February 2013/3

Two CEOs of Bermudian reinsurers last week gave sharply contrasting views of the return hurdles that their businesses need to meet as they deal with an indifferent rating environment and de minimis investment returns.

The transfer of almost $30bn of exposure from its coastal account to Weston Insurance Company has given Citizens Property Insurance Corporation two years' grace before it needs to seek additional pre-event liquidity - provided there is no major storm.

JLT Re is looking to use its role as key architect in the pioneering Weston launch and Citizens take-out as a platform to further grow its reinsurance business in Florida and the wider US marketplace.

Martin Reith no longer has any immediate plans to launch a start-up (re)insurer and is not pursuing a return to the market in the near term, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Heavyweight Brazilian bank BTG Pactual has been eliminated from the Atrium sales process, as financial sources struggle to identify any bidders that have passed through to the second round.

The restructured and re-priced 2013/14 placement of the International Group (IG)'s protection and indemnity (P&I) programme has filtered through to terms for an aggregate retro cover that protects its captive Hydra, The Insurance Insider has learned.

Sullivan steps down; NZ EQC surmounts pricing peak; Buffett gets saucy; Ex-Argenta exec heads up new M&A unit; Marsh combines big ticket divisions; Beazley shelves debt reshuffle; Doré adds A&H; A&H broking duo in garden;

Lloyd's is working to bring all legacy claims into the new Claims Transformation Programme (CTP), according to a letter sent to market participants by the Corporation's head of claims David Lang.

The London market will either innovate or "wither on the vine", according to an executive research paper commissioned by London-listed specialty (re)insurer Novae.

Lancashire's new tail-risk retro/reinsurance product sold through its $250mn Saltire Re I sidecar did not take off as planned at the 1 January renewals, leading the company to return the bulk of capital to investors just three months after its launch, sister publication Trading Risk revealed.

The depopulation drive by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is continuing to attract new capital to Florida with the expected launch of Axis Capital-backed take-out insurer Qorval, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

In our sector, reams of research is produced on a daily basis but almost all of it is numbers-based.