July 2005/1

Share prices in Lloyd's (re)insurers have fallen sharply in response to the explosions which rocked London this morning.

David Spiller has resigned from his position as CEO of Benfield Group's International Division, the company announced in a statement to the London Stock Exchange this morning (7 July).

Lloyd’s is parting company with two senior executives as part of a restructuring that will see the Corporation move further away from a regulatory emphasis to one of operational risk management.

After finally filing its long delayed 2004 10-K report at the end of May, world's largest insurer AIG continued to play catch-up with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), delivering its first quarter 2005 results last Tuesday (27 June).

Australian regulator the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced last Thursday (30 June) that it had uncovered no evidence of systemic abuses of broker remuneration practices of the kind exposed by the Spitzer probe in the US.

Lloyd's underwriter Hardy has provided details of the shareholders backing it in fending off the unwelcome attentions of fellow Lloyd's insurer Omega.

Jardine Lloyd Thompson admitted last week that it will again start charging placement service agreement (PSAs) revenues because of a lack of a "level playing field".

Start-up broker Integro Ltd has added to its growing roll call with the appointment of Craig Lowenthal as managing director and chief information officer.

Despite a softening market, Bermuda-headquartered (re)insurer Aspen last week (28 June) announced it expects its 2005 gross written premiums to be 20 to 25 percent higher than in 2004.

Lloyd’s insurer SVB Holdings plc has cut the cost of its capital after arranging new banking facilities with Lloyd’s TSB.

Lloyd's insurer Chaucer has said it aims to acquire the balance of £7.9mn of capacity on Syndicate 1084 through its subsidiary ALIT (No. 1) Limited.

Sparks fly as fund manager lambasts management of Rosemont Re ahead of AGM. The largest shareholder in UK quoted reinsurer GoshawK has gone public with scathing criticisms of the company’s management in a letter sent to fellow shareholders ahead of...

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has confirmed that the three pension schemes of insurance broker Heath Lambert have entered into an assessment period.

Willis chief executive Joe Plumeri has earned around $50mn this year from selling over a third of his holding in Willis, the broker he has revitalised since joining in 2000.

Uncertainty over the future of the federal backstop for insurance cover against acts of terror grew in Washington last week as US Treasury Secretary John Snow stated that the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) should not be renewed in its current form.

Ratings agency AM Best has affirmed its syndicate rating of “A” (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a” of Markel managed Lloyd’s Syndicate 3000, with both ratings on a stable outlook.

World’s second largest broker Aon has appointed Michael Reynolds as chief financial officer of Aon Re International (ARI) and Aon Re UK, in addition to his role as CFO for Aon Captive Services Group.

Reinsurance broker Benfield’s strategy of growing its corporate primary business received a fillip with news that it has won the Seacor account from rival Marsh.

German reinsurer Hannover Re has revealed plans to realign its under performing US subsidiary Clarendon away from program business to specialty insurance, potentially cutting gross premiums by $1bn and increasing group net retention to 80 percent over...