July 2010/4

2010 may be the year that the airline insurance market returns to profit - but dents were made in the sector's loss ratio with two crashes in July.

Brit Insurance's share price has leapt by 11 percent this morning after the UK insurer conceded to an increased 1,075p per share indicative offer from Apollo Management and allowed the New York buy-out firm in for formal due diligence.

The European Commission (EC) and European insurance and reinsurance federation, the CEA, have put their weight behind the alliance of opposition to tax measures proposed by the controversial Neal Bill.

The soft market conditions for US commercial insurance show no sign of abating as excess capacity continued to push down rates in Q2, according to a raft of research and comment last week.

The UK coalition government has published its promised consultation paper on the overhaul of the tripartite regulation system that it blames in part for the crisis that brought the banking system to its knees.

Marsh's reinsurance broking arm, Guy Carpenter, has filed a lawsuit against rival Lockton Re after a lucrative account moved across following the defection of a senior Guy Carpenter broker.

Argo boosts new D&O team; Goldie promoted at PartnerRe...

New risk models launched...

Regulators from around the world are trying to find ways of opening the door to microinsurance products, with opinions diverging on whether the slow pace of change benefits or hinders the nascent market.

As the controversial Neal Bill continues to stall on Capitol Hill, the German government has expressed strong opposition to the proposed legislation.

A bill under consideration by the US House of Representatives would extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to include windstorm cover.

The far-reaching US Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law by President Obama last week will "rewrite the landscape of the financial markets", according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).

UK law firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) last week hired 19 partners from stricken rival Halliwells, which is being broken up after collapsing under the weight of its debt.

A UK High Court judge last week warned that a senior Aon broker could be found in contempt of court for throwing in a pond a laptop that may have contained evidence of work he carried out for his new employer while still under contract with Marsh.

Allied World Assurance Company Holdings (AWAC) has received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Lloyd's Asia for the operation of a new service company, Capita 2232 Services Pte Ltd.

Mark Tucker's official appointment as the new chairman and chief executive of Asian life insurer AIA is set to put the American International Group (AIG) unit on a fast track to independence from its troubled parent.

Mapfre director general Esteban Tejera has explained that the Spanish insurance giant prefers urban over rural agricultural markets in its search for microinsurance growth.

French reinsurer Scor said it experienced 19 percent premium growth at the 1 July renewal of its non-life treaty business, while defying pricing pressures with a modest increase in average rates.

Anti-big business rhetoric will carry the day on both sides of the Atlantic, former Conservative politician and cabinet minister Michael Portillo warned an audience of insurance claims executives last week.

Lloyd's of London should remain profitable and strongly capitalised despite the challenges ahead in this financial year, according to two ratings agencies, as they maintained their credit ratings on the insurance market.

A landmark Court of Appeal judgment against the UK arm of Irish insurer Quinn has been branded "a threat to the smooth operation of the claims made market" by law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC).

CV Starr subsidiary Starr Aviation has entered the satellite insurance market following its acquisition of leading space underwriter International Aerospace Insurance Services (Inter-Aero).

The Insurance Insider's parent company, Insider Publishing Ltd, has opened a New York office to expand its coverage of the North American and Bermudian P&C markets.

It goes without saying that brokers are always on the lookout for ways of maximising their revenues and that the pressure to do this is always cranked up a notch as soft markets begin to bite.