February 2014/3

The 10 largest insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund managers now control almost $36bn of assets, a total which rose by 29 percent over the course of 2013, according to an exclusive survey by our sister publication Trading Risk. Normal 0 &

Despite dubbing 2013 the "year of the flood", Guy Carpenter said the year's catastrophe loss total of $40bn was significantly below the 10-year average of insurance nat cat losses.

Hurricanes may get the lion's share of press attention, but this has obscured a long-running increase in (re)insured losses from thunderstorms and tornadoes, according to Dr Robert Hartwig, economist and president of the Insurance Information Institute. Normal 0

Speculation now focuses on a less dilutive equity placing as UK insurer prepares to take its capital issues "off the table"

Positive rating momentum for US commercial P&C lines continued to lose steam in the final three months of 2013, according to the latest quarterly survey from the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB).

The large listed brokers generally reported solid organic growth in the fourth quarter of 2013, fuelled by robust expansion of their retail and insurance segments, while there was greater variance in reinsurance units as growth was held back by falling demand and rates.

With London-listed insurer Lancashire the last of our short-tail specialists to report, a mixed picture has emerged for the quartet in both top and bottom line 2013 performance after a strong year for results in the broker P&C (re)insurance sector.

The benefit of a relatively benign fourth quarter for cat losses compared to the Sandy-struck 2012 is clear to see in the Q4 2013 combined ratio analysis of our Bermuda composite of (re)insurers.

A significant expansion of the hours clause during the 1 January treaty renewals has made reinsurance losses more likely as severe weather continues to afflict the UK.

American International Group (AIG)'s operating earnings per share came in at $1.15 for the fourth quarter last week, comfortably ahead of the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.96, but the P&C result was described as "disappointing" by analysts.

Following a fresh £100mn distribution to its private equity backers Apollo and CVC, Brit Insurance has now handed back £540mn ($900mn) of capital to shareholders since the business was acquired in 2011 for £880mn.

Phil Hernon, a recently departed managing director at Enstar, has resurfaced at arch-rival Catalina, where he will become chief operating officer of the run-off acquirer's UK business, The Insurance Insider has learned.