July 2009/1

A packed courtroom at the UK High Court last week (2 July) heard the final arguments in the three-week trial between Berkshire Hathaway's Equitas and Randall & Quilter (R&Q)-owned Brandywine.

Hannover Re CEO Wihelm Zeller retired on 30 June as planned, after over 13 years with the company...

Lloyd's and Bermuda (re)insurer Omega Insurance Holdings declared its Names capacity buyback initiative a success last week, after receiving acceptances of approximately £45.7mn of capacity.

After a first quarter in which it outperformed the FTSE All Share index total return, the UK non-life insurance sector has failed to pick up on the widespread bounce in the equity markets in Q2.

Aon moved swiftly to appoint a new CEO of its UK operations, naming Rob Brown to the position.

XL Insurance - the London-based subsidiary of Bermudian (re)insurer XL Capital - has named Neil Robertson as replacement for the recently departed chief underwriting officer (CUO) of its global specialty business...

The resurgence of reinsurance as a stable form of capital is seeing Europe's P&C reinsurance giants enter into more transactions with stretched life insurers.

Brit Insurance has hired former XL Capital chief processing officer Malcolm Beane as COO, effective from 21 September

Swiss-domiciled reinsurer Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings has entered the race to buy in-play Bermudian cat specialist IPC Holdings, with an offer for all outstanding shares that beats the current best offer by $4.76 a share.

Guy Swayne, CEO of Flagstone Réassurance Suisse - the Swiss subsidiary of Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings - will return to Bermuda to resume his role as chief underwriting officer for the reinsurer’s international team.

PartnerRe's swoop for Paris Re has served as a reminder that while global (re)insurers are trading at below book or net tangible asset values, the temptation for premium-rated peers to turn acquirer for low-priced peers...

Former Aviva Group executive Patrick Snowball has been appointed as CEO of struggling Australian financial services group Suncorp-Metway, effective 1 September.

Catlin Group is understood to be the leader on the liability reinsurance programme for Italian train operator Ferrovie dello Stato, following a crash in the Tuscan city of Viareggio on 29 June.

The key 1.7 renewal date carried on the trend set at the 1.6 Florida-focused renewal, with reinsurers looking for bumper rate rises left disappointed...

Bermudian reinsurer IPC Holdings has confirmed that James Bryce retired as president and CEO of the firm on 30 June. He is succeeded by John Weale, IPC's CFO, who will serve as president and interim CEO.

Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe is to acquire up-for-sale rival Paris Re in a $2bn multi-step deal that will create the world's fourth-largest pure reinsurer, based on shareholders' equity and business written.

Everest Re Group's newly formed non-life reinsurance subsidiary, Everest Reinsurance Company Ireland Ltd (ERIL), has been given the green light...

American International Group (AIG) has continued to make steady progress on its non-core asset disposal programme over the last two months...

Guy Carpenter took further steps to bolster the management of its non-US operations last week, as it looks to redress the shift in its powerbase to New York that began early last year.

Catlin Group replaced departing chief finance officer Chris Stooke last week with Swiss Re's former chief investment officer Benjamin Meuli.

US law firms Strasburger & Price and Castillo Snyder have filed a class action lawsuit in the US Federal Court against Willis Group Holdings, seeking $1bn in damages.

June looks set to be the costliest month for aviation insurers since September 2001, according to the latest report on the sector from broker Aon.

The Hartford Financial Services Group has filed a lawsuit against Bermudian Arch Insurance and three former employees, claiming Arch "conducted an unlawful corporate raid" by hiring over 60 managers, underwriters and employees from its New York subsidiary

London-headquartered (re)insurance broker Cooper Gay has edged closer to its desire for a public listing, with news that it has appointed UBS as adviser.