January 2007/4

ACE Tempest Re Group, part of ACE Limited, announced the establishment of ACE Tempest Re Canada on 8 January.

Casino mogul Steve Wynn has described an offer from Lloyd's insurers to settle his $54mn claim for a damaged Picasso masterpiece as "ridiculous" and taken underwriters to court.

Accounting firm Deloitte has reached a $149mn settlement with Parmalat over lawsuits accusing it of contributing to the dairy company’s 2003 collapse.

Class of 2005 alumnus Lancashire Holdings Ltd has received a strong endorsement from analysts at stockbroker Numis Securities, who initiated coverage on the (re)insurer with a "BUY" recommendation.

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) will have a significant impact on cycle management, according to Mike Belfatti of consultancy Tillinghast's North American property/casualty ERM practice.

Catlin Group Ltd says the integration of Wellington Underwriting has gone well with more business retained than expected and only a small number of unplanned resignations from key staff.

German giant Munich Re is on track for 2006 after-tax profits of EUR3.2bn to EUR3.4bn, according to its chairman Nikolaus von Bomhard in an investor conference last week (9 January).

Marsh Inc has confirmed the launch of MaRI (Marsh Risk Innovations), a proprietary sidecar facility providing much needed US property catastrophe coverage.

CastlePoint Holdings Ltd, the Bermuda based (re)insurer formed last year by the US investment bank Friedman Billings Ramsey, plans to list on Nasdaq through an initial public offering (IPO).