February 2005/5

Bermudian headquartered Endurance has appointed Gunther Saacke to head up the property and casualty treaty reinsurance operation in its London office.

Promina, the spin-off of Royal & Sun Alliance’s Australasian operation, reported a 53.7 percent increase in pre-tax net profit to A$458mn in its first full year as a standalone company.

After a tumultuous six months, the Board of directors of Swiss reinsurer Converium have replaced chief executive Dirk Lohmann with the company’s managing director Terry G Clarke.

Growing losses from last autumn’s hurricanes contributed to property catastrophe specialist IPC Re reporting lower than expected fourth quarter results last Tuesday (22 February).

Bermudian RenaissanceRe reported 2004 net operating income of $110mn, well down on the restated $525mn booked in 2003, as the impact of the devastating hurricane season hit home.

D&O insurers’ willingness to void cover for one of the most common source of claims – exposures arising from financial restatements which then spark securities class actions – has led Chubb Insurance Company to apply to a Canadian Court to rescind its cov

Last Thursday (24 February) saw the launch of Trade Credit Re (TCRe), a new entrant in the trade credit insurance market.

Max Re’s decision to focus more on traditional reinsurance has inspired the reinsurer to reshuffle its senior management. Former ART vice-president John Doucette has been appointed president and chief underwriting officer of Max Re Ltd’s reinsurance divis

Australian insurance company QBE announced record after tax 2004 profits of A$820mn last Thursday (24 February), an increase of 43 percent on the A$572mn it made in the previous year.

London Stock Exchange quoted reinsurer Alea Group Holdings has removed its group underwriting director and US operation chief executive in a management reshuffle weeks before it is due to publish its 2004 results.

Simon Clapham, the active underwriter of Brit Syndicate 2987, left Brit Insurance Holdings last week.

(Re)insurance broker Cooper Gay announced record results this month (17 February) with total income up 3 percent to £52.1mn and pre-tax profits increasing by more than 2 percent to £8.3mn.