December 2015/3

Share price data on The Insurance Insider's universe of P&C (re)insurers

Global P&C stocks closed down 3.5 percent on Friday (11 December), but the sector avoided the brunt of a downturn that has heavily impacted indices on both sides of the Atlantic following a crash in the global oil price.

American International Group (AIG) and Ace are among a group of non-Lloyd’s focused carriers that were conspicuously absent from the list of insurers granted Solvency II internal model approval by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) earlier this month.

Beazley has received approval for its internal model from Irish regulator the Central Bank of Ireland, it announced last week (11 December).

AM Best does not expect to take rating actions as a direct consequence of the implementation of Solvency II, it announced last week.

A former insurance executive has been jailed for 37 years and ordered to pay $137mn after he hid the failure of his business from regulators in an elaborate fraud that eventually saw him threaten a US judge.

The Hartford has received UK court approval to consolidate £452mn ($684mn) of its old London market liabilities into a single vehicle.

Business interruption (BI) exposures are growing significantly for onshore energy firms, with BI losses dominating many claims in the sector, according to research from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS).

November was another quiet period for aviation hull and war losses according to JLT's latest Plane Talking report, with hull losses totalling just $23.4mn.

Zenkyoren is set to add a further $300mn of cover to its catastrophe bond arrangements through a new Nakama Re transaction, sister publication Trading Risk reported.

The departure of American International Group (AIG)'s head of insurance capital markets Samir Shah has raised concerns among insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors about whether the carrier will remain as active in the cat bond market as it has been in recent years.

Ascot Underwriting has entered the accident and health (A&H) market with the hire of Neil Whitbread from Lloyd's peer Channel Syndicate, The Insurance Insider understands.

Willis and Towers Watson confounded widespread expectations that their "merger of equals" would fail last week (11 December) by getting resounding shareholder approval for the transaction.

Integro buys Robertson Taylor; PIB gets PE backing; BPL appoints MDs; Advent launches asset recovery service; Lockton expands marine; Cat bond market holds steady; Marketform boosts M&A practice; Potential sell-offs for BTG; Chairman Guo reappears; Suncorp margin warning; Clear Blue rated A-; Sompo abandons Scor plans; Anthony launches MGA; Novae builds MAP team

Atlanta-headquartered excess and surplus (E&S) lines insurer Maxum Specialty Insurance has been placed up for sale, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Jonathan Matthews, chief operating officer at Pioneer Underwriting, has resigned, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Paul Dilley, chief underwriting officer of Canopius' UK specialty division, has left the company, The Insurance Insider has learned.

The London market is awaiting further news on the fallout from the dismissal of Cathedral CEO Peter Scales, after an announcement from Lancashire last week gave no details on a new management team.

The launch of the joint venture reinsurer planned by Axis and Blackstone has been delayed into 2016, sister title Trading Risk reported at the end of last week.

Warren Buffett has displayed his scepticism about the prospects of the reinsurance market after slashing his stake in Munich Re again to take it down to little more than a third of its peak level.

Insurance is a socially useful and a moral business. It is on the side of good and protects those that cannot otherwise afford protection. It allows the weak to stand up to the powerful. It enables trade, promotes resilience to disaster and helps accelerate economic development.

Ryan Specialty and BB&T are among the bidders that remain in the Swett & Crawford sale process alongside 10 private equity firms, The Insurance Insider can reveal.