July 2007/6

Insurance broker Willis Group Holdings has agreed to a $2.6mn settlement with the Florida attorney general and insurance regulators, the company has announced.

Chaucer Syndicates Ltd has become the latest Lloyd’s insurer to cut back its stamp for next year, after confirming a planned 8.3 percent reduction in capacity for its Syndicate 1084.

Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd reported stable second quarter operating profits of $54mn as it took a $30.5mn hit from UK and Australian flood losses in the period, partially offset by reserve releases and an increase in investment income.

Bermudian (re)insurer Arch Capital Group reported a healthy 44 percent rise in its net income of $199.4mn, or $2.65 per share, for the second quarter of this year.

Bermudian giants ACE Ltd and XL Capital announced catastrophe charges of $88mn and $30mn respectively for the UK, US and Australian floods in their second quarter results last week.

Xchanging will announce tomorrow it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to partner RI3K in building an end-to-end processing platform for Bermuda’s (re)insurance market, Insider Week can reveal.

Loss estimates continue to flow in as the (re)insurance industry feels the impact of UK floods that could cost carriers in excess of £3bn.

UK insurer Brit Holdings plc announced the creation of an independent underwriting advisory forum as part of a group restructure.

Shares in IPC Holdings fell sharply last week as the Bermudian cat reinsurer followed a profits warning earlier this month with confirmation last week of a second quarter net hits of $62.6mn and $50.1mn respectively from UK and Australian storms and flood

Contrasting performance on organic growth was highlighted by analysts as Arthur J Gallagher & Co (AJG) and Hilb, Rogal & Hobbs (HRH) reported total revenues up for the second quarter.

Max Capital Group Ltd reported a strong second quarter, with net income increasing 477 percent over the prior-year period, to $94.1mn, or $1.45 per diluted share, despite gross premium income falling to $241.5mn from $284mn for the second quarter 2006.

Despite a liberal sprinkling of “record” results in last week’s interims, it was a bruising week for (re)insurers on both sides of the Atlantic as equities slumped on the back of continuing fears in the global credit markets.