December 2013/4

Legal & General has completed a longevity swap with two BAE Systems pension plans that cover £1.7bn of liabilities, in the fourth such deal for December as 2013 volumes reached a new peak.

Bermudian (re)insurer Argo Group has lifted the target size on its new Loma Re cat bond to $165mn as 2013 insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuance becomes poised to break through the watershed barrier of $7.5bn.

Although 2013 proved to be a benign year for major insured US catastrophe losses, the year served as a reminder that relatively few events can still have significant consequences in terms of economic losses, analytics firm CoreLogic said in its latest natural hazard risk report.

Total insured losses arising from natural catastrophes and man-made events almost halved in 2013 compared to 2012, according to preliminary estimates from Swiss Re.

Although the Lloyd's market as a whole witnessed a 5.9 percent increase in stamp capacity to £26.3bn, the top quarter of underwriting performers actually saw their combined stamps shrink by 0.5 percent.

As much as 35 percent of the £1.5bn growth in Lloyd's stamp capacity in 2014 stems from syndicates that have entered the market since 2010.

Randall & Quilter has almost doubled the underwriting capacity of its Syndicate 1991 to £150mn for next year after launching at the start of 2013, placing it at the top of the largest risers list.

Canopius has said it is likely to continue to make acquisitions after its own $1bn+ sale to big three Japanese insurer Sompo.

Former Torus healthcare chief Robert "Bob" Allen looks set for a swift return to the market at the helm of a new managing general agency (MGA), The Insurance Insider can reveal.

More London market brokers could face fines for failing to maintain adequate anti-bribery safeguards following the £1.8mn ($2.9mn) penalty slapped on Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) last week, lawyers have warned.

Aon Benfield is billing its initiative to broaden terms on 1 January placements as a proactive measure for reinsurers to secure signings in an increasingly commoditised property cat market, The Insurance Insider understands.

Questions around the future of Nasdaq-listed insurer Tower Group have again come to the fore after a fresh reserving hit that could be as high as $105mn carried its total reserve strengthening between 2011 and 2013 to more than $550mn.