July 2007/4

New York-based Hales & Company, an investment bank that focuses on the insurance sector, has acquired WFG Capital Advisors for an undisclosed fee.

London-based (re)insurer Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), a division of US insurer Liberty Mutual Group, has recruited London market veteran Ray Miller as vice president for Marine, Energy and Construction.

In an announcement that will come as good news to early entrants to the Chinese reinsurance market, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission has predicted that demand for reinsurance is expected to reach 100 billion yuan ($13.2bn) by 2010 when total prem

London market broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson has announced the appointment of Ron Hayes as managing director of its Global Risk Solutions Division.

Despite little activity to date, the 2007 North Atlantic hurricane season is still expected to see above average activity, with hurricanes forming in the Caribbean and near the Bahamas more likely to make landfall, according to a July update report by rei

Lloyd’s CEO Richard Ward has warned the London market that the “pace of change” on business processes remains too slow and reiterated his willingness to mandate action if necessary.

Paris Re shares have slipped by 6 percent since floating on Friday (13 July) with fund managers commenting the company may have been over-priced as it made its debut on the Paris-based European Stock Exchange Euronext.

Insurance giant Allianz SE and its core operating companies have been upgraded from AA- to AA by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) as a result of “major and sustained” improvements in its operating performance.

Law firm Sidley Austin has confirmed the appointment of Dorothy Cory-Wright to head up its new London-based (re)insurance dispute practice.

Listed Lloyd’s (re)insurer Brit Insurance Holdings has hired Ben Maidment as Privacy, Cyber and Technology underwriter for its US PI team, which is headed by Janet Henderson.

Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Company LLC has announced several senior European appointments, aimed at enhancing the firm’s enterprise risk management and capital markets capabilities.

Integro Ltd CEO Roger Egan has sued former employer Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc (MMC) alleging he was not properly compensated after being axed by the company in the aftermath of the 2004 bid-rigging affair.