February 2006/5

Lloyd’s insurer Wellington Underwriting plc has announced the retirement of its chief underwriting officer David Foreman in a statement to the London Stock Exchange this morning (6 March 2006).

Warren Buffett said the cost of Hurricane Katrina and “her ugly sisters, Rita and Wilma” cost Berkshire Hathaway a total of $3.4bn last year. The investment titan revealed the extent of Berkshire’s bill in his annual letter to the company’s...

The London market has exceeded its latest target laid-down in conjunction with UK regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), to ensure contract certainty of policies agreed in December.

Giant reinsurer Swiss Re reported a 41 percent drop in its net income last year it falling to SFR1.451bn from SFR2.475bn in the prior year, a result that reflected a tough year for reinsurers.

Lloyd’s insurer Amlin reported this morning (2 March) a record result of 25.4 percent for the 2003 year of trading on Syndicate 2001, beating the previous record of 21.7 percent on the 2002 account. The company said the result, achieved on a capacity..

Marsh UK is in the process of scrapping its final salary pension scheme for its staff and ceasing supplementary benefits for all but the highest earners, The Insurance Insider can reveal. The move is the broker’s latest cost-cutting exercise as its...

Listed Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer reported today (28 February) that it has written £125.8mn of premium, net of brokerage, during January renewals. The premiums are up from January 2005’s figure of £110.3m and represents approximately...

Swiss reinsurer Converium has provided details of restated financial results following an internal review prompted by regulatory investigations into ‘finite’ reinsurance. In a statement this morning (28 February), the company – which has been...

Giant insurer American International Group (AIG) has formed a new unit, AIG Specialty Excess, in order to handle all in-force, new and renewal business currently handled by CV Starr & Co agency, a subsidiary of CV Starr & Co, Inc.

French reinsurer SCOR has reported a 25 percent increase in premium income renewed at 1 January for non-life, credit and surety treaties.

Bermudian-headquartered (re)insurer Quanta has appointed Roland Baker and Robert Shapiro to its board of directors. Both men were also appointed to the board’s audit committee, Baker will join the compensation committee while Shapiro will join the...

Insurance giant American International Group (AIG) is facing a lawsuit from Minnesota attorney general Mike Hatch, raising the spectre of further action from states dissatisfied with AIG’s recent $1.6bn payout. Hatch is seeking up to $10mn...

Integer, the mutual set up to sell stop-loss policies to Lloyd’s Names, has lost a High Court hearing over settlement money paid to almost 500 members of the Stop Loss Recover Group (SLRG). The action marked the latest in a series as the board of...

Munich Re chief executive Nikolaus von Bomhard has said the industry will not end the problems over its reputation while brokers and carriers continue to own significant stakes in each other. Dr von Bomhard said brokers could not say they were...

Further downgrades and widening losses as woes mount for reinsurer. The future for PXRE looks bleak, as the troubled reinsurer saw its ratings sink further down the scale after reporting fourth quarter 2005 net losses of $447mn on the back of...

The UK arm of broking giant Aon has revealed plans to leave the City for Docklands, with talks ongoing for a new London office at Canary Wharf. The firm – which employs 2000 people in the UK - said it was in exclusive negotiations with Canary Wharf...

Results at UK insurer Royal & Sun Alliance will be analysed closely for worsening exposures to Hurricane Wilma, which tore through the US Gulf and Mexico last October. The insurer – which has seen its share price climb leap more than 50 percent to...

Lancashire Re became the second Bermudian start-up to reveal its 2006 trading performance when it estimated writing $165mn in gross premiums by 1 March. “We feel we have got off to a very good start. What we’re seeing is a very patchy market, but we...

US cedants will have to increase their capital requirements if Europe’s reinsurance industry gets its way and has the controversial collateralisation requirements abolished. The US’ reinsurance collateral system was again the subject of debate last...

The brokers working to achieve peer-to-peer initiatives with the “gang of six” Lloyd’s underwriters have been revealed as Aon, Benfield, Willis and Marsh. The “gang of six”, or G6, is the breakaway group of powerful insurers which has combined with...

Australian-based (re)insurer QBE declared an increase in final dividend from 30 cents to 38 cents a share after announcing record results, with pre-tax net profit up 37 percent to A$1.5bn. After-tax operating profits were up 27 percent from...

Bermudian Platinum Underwriters Holdings became the latest reinsurer to announce hurricane-affected losses in its fourth quarter and full-year results for 2005. Platinum reported net losses of $103.3mn, or $1.94 per basic common share, and a net loss..

Lloyd’s reinsurer Advent Capital (Holdings) plc has increased its Hurricane Wilma net loss estimates and is predicting a midpoint loss of 77.5 percent of capacity on its Syndicate 780’s 2005 underwriting year. The catastrophe reinsurance specialist...

Lloyd’s listed insurer Wellington Underwriting plc revealed Friday (24 February) that its underwriting agency will make a cash call to capital providers on its Syndicate 2020 of $190mn as a result of last year’s hurricanes.

Although 2005 was the costliest year ever for (re)insurers in terms of natural catastrophes and specifically hurricanes, reports from European giants Munich Re and Swiss Re have warned that the industry should brace itself for similar events in the...

At a time when Willis Corp is building a grand edifice opposite the Lloyd’s building as its new global headquarters, Aon Ltd has revealed that it is considering deserting the City and relocating to the burgeoning Docklands.

The film finance trial between defunct insurer HIH and its broker JLT Risk Solutions came to an early conclusion last week. As predicted in this month’s The Insurance Insider the trial ended early after the withdrawal by of fraud allegations by HIH.

Start-up Ariel Re has continued to build its management team by recruiting from its rivals. In recent weeks the $1bn capitalised reinsurer has poached a number of senior executives, including the former ACE Asset Management Inc chief operating officer.

US insurer HCC Insurance Holdings is set to acquire a 23.6 percent holding in Lloyd’s managing agent Heritage Underwriting. HCC – which acquired the Lloyd’s insurer Illium Insurance last year - has reached agreement to buy the stake for an undisclosed.

UK-listed broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc (JLT) is to undergo a radical restructure that will merge its UK Corporate Risks and JLT Risk Solutions, Insider Week can reveal. Following the merger – due to complete by the third quarter 2006...

Specialist insurance lawyer Nigel Montgomery is leaving DLA Piper Rudnick to head up a new team at US law firm Sidley Austin’s London office. Montgomery has a background in insurance restructuring, focusing on schemes of arrangement and business...

The legacy of the infamous workers’ compensation carve-out saga of the late nineties came back to haunt US healthcare insurer Cigna Corp last week after an adverse ruling from a London arbitration panel rule.

Employment Practices Liability (EPL) will soon become essential for employers as the rising tide of discrimination laws and compensation awards make employment law the next big area for legal claims. That was the message from Cath Thorpe...

Fast expanding Hyperion Insurance Group reported a double boost today with the announcement of an almost doubling of profits followed by news of a £5.1mn capital placement in the insurance group. Hyperion reported full-year profits of £4.03mn for...

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has cancelled Xsavi Ltd’s permission to trade because of the firm’s failure to comply with standards and inadequate financial resources. It is the first enforcement cancellation taken against a general...

Underwriters at Lloyd’s believe that the most critical challenge the insurance industry faces is managing the business cycle, according to the Corporation’s second annual underwriter survey. The survey approached underwriters directly at their...