July 2007/5

State-backed Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) is planning to bolster its cash reserves with a potential $10bn bond issuance.

Capita CMGL has confirmed the reinsurance to close (RITC) transfer of the run-off Duncanson & Holt Syndicate 55 to a new Lloyd’s syndicate backed by CarVal Investors LLC, as first revealed in the July issue of The Insurance Insider.

The UK-based run-off acquisition firm Tawa plc is set to float on London Alternative Investment Market (AIM) later this week in a £127mn Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Although (re)insurers are expected to unveil strong figures as the reporting season begins in earnest this week, analysts will assess the wider impact from high-profile second quarter catastrophe events in the UK and Australia following IPCRe’s...

Further widespread flooding over the weekend will push the combined cost of the summer floods in the UK to well in excess of £2bn, according to Geoff Bromley, non-Americas chairman of reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter.

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) accused US insurer Allstate Corp of excessively raising home and auto insurance rates and using questionable practices to settle claims.

Fitch Ratings next-generation stochastic capital model, PRISM, will change the way risk is assessed for (re)insurers, the rating agency has claimed.

Shares in Bermudian reinsurer Everest Re Group Ltd slipped after a Bear Stearns analyst downgraded the company on "limited growth opportunities and declining profitability".

Bermudian reinsurer IPCRe warned last week that its 2007 profits would be affected by the recent storm and flood events on opposite sides of the globe in the UK and Australia.

Loss estimates from the recent earthquakes and typhoon that have hit Japan continue to spread as insurers count the cost.

Aviation (re)insurance rates in Brazil are set to rise following the second major accident in under a year.

The Association of Run-Off Companies (ARC) has announced a number of changes to its board adding three new appointments while its deputy chairman, Peter Abbott, has stepped down.