February 2005/1

Former JP Morgan Chase & Co vice-chairman Donald Layton has emerged as a front-runner to replace Aon Corporation’s founding chief executive Pat Ryan, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

The past month has seen the first serious indications that business may be beginning to desert broker Marsh for its rivals. At the start of February, the broker admitted that Britain's second largest listed insurance company Prudential plc had migrated

Lohmann cites ‘long-standing client relationships’ on better than expected showing Converium appears to have survived the the worst of the 1/1 renewals, according to the reinsurer. In a conference call on 17 February, CEO Dirk Lohmann told analysts he

$1.6bn strengthening at North American corporate business... Rating agency Standard & Poor’s announced on 17 February that it was placing the ratings of Swiss financial services giant Zurich Financial Services on CreditWatch with negative implications,

Fitch spoils XL's party with mooted downgrade Bermudian giant XL Capital had its positive fourth quarter and year-end earnings release marred this month by an announcement from rating agency Fitch that it may slash the company's debt ratings. Fitch'

The sudden departure of Marie-Louise Rossi from the International Association of Underwriting (IUA) led to suggestions her parting was less than amicable - a view the IUA refused to contradict.

A UK court has ruled that insurers will have to pay compensation to thousands of people with pleural plaques, the scarring on the lung lining that indicates exposure to asbestos.

In our regular News Digest, we round up key stories from the last month, presenting them to you in easily digestable snippets.

Lloyd's insurer aims to exorcise US casualty spectre in bid to avoid run-off The Lloyd's insurer SVB Holdings Plc is working on a restructuring package that would ring-fence the group from its devastating US casualty exposures, The Insurance Insider c

A further three employees have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with bid-rigging investigations by New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer.

Settlement brings partial closure on commission controversy as focus shifts to implementing new business model It was three months in the making, and involved torturous semantics in the expression of contrition, but Marsh & McLennan's settlement with

Broking giant Aon Corporation is in advanced settlement talks with US regulators including New York attorney-general Eliot Spitzer, The Insurance Insider understands. According to sources, Aon Corporation is looking to agree a deal that will sweep up