January 2006/6

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...

Despite increased interest in D&O cover and the inclusion of executives’ personal assets in last year’s high profile Enron and WorldCom settlements, premium rates in the sector fell for the second consecutive year in 2005, according to...

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...

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.

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...

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).

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...

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...