February 2005/2

Heavy snowfall and poor visibility is suspected to be the chief cause of the Kam Air Boeing 737 crash last week in Afghanistan.

Bermudian giant ACE reported net income down 38 percent for the fourth quarter and 20 percent for the year last Wednesday (2 February) as it felt the impact of the sale of its Brandywine reinsurance unit late last year.

ACE Ltd is confident that it can rebuff the lawsuit brought by Connecticut’s attorney general Richard Blumenthal alleging the Bermudian giant paid “kickbacks” to secure a workers’ compensation contract, according to its president and chief executive Evan

Willis Re has announced the appointment of Peter C Hearn as head of its US operations following the promotion of his predecessor George Reeth to the position of president of Willis North America.

The giant US insurer St Paul Travelers Company capped a difficult week with the news that Doug Eliot, the respected chief executive of its commercial and personal lines, was leaving the company.

US insurer Chubb reported fourth quarter 2004 net income of $467.6mn or $2.39 a share last Tuesday (1 February), a significant improvement on the $72.3mn or $0.38 a share it booked in the same period of 2003 as lower asbestos charges and the turnaround of

Zurich based financial services group Credit Suisse revealed Friday (4 February) that it has upped its payable to XL by $257mn in relation to the Bermudian (re)insurer’s acquisition of Winterthur International back in 2001.

US reinsurance broker John P Woods Co has seen its founder defect to rival Towers Perrin only days after parent AJ Gallagher & Co announced it was rebranding its reinsurance operations as Gallagher RE.

Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox plc has acquired the UK event cancellation provider Insurex Expo-Sure from Alexander Forbes.

London market insurer Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (London) Ltd (MSIL) has been awarded an AA- financial enhancement rating (FER) by the rating agency Standard & Poor’s.

Bruce Carnegie-Brown, CEO of Marsh’s UK operations has been promoted to the position of president and CEO of the broker’s Europe and Middle East Operations.

The storms which struck the Eastern states of Australia last week will cost around $92mn (A$120mn) in insured losses, according to Australia’s Insurance Disaster Response Organisation (IDRO).