February 2005/5

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.

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 Platinum Underwriters Holdings, the parent company of St Paul spin-off Platinum Re, last week (22 February) reported 2004 net income of $84.8mn or $1.81 per diluted share, down $60mn on the previous year, as the impact of record natural catastro

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.

Lloyd’s insurer SVB Holdings Plc has drawn-down a further £32.4mn from the special £103.6mn group reserve it established last year to absorb mounting losses from its syndicates’ legacy US casualty exposures.

(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.

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.

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.

UK’s largest broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc (JLT) today (28 February) announced results in line with its profits warning of November last year, blaming the performance on “internal and external factors” at its JLT Risk Solutions division, along w

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

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

The end of February brought news of more MMC executives defecting to rival organisations including reinsurance broker Benfield Group’s capture of Marsh’s head of global marine and energy practice John Lapsley.