January 2012/5

A New York Court upheld a $420.4mn ruling in favour of Travelers last week over reinsurance payments due to the insurer over complex asbestos related cases dating back decades.

AJG accused of racist and sexual discrimination; Former MMA employee sues after defecting to Lockton; Swiss Re accused of racist discrimination

Oil giant BP cannot pass on some of the cost of third-party damages resulting from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to drilling partner Transocean, a US judge has ruled.

The European Commission has denied reports that it is considering pushing back the implementation of Solvency II once again, and has insisted it remains committed to ensuring legislation is in place to allow the industry to stick to the 2014 deadline.

The failure of US states to agree a common plan to implement the Non-admitted Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) has highlighted the problems of state-by-state regulation, ahead of a key report expected shortly from the Federal Insurance Office.

Shares in the major European insurers fell today (30 January) against the backdrop of a European Union leaders' summit on the Eurozone crisis and further negative rating action by Standard & Poor's (S&P).

With Bermudian (re)insurers now preannouncing Thai flood exposures based on an industry loss burden of $15bn or more, pressure is mounting on European giants Munich Re and Swiss Re to update their initial loss estimates for the disaster.

Excess capital and solid risk management provide a sufficient cushion for the global reinsurance sector to ride out "near-record" 2011 catastrophe losses, according to Standard & Poor's (S&P).

Despite Standard & Poor's (S&P) pronouncing last week that it is retaining its stable outlook on the global reinsurance sector (see below), action from AM Best and Moody's highlighted the ratings pressure on companies disproportionately affected by last year's cat losses.

Developments last week, including a sharp increase in Japanese insurer NKSJ's estimated Thai flood loss, are leading to a growing consensus that the industry burden from the catastrophe could stretch to $15bn or more.

If any further affirmation was needed of a sea change in market sentiment on US commercial insurance rates it arrived in spades last week as evidence from multiple sources pointed to momentum behind price rises.

US insurance giants Chubb and Travelers both noted rising premium rates in their fourth quarter results, but analysts said that slowing reserve releases could still hinder their momentum in 2012.

Following the completion of AmWINS' £31.8mn acquisition of London-headquartered broker THB, the latter's CEO Frank Murphy will take responsibility for all of the enlarged group's London operations, including Colemont Global.

Independent broker BMS has opened a New York City office and relocated group CEO Carl Beardmore there as it continues to grow its North American reinsurance business.

Kaufman Group, parent of US-based wholesale broker Burns & Wilcox, has bought UK-based broker Chesterfield Group.

Bob Van Gieson, non-executive chairman of Hyperion MGA Dual, has hailed the group's improved performance as evidence of the success of creating a better balance and not being solely reliant on profit commissions for income.

Six months after Aon slashed the number of US wholesale brokers it uses to just two, rival broker Marsh has followed suit, scaling back the number of wholesalers it works with to four, The Insurance Insider has learned.

Italian insurer Generali has denied reports from this publication that its 1 January catastrophe reinsurance programme was placed after being re-priced upwards by the market.

The deadline for expressions of interest in Flagstone's Lloyd's business passed the week before last, with ex-Ascot CEO Martin Reith and Matt Fairfield's start-up ANV the only credible bidders, The Insurance Insider understands.

Insurance-specialist private equity investor Aquiline Capital Partners has bought Bermuda-based catastrophe investment manager Juniperus Capital Ltd (JCL).

Hannover Re was made to pay for a loss-struck year when it renewed its retrocession programmes at 1 January, but found the retro market more forgiving than it had expected.

A crew member of the ill-fated Costa Concordia vessel has filed a law suit accusing the ship's owners of negligence, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

Brit parted company last week with its well-regarded reinsurance chief Jonathan Turner as part of plans to merge his former division with its global markets unit.

Last week's $1.75bn insolvency and default of European oil refiner Petroplus Holdings is set to be a significant event for the trade credit market, sources have told The Insurance Insider.

Aegis in London leads the programme for Xcel Energy's Sherburne County Generating Station (Sherco 3), where a recent fire is expected to cost the power market up to $180mn, sister title Inside FAC understands.

Underwriters of directors' and officers' (D&O) policies covering the IPOs or reverse takeovers (RTOs) of Chinese companies listing in the US could face claims of more than $250mn, according to sources.

Brown & Brown CEO takes leave; Ironshore opens in Singapore; Sangria on Aon; Joachim adds EUR300mn; Xchanging signs Hurst-Bannister; Atkins takes LMA helm; Tawa closes turnkey buy; Nelson awaits London influx; Greenlight fined for market abuse

Lloyd's is considering whether it has the appetite for a radical overhaul of its processes in an initiative which could cost the market at least £100mn-£150mn.

While the most widely read annual letter to shareholders undoubtedly carries a Nebraska postmark and is signed by a certain Warren Buffett, our sector is lucky to have another willing scribe documenting and demystifying life in the (re)insurance world on behalf of investors.

American Agricultural (Ag), the reinsurer of choice for most farm bureaus in the US, has clarified market misconceptions arising from changes to its major 1 January cat retro placement after it restructured cover to overcome capacity issues.

As reinsurers turn their attention to the 1 April renewals, Japanese "big three" insurer NKSJ has significantly inflated its gross loss notification for the Thai floods to 260bn yen ($3.35bn).