July 2005/5

UK insurer Hiscox has seen its share price rise by almost five percent this morning (28 July) on the back of a bullish trading statement.

Shares in UK headquartered broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc leapt almost 6 percent this morning on the London Stock Exchange following half-yearly results which contained no nasty surprises.

Users of solvent schemes of arrangement as a solution to discontinued business suffered a setback last Thursday (21 July) when a High Court judge refused to sanction a scheme for the British Aviation Insurance Company (BAIC).

In the July edition of The Insurance Insider we incorrectly say that QBE’s European Commercial division and its European Retail division were to merge to create a single Dublin based operation.

Broker Heath Lambert has announced the appointment of Jean-Michel Lewis and Nigel Earle as directors.

AM Best has lost a second key figure from its London office in six months, with the resignation of the well regarded Jose Sanchez-Crespo from his position as general manager of its European Ratings service.

Hannover Re has not always welcomed unsolicited financial strength ratings, but there was no comment from the German reinsurer last week following Fitch Ratings’ decision to assign an A+ to the company.

RenaissanceRe’s shares fell more than 6 percent in early trading today (25 July) after the company revealed that the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to bring a civil enforcement action against the reinsurer’s chairman and chief executive...

Bermudian insurer Quanta Capital Holdings Ltd has begun the search for a new chief financial officer following the departure of John Brittain Jr last week.

Seattle headquartered property/casualty insurer Safeco has announced that Mike McGavick, its chairman and CEO, will step down in August to enter politics.

Allstate Corporation, the second largest property and casualty insurer in the US, has beaten consensus forecasts to post an 11 percent increase in Q2 2005 earnings, helped by benign catastrophe losses and strong premium growth.

Despite being at an all-time high, US shareholder class action settlements are continuing to rise because of the impact of the mega WorldCom and Enron cases which are setting new standards for shareholder compensation.