January 2007/6

German reinsurer R+V has been awarded £14mn, plus interest, in its long-running dispute with the former Lloyd’s-based managing agency Risk, Insider Week can reveal.

State-founded Citizens Property Insurance – already the largest insurer in Florida – is likely to gain an even bigger share of the market as a result of legislation signed into law by Governor Charlie Crist on Friday.

Bodies representing the reinsurance industry have responded to criticism over their lobbying of Florida lawmakers that last week passed legislation significantly disintermediating the role of property reinsurers in the state.

Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc (R&SA) won a significant victory in its acrimonious battle with General Motors last week after a Michigan Circuit Court ruled...

London market brokers are pushing for Lloyd’s to mandate change in a push to see all claims processed electronically by the end of the year.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) acknowledged last week that the UK insurance industry has met the challenge set by the regulator to achieve contract certainty.

A record capacity of £16.1bn for 2007, up 9 percent from last year’s £14.8bn, is proof that Lloyd’s remains an attractive proposition for investors, according to rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

Hannover Re expects its losses from Windstorm Kyrill to be between EUR120-180mn before tax with an overall industry loss estimated at EUR4-7bn.

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.

Morgan Keegan insurance analyst and long-term bear of Canadian combine Fairfax Financial Holdings, John Gwynn, has announced that he is dropping the company from his coverage due to a stock manipulation lawsuit.

Benign catastrophe conditions contributed to US insurer The Hartford Financial Services Group reporting record fourth quarter net income of $783mn, or $2.42 a share, and full year 2006 net income of $2.7bn – a 21 percent increase on 2005.

The European windstorm Kyrill may trigger Munich Re’s EUR110mn cat bond, Aiolos, as the reinsurer announced last week that its losses from the storm may be in the region of EUR600mn.