July 2008/2

Tropical windstorm Bertha - named the first Atlantic hurricane of 2008 - will skirt past Bermuda, after an unprecedented early start to the hurricane season.

With the announcement by Swiss Re last week that Stefan Lippe is to become group deputy CEO and COO, replacing Andreas Beerli, the reinsurance giant appears to be refocusing its attentions on the underwriting side of the business.

The departure of a group of senior executives from the property division of Heritage Underwriting Agency plc will be seen as a major blow to Argonaut Group International Holdings, which bought the Lloyd’s insurer earlier this year.

Investor pressure is thought to have been the key driver behind Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) sudden exit from the bidding process for the insurance business of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announced last Thursday (11 July).