December 2009/3

Quoted Lloyd's insurer Amlin plc said on 21 December that it is in talks to buy the insolvency practitioners' (IP) insurance unit of privately-owned insurance broker Lockton Intl.

A US judge awarded a partial victory to London market insurers locked in a battle with disgraced financier Allen Stanford over defence costs last week, but the dispute continues.

A Malta-based reinsurer has been launched to provide capital relief to captives with long-tail legacy liabilities

The culmination of a six-month long search for a new CEO and CFO by internal promotions may fail to entirely quash speculation about the company's availability to potential buyers, but it was welcomed at Lloyd's insurer Chaucer Insurance Holdings last week...

UK tax authorities, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is to act on industry concerns to change the definitions it uses of banks of banks to stop the 50 percent windfall tax intended for bank bonuses hitting insurance operations, according to reports in the UK national press.

Global broker Marsh Inc set an expansive tone last week as it revealed it had agreed to acquire HSBC Insurance Brokers Ltd (HIBL), a wholly owned subsidiary of global banking giant HSBC, for £135mn ($218mn) in a mixture of MMC stock and cash.

State Farm Mutual has pulled its plans to exit the property insurance market in Florida, marking a major change in tack for the US home insurance giant.

As firm order 1/1 terms are placed around the market, a picture of a stable renewal season, with modest discounts available for renewals of clean treaty programmes across the reinsurance spectrum...