February 2006/3

Hannover Re has announced a restructure of its US arm Clarendon and admitted it will weigh up the options for the future of its ongoing specialty and discontinued programme businesses. In a statement today (7 March) the German reinsurer revealed the...

Shares in (re)insurer Quanta Capital Holdings Ltd collapsed yesterday (2 March) after the company admitted it was putting itself up for sale following deteriorating losses and a downgrade by rating agency AM Best from the crucial A- to B++.

Despite the “Class of 2005” raising over $10bn within months of Hurricane Katrina, capital supply is expected to have less impact on pricing than ever before, according to analysts at Numis Securities. In a note titled “The cycle has staying power”...

Three of the world’s top five reinsurers, Munich Re, Swiss Re and Hannover Re, all showed slight improvements in premium volume through the January renewals. The European giants said they had achieved this while targeting underwriting and price...

The UK Court of Appeal sent a sigh of relief among London market insurers earlier this month after over-turning last year’s controversial GoshawK vs Tyser decision which ruled brokers were not obliged to produce documents previously shown to underwriters.

Despite revealing it would be tapping investors for fresh capital, SVB’s plans to form a new UK insurer and seal off its back-year legacy exposures were given a cautious welcome by analysts. Numis Securities’ analyst Nick Johnson maintained his...

As predicted by our sister publication Insider Week, Ewen Gilmour, the chief executive of quoted Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer plc, was appointed deputy chairman of Lloyd’s when the Society’s ruling body, the Lloyd’s Council, met earlier this month. Gilmour –

Only a month after Lloyd’s unveiled an ambitious three-year strategic plan, the Corporation parted company with its head of business strategy in early February. Since joining Lloyd’s in 2003, Stuart Degg led the development of Lloyd’s...

Lloyd’s confirmed on 3 February that it will pursue legal action against Benfield and Aon, the two brokers who placed the £500mn Central Fund insurance contract which failed to engage following an arbitration decision last year.

Mike Hammond, the former chief executive of broker Marsh’s UK operations, may be set to make a swift return to the London market after leaving Jardine Lloyd Thompson plc by joining Arthur J Gallagher & Co, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

As London market brokers wrestle with the heavy burden of their back office legacy issues, Aon Ltd has confirmed it is considering the unprecedented step of outsourcing its entire back-office in a bid to drive down costs.

Last autumn’s industry record hurricane losses triggered sharp increases in property rates in the fourth quarter of 2005, according to the latest RIMS Benchmark Survey from analysts at US firm Advisen. The survey, which includes information from...

Bermudian (re)insurer Alea Group has had its rating withdrawn by agencies Standard & Poor’s (S&P) following the lead of AM Best. A statement from S&P on 14 February said: “Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today it affirmed its BBB long-term...

White Mountains Insurance Group has become the fourth (re)insurer to announce the formation of a Bermudian sidecar vehicle following last year’s US storm losses. Helicon will sit alongside the Bermudian reinsurer Olympus Re in writing up to...

As the run-off sector continues to absorb the implications of key developments in 2005 led by the High Court decision not to sanction the British Aviation Insurance Company Limited (BAIC) solvent scheme of arrangement, the number of proposed...

In the post-Spitzer world of transparency and placement service agreements (PSAs), brokers are struggling to replace lost income and maintain margins. So Aon's strong results - which included a 35 percent rise in...

Bermudian giant ACE was one of the island’s few (re)insurers to score a hat-trick with a positive fourth quarter result, full-year profit, and a sub-100 2005 combined ratio. The company, which bore a net after-tax charge of $1.05bn from the year’s...

US insurer The Hartford announced record 2005 net income of $2.3bn, or $7.46 a share, despite the year’s record industry hurricane losses. The figures were up by 8 percent and 5 percent respectively on 2004 results of $2.1bn and $7.12 a share...

Industry veteran Bob Clements exclaimed he has never had so much fun in his business career as he builds his broking start-up Integro Ltd. The former chairman of J&J Marsh & McLennan Inc was in London last month to celebrate the opening of Integro’s...

Nottingham-based insurer IGI is set to open a London market underwriting office following its acquisition by the expansive Icelandic insurance group Vatryggingafelag Islands hf (VIS). VIS – which acquired a majority stake in IGI earlier this month...

Ex-Gen Re and AIG execs indicted over $500mn reinsurance deal; Omega gets Bermuda licence; Swiss Re completes EUR252mn credit reinsurance securitisation; Kanak resigns from AIG; Arch raises $200mn; Hannover Re completes $370mn cat bond; Validus makes 1/1;

Outsiders led by Dr Ward head short-list. As the short-list of candidates to become the next Lloyd’s chief executive undertake their final presentations, it is likely the three hundred-year-old Society will be in a position to announce...

Despite the closure of Kinnect, an elite group of Lloyd’s insurers have banded together to drive down trading costs in London. A breakaway group of powerful Lloyd’s insurers has combined with a view to co-operate on areas of mutual benefit...

The question of whether reinsurers or reinsureds are liable to pay premiums to their brokers could be tested in the UK courts again this year when Absalom v TCRU reaches trial. The obligation appeared to have shifted to the reinsured during...