February 2007/5

Converium has laid out a “road map” to generate a sustainable return on equity (ROE) of 14 percent by 2009 as it continues to fend off advances from rival SCOR.

Expanding US broker Hilb Rogal & Hobbs has seen Bear Stearns upgrade its forecast earnings on the back of its accelerating acquisition strategy.

Bermudian ACE's London market operation has poached Kiln underwriters Mark Adams and Richard Bayman to bolster ranks in its aviation division.

Lockton International, the ambitious arm of US broker Lockton Inc, has appointed former JLT exec Tony Hardy as managing director, Global Casualty, to build its business in the North American, European and wider international markets.

Sal Zaffino, the chairman of Guy Carpenter & Co since 1999, has retired from the firm, the reinsurance broker confirmed last week.

The World Bank is bringing together donor countries today to raise between $30mn and $50mn to complete funding for a Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF).

Three of the world's largest (re)insurers, Munich Re, Swiss Re and Allianz, have signed a declaration issued by the Global Roundtable on Climate Change (GRCC).

Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has released the "RMS Infectious Disease Model", the first commercially available probabilistic model for assessing the risk of influenza pandemics across multiple countries.

The worst of the asbestos related difficulties faced by (re)insurers may now be in the past, according to a report by ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P).

Giant US IT provider IBM is to make its entry into the London market this year with the release of a system that will facilitate electronic risk placement.

It is imperative that the insurance industry not only understands risk, but thinks of it as an opportunity, according to Aon president and CEO Greg Case.

Lloyd's insurer Amlin plc has become the first carrier in the London market to offer brokers the option of placing electronically through peer-to-peer systems or an electronic hub.