January 2009/2

Torus aims for Lloyd's entry; Hardy boosts 2009 capacity; Munich Re launches new Lloyd's syndicate; Papworth to take Aon Benfield Fac team to Miller; Amlin sidecar 'oversubscribed'...

Zambian mining company Mopani Copper Mines Plc is now pursuing London-headquartered (re)insurance broker Cooper Gay in the UK High Court's Queen's Bench for an estimated $1.5mn in damages after failing to recover from its insurers last year.

Sportscover has ended its turnkey relationship with Argenta Syndicate Management after receiving approval from Lloyd's and the FSA to launch a new managing agency for its Syndicate 3334.

Shares in Lloyd's underwriter Chaucer Holdings recovered sharply over the holiday period as speculation built that it could be the next quoted Lloyd's insurer to be aquired.

Reinsurers wishing to utilise solvent schemes of arrangement involving US cedants have been dealt a blow by a provision in the proposed framework setting collateral requirements for non-US entities.

US private equity firm Apollo, in partnership with BC Partners, is poised to lodge a formal bid later this month to acquire a majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland's up-for-sale insurance units, after a month of exclusive talks.

Expansive US insurer AMTrust Financial Services is planning a Lloyd's syndicate launch later this year, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

The Lockton family and private equity firm Stone Point Capital have injected fresh capital into Lockton International, the London-headquartered broker acquired in 2006, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

On top of the estimated $10-12bn of directors' and officers' (D&O) and errors and omissions (E&O) credit crunch-related losses, the embattled professional and management liability insurance sector is bracing itself...

The liquidated estate of US workers' compensation insurers Mission Insurance Companies yielded a further $121mn for policyholders, bringing the total amount distributed to approximately $1.5bn.

Randall & Quilter (R&Q), the run-off acquisition and management firm, has continued its strategy of acquiring service companies with a deal to pay up to $6.9mn to acquire Bermuda-based Quest Management Services Ltd.

UK-based Compre Holdings Ltd has acquired two of Sweden-based Länsförsäkringar AB’s reinsurance subsidiaries in run-off – Stockholm Reinsurance Company Ltd and Wasa International Insurance Company Ltd...