July 2015/1

Share price data on The Insurance Insider's universe of P&C (re)insurers

P&C (re)insurance stocks managed to outperform the wider stock market in June despite The Insider 30 trading up by just 0.24 percent.

The $28.3bn acquisition of historic US carrier Chubb by comparative newcomer Ace could spark a $500mn asbestos legacy sale, The Insurance Insider understands.

Sector practitioners have welcomed the publication earlier this month of the latest set of Solvency II implementing technical standards (ITS) by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa).

Managing agents have received new guidance from the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) on how to prepare for the proposed UK Senior Insurance Managers Regime (SIMR).

The UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched an investigation into a number of RSA employees after the carrier was forced to inject EUR200mn to prop up its Irish business in 2013.

Beazley is suing rival Ace in a bid to force the carrier to pay for a portion of a $26.5mn settlement reached after the botched Facebook IPO in 2012.

Former AJ Gallagher (AJG) international CEO David Ross, who recently defected to rival broker Towergate, is to appoint a mediator in an increasingly bitter dispute with his former employer.

The turmoil witnessed in Greece and the wider Eurozone over the past week has prompted a flurry of coverage in the economic press examining the international markets' reactions.

The average share price for the Insider 30 universe of P&C (re)insurers climbed 0.74 percent in the second quarter, outperforming the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and Stoxx Euro 600 indices.

Ace's $28.5bn landmark acquisition of Chubb is set to create a dominant franchise in the P&C industry, in a deal primarily driven by growth opportunities.

Despite analyst support for the Ace-Chubb deal's strategic rationale, the 29 percent upfront dilution to Ace's tangible book value leaves open the question of whether the earnings accretion is sufficient to support the surge in the carrier's valuation on a price-to-book multiple.