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.

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.

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.

ACE Ltd is restating its financial results for the last five years after an internal investigation discovered that eight finite risk contracts have been accounted for incorrectly.

A new research note from Shore Capital analyst Eamonn Flanagan has cast doubt on the rationale behind Omega’s bid for fellow Lloyd’s vehicle Hardy Underwriting.