July 2004/1

Fitch Ratings announced it is maintaining its Positive outlook on the non-life sector in France, despite the coming downturn in the market and warnings of a looming price war. The agency said the downturn is likely to be less severe than in the past, "

Lloyd's insurer Kiln is close to topping out its £260mn Syndicate 510 property capacity for 2004, surprising the marketplace and leaving some brokers high-and-dry when it comes to placing renewal business. Sources suggest it seems that rates didn't fal

The independent reinsurance broker RK Carvill has lost its leading LMX team following the resignation of Nick Frankland. A senior RK Carvill producer, Frankland, together with two colleagues, has left the group and the expectation is that they may join

High drama came to London's Royal Courts of Justice this month with the appearance on the witness stand of Euromepa founder Jean-Claude Chalhoub in a dispute between German reinsurer R+V and managing agency Risk. As reported in previous editions of The

Second quarter expected to match strident first quarter, but with the market hitting its cyclical peak, competitition threatens ongoing profitability... US property casualty insurers returned a stunning profit performance in the first quarter of 2004,

In our regular monthly News Digest, we round up key stories from the last month, presenting them to you in easily digestable snippets.

Investigation by The Insurance Insider cited in FSA writ... The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is taking Hogarth Underwriting and its founder Billy Dewsall to court for their part in placing business with CIC, the unrated, off-shore insurance compa

In 2001, The Insurance Insider began writing about the US viatical industry. We were concerned that, despite all the allegations of fraud and malpractice, London Market insurers such as GoshawK were providing insurance cover to viatical firms. The down

And makes public data secret, suggests David Schiff... New York's insurance law requires insurance companies doing business in the state to file with their annual statement a supplement (Schedule G) that lists the names, titles, and compensation of emp

As senior insurance exectives worldwide pledge their commitment to underwriting discipline in the turning market, European insurers have been challenged to continue growing balance sheets over the next few years through sustained profitable growth. In

As the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates in the US, so the impact is filtering through to property casualty insurance stocks, according to research from equity analysts at investment bank Morgan Stanley. With US 10-year interest rates rising from 3.

Benign loss conditions in the US property casualty sector continued into the second quarter as insurers are expected to payout just $1.65bn in catastrophe claims - the lowest figure for the quarter since 2000. According to figures from research firm IS