July 2008/3

Bermudian (re)insurer ACE Limited has completed the redomestication of its holding company from the Cayman Islands to Zurich after receiving shareholder approval.

Bermudian-headquartered Scottish Re has seen one of its subsidiaries sink further into junk status last week just days after the embattled reinsurer finally published its full-year results.

Hannover Re received its second ratings boost this year when AM Best upgraded its issue credit rating from A to A+ and affirmed its A financial strength ratings with a positive outlook last week.

Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Company said there were no surprises as the market continued to soften at the 1/7 renewals.

State Farm Insurance has blamed the Florida authorities for its decision to seek premium increases of nearly 50 percent across the state for homeowners insurance.

As D-day approaches for the protracted auction of RBS' Insurance operations there are now thought to be just three insurers firmly in the running.

Tropical Storm Dolly motion is expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico and head towards the US/Mexico border later in the week, according to the United States National Hurricane Centre.

The final defendant in the cases related to illegal payments made by Milberg Weiss has pleaded guilty to a charge over tax.

European insurance and reinsurance trade body, the Comité Européen des Assurances (CEA) has renewed calls for an extension to regulation granting the insurance industry the ability to bypass certain competition laws.

Chinese insurance premiums were up 51 percent year-on year during the first six months of 2008, according to the country's financial regulator.

Willis Group Holdings named Gary Schmalzriedt as the chairman of its reinsurance brokerage, Willis Re, last week.

The European Commission has cleared Berkshire Hathaway and Munich Re to complete their buyout of SCOR's stake in Global Aerospace Underwriting Managers (GAUM).