January 2010/4

General Re has agreed to pay $92mn and dissolve a Dublin subsidiary to settle charges brought by the SEC over the part it played in sham finite reinsurance deals with American International Group (AIG) and Prudential Financial.

An enhanced electronic system for placing endorsements will be piloted this year as the London Market Group (LMG) looks to intensify the use of technology in Lime Street.

US primary insurer Hartford Fire Insurance Co's cat bond, Foundation Re III, has almost doubled in size to $180mn in marketing and priced at the low end of expectations, our sister publication Trading Risk revealed last week.

Nine erstwhile employees of Marsh and McLennan (MMC) and Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) who pleaded guilty to bid-rigging charges levelled by former New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer had their charges dismissed or downgraded last week...

Expansive UK-listed broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) has continued its assault on Aon by hiring a number of senior members from its Financial Services Group (FSG), including group head Mark Wood, The Insurance Insider revealed last week.

Hiscox plc saw average rates fall between 5 and 7 percent on its reinsurance book at 1/1, the Bermudian-headquartered (re)insurer said in a brief trading update.

Despite received wisdom to the contrary, 2009 could be a year of "record payouts" for securities lawsuits, according to new research that reveals an increase in aggregate claims from $1.2trn in 2008 to $1.3trn.

The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) warned major insurance brokers of failings in the way they protect their clients' money and assets and confirmed that more rigorous reporting will be reintroduced.

Global insurer Ace is thought to lead the cover for the insurance policy on Ethiopian Airlines flight 409, which crashed into the water off Lebanon's south coast five minutes after take-off at 00:30 GMT this morning (25 January).

Last week's SFr1.3bn transfer of a closed block of US life reinsurance business to Berkshire Hathaway (BH) continues to bemuse analysts and industry commentators alike.