February 2009/3

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.

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

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".

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.

Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg, chairman and CEO of CV Starr & Co and founder and former CEO of troubled American International Group (AIG) expressed deep criticism of the impact mark-to-market, or fair value, accounting has had on the insurance industry.

While the future looks challenging for the global financial markets as a whole, the (re)insurance industry is currently "the most stable financial industry in the world", according to CEO of Willis Joe Plumeri.