July 2009/4

XL Capital's second quarter net profits plunged 66 percent year-on-year from $237.9mn to $79.9mn, as the bottom line was dented by foreign exchange losses and a fall in net investment income.

JLT appoints new information chief; CCV unveils new CEO

Bermudian Validus Holdings has turned to former Aon Re executive Maureen MacDonald to lead its new European reinsurance representative office in Germany.

XL Capital has disposed of another chunk of its non-core operations with the sale of its US life reinsurance business to Scor for a total of EUR31.7mn cash.

Around 270 jobs have been cut from The Hartford Financial Services Group’s investment products division in recent weeks, as the US insurer continues to suffer at the hands of its variable annuity (VA) business.

Despite the recent Air France loss, Scor should benefit from another modest loss quarter with a combined ratio that falls to around 97.5 percent, according to Commerzbank.

HCC looks set to control 100 percent of the stamp on its Lloyd's Syndicate 4040 after making an offer to pay 15p in the £ for the capacity it does not already own.

Nearly five years after the former New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer sent shockwaves through the US property and casualty (P&C) industry, US regulators are considering easing the restrictions that prevent the global brokers from charging contingent-

UK insurer Hiscox Group has had its A insurer financial strength ratings affirmed by Fitch, along with the BBB+ debt ratings of its holding company, with a stable outlook.

IPC Holdings has reported bumper Q2 net income of $173.9mn, compared to $47.5mn for the same period in 2008, as operating earnings stabilised and a $50.9mn net loss on investments swung to a gain of $77.4mn.

The House of Lords is due to hand down its judgment on Thursday (30 July) in the long-running "follow the settlement" dispute between reinsurers Wasa International Insurance Company Ltd (Wasa) and AGF Insurance Ltd and their cedant Lexington Insurance Co.

The legal dispute over potential proceeds from directors' and officers' (D&O) cover bought by the collapsed Stanford Financial Group (SFG) has deepened, with a number of its former executives joining the fray.