July 2012/4

Despite the likely near-term strength of London (re)insurers' stock prices due to probable strong H1 earnings, one analyst warned clients last week that now was the time to become bearish on the London market.

Beazley will consider returning some of its growing mountain of surplus capital to shareholders through a special dividend if it is unable to put it to work in underwriting, CEO Andrew Horton has said.

Given the context of chronic uncertainty in Europe, the quoted London market (re)insurers have a useful platform from which to woo investors as they unveil their first-half results over the coming month.

With the mid-year reinsurance renewals disappointing underwriters and investors alike, attention is now focused on primary insurers for signs that the much heralded turn in US commercial pricing is made of stronger stuff.

After an unusually benign first half of the year for catastrophic loss events, the leading US primary insurers posted higher loss burdens than most analysts were expecting.

Syndicate 2526 needed the backing of a corporate partner to grow to a viable scale and create its own managing agency, eponymous active underwriter Andy Doré told The Insurance Insider.  

As a record number of US farmers reportedly prepare to give up on their 2012 crop, fears are growing that insurers and reinsurers that write multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI) are set for a surge in claims that could match those seen in the worst-ever loss years for the business.

Law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) has warned Chinese companies looking to de-list from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to avoid being dragged into litigation that they may be exposed to other "bump-up claims" if they do not pursue the process correctly.

The number of US securities lawsuits filed in the second quarter of 2012 has continued to decrease from the peaks reached during the post-financial crisis period, although the figure remains high compared to historic norms, a new Advisen report shows

The frequent exclusion of industry-wide investigations from the coverage offered by directors' and officers' (D&O) insurance contracts may lead to disputes as the Libor-fixing saga continues, according to Lockton's director of financial lines business Neo Combarro.

The Libor-fixing scandal will be a material loss event for executive liability insurers but not a catastrophic one, according to Kevin LaCroix, a well-known commentator on the sector.

Two months after Australian general insurer IAG announced that it was selling its UK business, it is understood that its adviser Evercore has still not released the full sales prospectus.