January 2009/1

XL Capital's competitive position has "diminished" because of the enervating effect of the earnings and capital charges that have overshadowed the Bermudian (re)insurer in the past few years, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P).

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) affirmed its junk ratings on three catastrophe bonds affected by the collapse of Lehman brothers after their total return swaps were terminated...

Harbor Point Re Ltd, the privately owned casualty focused Bermudian reinsurer formed out of Chubb Re in 2005, has had the outlook on its A- financial strength ratings revised to negative from stable by Standard & Poor's...

As the lengthy list of victims in the Madoff scandal grows daily to include educational institutions, charities and foundations together with international banks, private hedge funds and insurers around the world (see table),so too does the...

Reinsurance rate increases at 1/1 renewals have been relatively modest, caused in no small part by a relatively small depreciation in industry capital, which has helped to contain price rises...

Bermudian reinsurer Starr Insurance & Reinsurance Ltd (SIRL), a subsidiary of Starr International Company, Inc has been assigned a stable financial strength rating of A by AM Best.

Singapore-based reinsurer Asia Capital Reinsurance Group received approval last month to open a branch office in Hong Kong as a spearhead to its expansion into the northeast Asia markets.

American International Group (AIG) and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) have bought an additional $16bn of multi-sector collateralised debt obligations...

Three Japanese non-life insurers Aioi Insurance, Mitsui Sumitomo, and Nissay Dowa are in talks to create Japan’s largest non-life insurer, according to a report from Bloomberg citing two sources close to the situation.