January 2014/3

China Re's special purpose syndicate number 2888 did not indicate a privileged status in the eyes of the Corporation, it is just a lucky number, The Insurance Insider has discovered.

Aviation start-up Altitude Risk Partners (ARP) has become the first venture to sign up to Castel Underwriting Agencies, the MGA platform for (re)insurance entrepreneurs established last year by Lloyd's insurer Barbican.

Global broker Willis is combining its growing global specialty insurance business with its squeezed Willis UK retail arm.

Hyperion CEO David Howden has reaffirmed the broking and MGA group's long-term commitment to an eventual IPO, but would not be drawn on a specific timetable for an offering.

There is unlikely to be a repeat of last year's renewals fisticuffs between the International Group and its reinsurers after the consortium of leading protection and indemnity clubs put terms into the market with 50 percent rate rises on the two key layers of its treaty...

Airline insurance rates fell by 18 percent last year, reflecting stiff competition between well-capitalised underwriters as well as persistently low claims costs, said leading aviation broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) in its latest "Plane Talking" market review.

French reinsurer Scor has installed its former finance chief, Paolo De Martin, as CEO of its Global Life division after a six-month sabbatical, triggering a reshuffling of senior executives.

Sagicor at Lloyd's CEO and active underwriter Geoff Halpin has left the company just weeks after New York-listed insurer AmTrust acquired the firm in a deal worth £56mn ($92mn), The Insurance Insider can reveal.

The Insurance Insider seeks to dispel the myths around incidental syndicate number 1980

Last year leading ILS fund manager Nephila Capital offered a $1bn reinsurance cover to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF), as previously reported by sister title Trading Risk.

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) will seek approval from its trustees and the Florida State Board of Administration to place $1bn-$1.5bn of reinsurance limit for the 2014 hurricane season

A long-running decline in UK car insurance prices is slowing, raising hopes that the market may turn soon, a closely watched survey showed late last week.