December 2006/4

UK outsourcing giant Capita Group has emerged as a front-runner to acquire the up-for-sale specialist consulting and outsourcing company Axiom Consulting, Insider Week can reveal.

This edition of Insider Week is the last publication from Insider Publishing Ltd in 2006. Insider Week will resume on the 2 January while the January edition of The Insurance Insider will be available to download from the 11 January.

Oxygen, the independent London based intermediary, has parted company with a three-strong international property team, Insider Week can reveal.

Swiss Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, announced another change to its senior management team last week with the departure of its veteran chief financial officer Anne Godbehere.

Bermudian (re)insurer Quanta Capital Holdings appointed run-off expert Mark Bridges to its board of directors on 11 December.

Advent Capital Holdings has completed its £19.7mn capital raising for its Bermudian platform, Advent Re, which will write retrocessional business.

Bermudian (re)insurer Max Re Capital announced plans to launch a US-based excess and surplus lines platform last week (14 December).

Lockton International, the fast-expanding arm of US broker Lockton Inc, has recruited the former JLT Re executive Paul Jack. Jack – who left Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc recently – will reacquaint himself with Mike Hammond, the former head of JLT Ris

Swiss reinsurer Converium closed the sale of its North American operations to National Indemnity Company last week, leaving the resolution of regulatory investigations the final hurdle to an upgrade from rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P).

Talbot Underwriting Ltd is to enter two new classes of business as it becomes the latest Lloyd’s insurer to announce an increase in capacity for the 2007 year, with its Syndicate 1183 up 6 percent to £325mn.

Trade body the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) has ended its search for a new chief executive with the appointment of David Gittings, the former group head of risk at Wellington Underwriting Plc.

Norton is a once great British Motorcycle manufacturer now attempting a comeback, so it is unclear exactly what message Brit Insurance is trying to send out with the name of its sidecar-style vehicle, Norton Re.