December 2011/3

Aggregate cat bond deals have done well this December as investors placed large orders for the double-digit premiums on offer.

Trade bodies the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) have welcomed UK consumer watchdog the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)'s probe into private motor premiums.

While the US escaped the severity of unexpected loss that afflicted New Zealand, Japan and Thailand in 2011, the frequency of events has led some underwriters to reassess risk perception in the world's largest insurance market.

Last week a number of European insurers were hit with downgrades, as rating agencies continue to aggressively reconsider their credit assumptions in light of the Eurozone debt crisis.

Former heavyweight broker Catherine Murray has parted company with insurance IT solutions provider VIPR, The Insurance Insider has learned.

Over the next three years Lloyd's will seek to shake the market's reputation of being leaden-footed in the face of change as it continues to encourage the diversity on which its success is based, the Corporation has said.

With (re)insurers' balance sheets under attack from all sides, CEOs are taking an active role in driving more diversified investment strategies in search of improved returns.

Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe revealed last week that it would add $88mn to its estimated losses from the Tohoku earthquake in the fourth quarter after deciding to reserve the full limit of its largest Japanese client's cover.

Lloyd's CEO Richard Ward wrote to the CEOs of managing agents last week to reassure the market over Kiln-managed Tokio Marine Syndicate 1880's outsized exposure to Thai flood losses.

Houston-based subcontractor Cameron International has agreed a $250mn settlement with BP on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and spill, in the latest development in the ongoing saga.

Last week a consensus began to emerge over the Thai flood losses as Scor revealed its loss estimate, which is based on a similar industry loss figure to that of major reinsurer Swiss Re.

Fresh evidence has emerged of a turn in US commercial insurance pricing, but not at a sufficient level for rate increases to keep pace with industry inflation.