimates to Hurricane Katrina. “The downgrade follows the Nov. 24, 2005 announcement of a 69 percent increase to...

Validus Reinsurance Ltd, the Bermudian reinsurance start-up backed by the former MMC chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Greenberg, is set to go live later this week after raising $1bn in equity financing, Insider Week understands.

Rating agency AM Best is set to seal its stamp of authority on Bermuda’s “class of 2005” (re)insurers when it publishes inaugural financial strength ratings for a number of the start-ups in the forthcoming days. According to sources, AM Best is to...

World’s third largest broker Willis announced Friday (2 December) that it had agreed to buy Swedish regional property casualty broker Nicon Försäkringsmäklarna AB. The acquisition is expected to yield annual revenue of $1.5mn.

Brokers Marsh & McLennan has “restructured, refinanced and refocused its sales force” and is ready to grow again after suffering a rough year post-Spitzer, according to an analyst. Morgan Stanley analyst William Wilt said he sees the company as a...

Two former Benfield brokers have given undertakings to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) that they will not carry out any regulated activity for two years. The two brokers, Robert Phillips and Isabel Rawlence, helped design and place a Loss...

Heritage Underwriting Agency has forecast a loss for the full year with its net asset value per share dropping by 15 percent as a result. The group’s estimate for hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma net losses on Syndicate 1245 is £3.7mn. This has...

Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer has offered PXRE an exit route from its discontinued Lloyd’s business by agreeing to buy the troubled Bermudian’s subsidiary PXRE Ltd, which provides the capital for Syndicate 1224. The Syndicate, which stopped underwriting...

Canopius has agreed to buy the renewal rights to Alea’s North American facilities (re)insurance business, which will now be written through its Syndicate 4444. Under the agreement Alea will get 5 percent of gross written premiums over the next two...

Lloyd’s insurer Kiln has increase its 3Q storm losses, adding £10mn to Katrina exposures and reporting an initial range for Hurricane Wilma of £7.5mn to £12.5mn. In total Kiln now estimates that the pre-tax cost of these three hurricanes for its...