January 2007/3

Ironshore Insurance Ltd, the Bermuda-based $1bn insurer formed by the father-and-son team Bob and John Clements at the tail end of last year, has received an A- (Excellent) rating from AM Best.

Aon Corp posted flat fourth quarter net income last night of $224mn with broking revenues up 7 percent to $1.5bn.

Beleaguered Bermudian PXRE is facing termination charges of up to $53.4mn on cat bonds and reinsurance contracts if, as expected, it goes into run-off.

The first sign of the magnitude of last month’s Florida legislation for reinsurers has emerged with Bermudian RenaissanceRe paring back growth targets for 2007 managed property cat reinsurance...

John Charman's AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd became the latest industry (re)insurer to beat consensus estimates and report record results for last year on the back of the benign catastrophe season.

Veteran London market figure Graham White was appointed as the new deputy chairman of Lloyd’s by the Council of Lloyd’s on 5 February.

A series of devastating tornadoes have ripped through Central Florida, killing at least 14 people and cutting power supplies to more than 40,000 residents.

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc (MMC) has confirmed the much anticipated sale of its asset management arm Putnam Investments to Power Financial Corporation subsidiary Great-West Lifeco Inc for $3.9bn in cash.

Broker PWS Holdings is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over an alleged $1.6mn Costa Rican reinsurance fraud.

“Class of 2005” (re)insurer Lancashire Holdings has stated it will not be affected by the increased underwriting capacity of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, as it does not write property cat treaty in the state...

Bermudian ACE Ltd became the latest (re)insurer to benefit from an unexpectedly benign catastrophe environment as it revealed record 2006 operating income of $2.35bn.

Hannover Re is set to enter a landmark financial transaction that will lay off credit risk on its reinsurance recoverables to the capital markets, a move first revealed by The Insurance Insider in January last year.

US giant Bank of America is set to launch a Lloyd’s syndicate specialising in writing long-tail lines, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Benfield Group has appointed Jeremy Goodman to a senior position in its facultative business, as it attempts to fill the void left by the high-profile defection of Elliot Richardson and a number of his team to rival Aon last September.

Swiss Re expects its net losses from the European windstorm Kyrill to be around EUR140mn and gave an overall loss estimate for the industry at the lower end of predictions.

David Margrett, the former group chief executive of Heath Lambert, is to take over as chairman and CEO of Willis Ltd, the broker’s UK operation.

The specialty insurance group Markel Corporation was fast out of the traps yesterday with its 2006 results that saw the group’s combined ratio fall from 101 percent in 2005 to a mere 87 percent.

Despite losses estimated as high as EUR8bn, Europe’s (re)insurers are unlikely to see any rating downgrades from the windstorm Kyrill, according to Fitch Ratings Agency.

After a year-and-a-half long investigation, the European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes has published her preliminary findings into business insurance which raise a number of concerns including "potential conflicts of interest" amongst brokers.

UK regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said today (24 January) that it believes the insurance industry has met the challenge to achieve a solution to contract certainty in the UK.

Aon Corp has initiated a significant restructuring of its senior international management designed to enhance its client functions and global placement capabilities.

Share prices of Bermudian and Lloyd’s (re)insurers fell following the passage of a bill on Monday (22 January) that will see significant state intervention in the Florida insurance market and take an estimated $4bn premium ou

Marsh Inc has been awarded China’s first Wholly-Owned Foreign Enterprise (WOFE) insurance broking license, it announced yesterday (22 January).

UK insurer Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc (R&SA) has welcomed the ruling of a Michigan Circuit Court that General Motors (GM) is not entitled to coverage for its asbestos and environmental liabilities.

Florida lawmakers yesterday (22 January) overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at lowering the cost of property insurance that will see significant state intervention in the insurance market.

Senior management at Windsor plc, the UK-quoted insurance broker, made public the terms of their £33.7mn acquisition proposal for the firm this morning (22 January).

Hannover Re has re-visited the capital markets in order to boost its Kaith Re "K5" securitisation to $520mn and expand the reinsurer’s underwriting capacity.

Validus Holdings Ltd and Greenlight Capital Re Ltd have become the third and fourth reinsurers formed after Hurricane Katrina to confirm plans for initial public offerings (IPO).

Our monthly column keeping check on US and EU legal and regulatory developments

Gallagher Re index alternative to ILWs for Cat capacity; Endurance upgraded to A by S&P; MMC Putnam deal welcomed; BMA’s fees quadruple; Max Re launches US platform...

Mitsui appoints PRO for US business; Capita in short-list for Axiom sale; Bridges appointed to Quanta board; Cane appointed Whittington Europe CEO

Following the path of hedge-fund start-ups such as Bermudian Max Re Capital, set up in 1999 by Moore Holdings LLC, and successors CIG Re and Glacier Re, a number of standalone "unicycle" vehicles have emerged post-Katrina in search of direct access to pot

The renewal of the flagship Lufthansa airline account last year highlights the soft market for airline insurance, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

German reinsurer Hannover Re will listen to offers for its run-off programme business Clarendon following the sale last month of its US subsidiary Praetorian Financial Group to Australia’s QBE Insurance Group Ltd.

Bob Clements’ Ironshore Ltd provides a further $1bn of scarce cat capital

In the search for growth, Australia’s insurers have been involved in a series of mergers and acquisitions in the last six months epitomised by QBE Insurance Group’s double strike for Hannover Re’s Praetorian Group...

Castlewood Holdings Ltd, the Bermuda headquartered run-off acquisition and consultancy firm, has bought Inter-Ocean Holdings Ltd for $57mn.

The fate of UK insurer Royal & Sun Alliance Group plc’s (R&SA) attempt to cut itself free from its US run-off business will be decided at a public hearing later this month.

US insurer St Paul Travelers is to terminate the payment of contingent commissions to brokers by the end of the year, according to Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal.

AM Best downgraded the financial strength rating of General Insurance Corp of India to A- from A.

Apparent tensions between Catlin Group and AM Best re-surfaced last month with the rating agency maintaining its negative implications stance on the group despite the unconditional declaration of its takeover of Wellington Underwriting plc.

The growing focus on Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) was again brought to the fore when it was cited by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) as a reason for Munich Re’s upgrade to AA- last month.

Aon Holdings BV completed the acquisition of the remaining 51 percent of the shares of Moscow-based Aon Rus LLC this month.

Oxygen, the independent London-based intermediary, parted company with three members of its international property team last month.

Windsor plc, the UK-quoted insurance broker in management buy-out talks, announced a small dip in profits for the year ending 30 September 2006.

Pre-emptions and start-ups allow market to write £18bn gross premiums in 2007

Glencairn acquisition fee could be over two times brokerage dependent on performance

Markel calls for greater Franchise powers; Beazley increases capacity with Santam acquisition; Amlin Bermuda’s business increases; Aviva grows Moss; MAP launches sidecar syndicate; Lloyd’s Central Fund trial set for January 2008