February 2012/3

Diversified (re)insurance investor Tawa has signalled its intent to ramp up its presence in the London market with the launch of an ambitious new wholesale broker.

More than 30 passengers from the ill-fated final cruise of the Costa Concordia have joined a lawsuit that charges the vessel's owners with fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement, taking the total number of plaintiffs to 39.

Mitsui Oil & Exploration has announced it will pay $45mn to the US Justice Department and around $25mn in total to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas for pollution violations, ahead of the Deepwater Horizon trial in two weeks.

Live-market (re)insurers currently trading below book value would make a "logical" target for run-off buyers, according to Validus CEO Ed Noonan.

Tawa - the UK listed company controlled by billionaires François Pinault and Lakshmi Mittal - is considering separating its run-off and (re)insurance service businesses in a bid to spark interest in its moribund share price.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to clamp down on excessive whiplash injury claims, which are costing motor insurers up to £2bn a year and driving up premiums on individual policies by £90 on average.

The global insurance industry has saved almost $3bn from amendments made to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), according to KPMG estimates.

Revived measures in President Obama's 2013 budget to forbid tax deductions for reinsurance premiums ceded to foreign-based affiliates once again divided industry groups, pleasing heavyweight US insurers such as WR Berkley and Liberty Mutual but sparking opposition from other trade groups.

A rare outbreak of bipartisan agreement on Capitol Hill last week could end the long-running saga over renewing the authorisation of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The AlphaCat Re 2011 sidecar run by Bermudian reinsurer Validus has expanded to around $280mn, according to sources.

Hedge funds are showing renewed interest in the reinsurance sector after the 2011 catastrophe losses, according to AM Best.

Bermudian collateralised reinsurance writer Aeolus raised and deployed about $1.2bn in capital over the past year as it evolved from a private equity partnership into a third party funds manager, sister publication Trading Risk has reported.

A number of Bermudian reinsurers deployed less aggregate limit at 1 January as they sought to manage down their peak exposures or push for above-market rate increases in the hardening property cat markets.

Analysis of commentary on reinsurance underwriting at the 1 January renewals has divided the sector into two broadly separate camps.

Investors' renewed enthusiasm for P&C (re)insurance stocks has caused the UK quoted mid-cap P&C sector to effectively be re-rated in the past few months to its highest level in four years.

Willis has a challenge to reassure investors of its 2012 prospects after the broker underperformed on almost every measure compared to its peers in the fourth quarter results released last week.

Bermudian (re)insurers were able to shrug off the second-worst catastrophe year on record to still report a full-year profit for their shareholders in 2011, according to figures compiled by The Insurance Insider's data room.

Japanese top three insurer MS&AD more than doubled its net loss projection from the Thai floods last week, but figures from Lloyd's helped to allay fears that the London market would have disproportionate exposure to the disaster.

The disappointing fourth quarter results reported by Willis last week were put down to extraordinary or company-specific factors that hurt the broker in North America, the UK and on the continent.

The overwhelming likelihood is that Willis will choose an external candidate when the time comes to succeed chairman and CEO Joe Plumeri.

Chartis is raising insurance rates and focusing on underwriting for profit as it emerges from the crisis in 2008, according to parent American International Group's chief executive Robert Benmosche.

Investors have over-punished XL for its poor showing in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the company's CEO Mike McGavick.

Alterra president and CEO Marty Becker has called for reinsurance giants Swiss Re and Munich Re to drive a widespread market turn, describing the European pair as "the only two players big enough to drive reinsurance rates".

International (re)insurer Axis Capital shed a large amount of exposure to international cat business at 1 January as it loaded non-modelled business more than its peers, president and CEO John Charman revealed last week.