January 2009/3

Bermuda-based (re)insurer Arch Capital Group has received approval in principle from the Lloyd;s Franchise Board and UK regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to establish a new managing agent and syndicate at Lloyd’s.

Start-up Lloyd’s insurer Ark has shaken up its underwriting management team, with effect from January 2009.

Beleaguered bank Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay out $475mn and $75mn respectively to settle two class action lawsuits filed against it in relation to its subprime losses.

US active and run-off specialist Citadel Risk Management has acquired “substantially all” of US broker Arthur J Gallagher’s reinsurance run-off portfolio

German insurance giant Allianz has announced the launch of a new global marine unit though its global Corporate and Specialty division (AGCS).

Fairfax Financial Group - one of the rare winners from 2008's financial rout - is close to completing its acquisition of Canada's largest commercial property and casualty insurance group after building an 87.8 percent stake.

Indian-based software exporter and outsourcing giant Satyam Computer Services Ltd - which was earlier this month hit by its founder and former chairman B Ramalinga Raju's confession to a $1bn fraud - had a $75mn limit in director's and officer's (D&O) lia

Kuwaiti Islamic reinsurance company Al Fayer Retakaful Insurance's financial strength rating of A- has been put under review with negative implications by ratings agency AM Best.

Class of 2005 Bermudian (re)insurance group Ariel Holdings wrote less premium than expected and reported a modest decline in shareholders' funds in 2008, according to ratings agency AM Best.

Lloyd's messaging hub initiative will not lead to a substantial cost to market participants, according to the Corporation's director of market operations and North America Sue Langley.

Swiss banking giant USB has been ordered to pay French financial management company Oddo & Cie EUR30mn ($39.4mn) to reimburse its Madoff-related losses through Access International's LuxAlpha Sicav fund, which is supervised by UBS's Luxembourg unit.

With governments once again in bail-out mode as the banking sector both sides of the Atlantic lurched into its latest crisis, the (re)insurance sector - despite its relatively bright outlook - is again struggling to decouple itself from the fortunes of it

Markel Corporation's London-based subsidiary Markel International has appointed Louisa Lu as senior casualty underwriter in its Singapore product liability office.

UK-based international (re)insurance group Brit Insurance Holdings PLC has set up a US service operation, Brit Insurance Services (USA) Inc in conjunction with the UK arm of broker A J Gallagher.

London-based (re)insurance corporate finance boutique Atlas Partners has recruited Jonathan Walker as managing director and Ian Nelson as a senior advisor to its UK and international insurance M&A team.

The steady flow of senior executives leaving troubled insurance giant American International Group (AIG) continued with the departure of David Jordan from AIG subsidiary Lexington Insurance Company.

Aon Benfield, the reinsurance arm of broking giant Aon Corp, confirmed last week it is to outsource its UK back office following the £935mn merger of the two firms last year.

Munich Re-owned Lloyd's Syndicate 457 leads the cover for the theft of approximately $108mn of diamonds from the prestigious Paris branch of jeweller Harry Winston last month, with cover understood to be placed by Willis.

Troubled global insurer AIG's asset sales have continued with an agreement to offload its financial products division's commodity index business to Swiss banking group UBS for up to $150mn.

Platinum Underwriters Holdings became the latest (re)insurer to increase its loss estimates from Hurricane Ike as the brutal impact of September's storm continues to escalate.

Nomura's comments (see article 1: (Re)insurance stocks hit as banks bailed out again) came as the UK government unveiled a further bailout of the banking sector, at the centre of which is an insurance scheme that would effectively see the taxpayer underwr

As evidence mounts that the potential EUR66.5bn German P&C legacy market may finally explode into activity, the European run-off industry prepares to convene on Cologne for its annual run-off Rendez-Vous.

US regulators' forum the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is to hold a public hearing next week to gauge public and industry opinion of proposals to provide US life insurers capital relief as turmoil lashes global financial markets.

Willis placed the cover on the US Airways Airbus A320 which crashed into the Hudson river, New York shortly after take-off on the 15 January.