February 2009/3

Swizerland-based Paris Re's hopes for hiked reinsurance prices at the key 1/1 renewals were not fully realised with "meaningful increases”"only apparent in classes affected by losses, as loss free programs were...

Bermudian (re)insurer IPCRe saw its 2008 operating income fall by a relatively modest 19 percent to $258.7mn, compared to $317.9mn in 2007, as it revealed a loss ratio for the year of 40.2 percent.

QBE Europe confirmed last week it is to acquire the renewal rights and to the portfolio of mainly UK industrial and commercial property business written by Endurance Worldwide Insurance Ltd from London, taking on 30 Endurance employees in the process.

Despite concerns over its Standard & Poor's rating, Bermudian Everest Re saw its share price jump last week after its Q4 operating performance outstripped analysts' expectations.

Insurers hoping for successful subrogation against Boeing in a long-running battle over the defective 702 series satellites have been dealt a blow after an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration panel ruled in favour of the aerospace manufacturer.

Class of 2001 (re)insurer Endurance joined the growing throng of reinsurers reporting sizeable drops in net income for 2008 as the impact of investment losses and the brunt of Hurricane's Gustav and Ike continue to slice through industry earnings.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

After weeks of speculation, Jacques Aigrain resigned as CEO of Swiss Re just days after the troubled reinsurance giant confirmed a hefty full-year 2008 loss and a series of measures to shore up its balance sheet.

Munich Re has progressed from its iconic world map of natural hazards which first appeared in 1978 and pooled its research in the field of geo-risks onto digital format in the form of a DVD.

XL Capital ended its annus horribilis with a net loss of $2.63bn as the Bermudian (re)insurer’s CEO Michael McGavick warned of a "meaningful reduction" in gross written premium in 2009 and plans to cut its current workforce by 10 percent.

Practitioners in the global run-off space expect the global credit crunch to be a significant driver of new business in 2009.

Venture capital partnership Alpine Risk Services has launched to finance insurance broking, underwriting agency and ancillary insurance firms, committing sums of up to £10mn directly or with investment partners, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

The International Underwriting Association (IUA) today celebrates 10 years since its formation after the merger between the London International Insurance and Reinsurance Market Association (LIRMA) and the Institute of London Underwriters (ILU) in 1999.

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...

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.

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.

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.

Xchanging - the company that runs the London market bureau on behalf of the market - is set to close its wholly-owned consulting operation, Xchanging Insurance Professional Services Ltd (XIPS) The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Aon appoints new non exec chairman...

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

After 2008's string of natural and man-made catastrophe losses triggered one of the costliest years on record, a succession of disasters including the Australian wildfires, European winter storm Klaus and two plane crashes have started...

It was a busy week for fundraising on Lime Street as M&A target Chaucer Holdings saw its proposed £75mn net equity placing approved by shareholders (see article 16), while larger rivals Beazley...

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.

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.

All three major global broking groups' annual results were well received by investors as the results of tight cost control plans offset negative or patchy growth in the soft market-affected top lines at Aon, MMC and Willis.