February 2009/3

Argo Group's full year 2008 net profit fell 56 percent to $62.9mn as underwriting losses at its international specialty segment, combined with modest investment write-downs and the loss of a flattering extraordinary item relating to the 2007 acquisition of PXRE Group, made their presence felt.

Class of 2005 start-up Lancashire Holdings saw its share price climb 6 percent on the London Stock Exchange after posting better-than-expected full-year 2008 results.

Lloyd’s insurer Beazley Group plc is to raise £150mn in its rights issue as it said it is boosting its US presence with the acquisition of an underwriting manager and restructuring its operations with a Jersey holding company...

Former AIG chief executive Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg has made a scathing attack on the boardrooms of financial institutions accompanied by a robust defence of his faith in the ability of senior management to set things right if they are of the right calibr

Shareholders of Chaucer Holdings plc - the Lloyd's insurer that is exciting M&A interest - approved the £75mn equity net fundraising designed to plug a hole in its 2009 capital requirements.

As shipowners prepare to face another expensive protection and indemnity (P&I) renewal this week (20 February), Standard & Poor's has warned of growing pressure on the ratings of International Group (IG) P&I clubs.

Bill Berkley summed up the mood of many (re)insurers reporting Q4 and full-year 2008 figures with the words: "these are the best of times, the worst of times".

SP AusNet - the Australian energy firm owned by Singapore Power - has been filed with a class-action lawsuit relating to the deadly bushfires that swept across Victoria state earlier this month.

The crash of Continental Flight 3407 into a house in Buffalo, New York State last week could add further impetus to harder conditions in the airline insurance market that are expected to continue throughout 2009.

AXIS Capital posted a 66.8 percent drop in full-year net income for 2008 to $351mn compared with $1.1bn for 2007, a result which founding CEO and president John Charman said reflected the negative impact of “the extreme volatility of the global financial markets” on the Bermudian’s alternative investment portfolio.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launched a preliminary inquiry into the UK operations of American International Group's Financial Products Corp (AIGFP) last week

US, Bermudian and Lloyd's (re)insurers reporting fully-year results in the last seven days have posted sparkling underwriting results - but almost all have seen profits battered by poor or negative investment returns for the full-year as the financial crisis took its toll.