July 2010/4

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.