January 2006/6

The Swiss stock exchange is launching a probe into giant reinsurer Swiss Re after comments made by chairman Jacques Aigrain in an interview with the Financial Times (FT). SWX Swiss Exchange reported that it had launched a...

Hannover Re has announced today (3 February) the completion of a $370mn catastrophe bond deal providing it with extra capacity for underwriting catastrophe risks.

Lloyd’s is down to the last two candidates for the next chief executive of the three-year hundred year-old institution, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Lloyd’s confirmed today (3 February) that it will pursue legal action against Benfield and Aon, the two brokers who placed the £500mn Central Fund insurance contract which failed to engage following an arbitration decision last year.

Christian Milton, the former head of reinsurance buying at insurance giant American International Group (AIG), and three former senior General Re executives, have been indicted by a federal grand jury, according to reports in today’s Wall Street Journal.

BP Marsh & Partners plc, the London-based investor in specialist insurance and other financial services related companies, has listed on the Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market this morning (2 February).

Rod Fox has left reinsurance broker Benfield to head up Clarendon Group, the US specialty insurance arm of Hannover Re.

UK insurer Brit reported to the London Stock Exchange this morning (1 February) that it expects to make a pre-tax profit of £60mn for 2005.

“Class of 2005” alumni Validus revealed today (31 January) a healthy start to life, underwriting $220mn of gross written premiums in its maiden 1 January renewal season. The announcement would seem to contradict recent widespread...

Last autumn’s industry record hurricane losses triggered sharp increases in property rates in the fourth quarter of 2005, according to the latest RIMS Benchmark Survey from analysts at US firm Advisen.

AIG was granted a restraining order on a CV Starr as the insurance giant seeks to defend its business in the New York Supreme Court. Judge Herman Cahn’s temporary order is in place until 2 February, when another hearing is scheduled.

On 26 January the UK Court of Appeal overturned a ruling that insurers should pay out on claims filed by people suffering from pleural plaques, a condition it had been suggested could lead to serious asbestos-related diseases such as...

Another round of lawsuits have been launched between insurance giant AIG and CV Starr, which is headed by AIG’s former chief executive Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Shares in run-off (re)insurance group Alea Group Holdings slumped almost twenty-five percent today (30 January) after the group predicted a full-year loss of $200mn-$240mn.

The decision last week by Lloyd’s to close its electronic trading platform Kinnect after spending £70mn+, and almost five years of development time, was not entirely unexpected, but has left a vacuum in terms of driving process...

Latest estimates from the Insurance Services Office’s (ISO) Property Claims Service (PCS) of $56.8bn in insured property losses would confirm 2005 as a record year for payouts. The figure is more than double the previous record, set in 2004...

Broking giant Aon has said it intends to withdraw from business in Iran after concerns were raised by one of its major investors, New York City Pension Funds. The New York Comptroller William Thompson had questioned the broker’s...

Bermudian Arch Capital announced on 26 January that it is to raise $200mn through a sale of Preferred Shares. The company stated that the purpose of the offering was to fund underwriting activities at its (re)insurance subsidiaries.

Hurricane-scarred US insurer Allstate plans to slash up to 700 jobs at its Northbrook headquarters as part of a cost-cutting exercise. The move comes in the aftermath of a record third quarter loss taken by the company as a result of...

US insurer The Hartford announced record 2005 net income of $2.3bn, or $7.46 a share, despite the year’s record industry hurricane losses. The figures were up by 8 percent and 5 percent respectively on 2004 results of...

US insurer The Hartford is appealing a summary judgment in favour of London market reinsurers, including Lloyd’s syndicates, in an attempt to recover $117mn relating to claims it settled with bankrupt asbestos distributor MacArthur in a...

Lloyd’s “plumbing” system of outdated, paper-based processes is so unwieldy and inefficient and weighed down with the “sewage” of so many unsigned wording, delays and errors that its “customers can’t bear the stink”, according to Alex Letts, CEO of...

US insurer Markel weathered a record hurricane season to report full-year profits just 10.5 percent down for 2005 from $165.5mn in 2004 to $148mn. Net income per share dropped to $14.80 for 2005, but the figure was significantly...

Sebastian Hueskes, managing director and general manager of Munich Re, UK General Branch, has joined the board of Illium Managing Agency as the German reinsurer’s representative. The appointment follows the previously reported co-insurance...