June 2004/1

As delegates headed for tea on day two of the World Insurance Forum in Bermuda, reinsurance buyers briefly turned their heads to the "old chestnut of Lloyd's". Christian Milton, chief reinsurance buyer for giant insurer AIG, confirmed he still uses the

Insolvent corporate capital providers cost market dear The Lloyd's Central Fund has now paid more than $1bn on behalf of insolvent corporate capital providers who have left the market with outstanding liabilities. Last month the Society revealed tha

Underwriting disclipline is strong theme at Bermuda's World Insurance Forum as evidence mounts of growing rate cuts... Talk at the recent World Insurance Forum in Bermuda was of battening down the hatches in readiness for a downturn already gaining mom

In an unexpected move Price Forbes - a subsidiary of the world's largest intermediary Marsh - has swooped for the independent London market broker Prentis Donegan. A well regarded operation, Prentis Donegan serves a predominantly US client base with a

German reinsurer R+V accuses Lloyd's based managing agency of fraudulently altering terms of binding agreement; defence says it's "a stitch up from the word go"... The Royal Courts of Justice showdown between German reinsurer R+V and managing agency Ri

Management controlled motor insurer Zenith will have to disclose documents to former owner XL London justifying its controversial reserving on Syndicate 2002, which saw the new owners benefit from a £23.5mn release from reserves months after the sale.

In contrast to barnstorming Q1 results for US and Bermudian (re)insurers, European carriers enjoy a mixed first quarter with some showing a more subdued uplift from hard market conditions

Rationale questioned as Cox answers back to reserving concerns... The sudden departure of Neil Utley as chief executive of Lloyd's motor insurer Cox on 11 June was met with surprise and shock. The move, and the unusually candid comments from senior

But emerging losses show propensity to bite back... Despite general profitability across the Lloyd's market for the 2002 year, with a slight deterioration of 0.05 percent to a projected 12.79 percent profit at the end of the ninth quarter, individual s

Growing signs in the US point to the likely passage of class action reform, as legislators seek to clamp down on the fast growing and costly trend of mass torts. After the Class Action Fairness Act 2003 HR 1115 was passed a year ago by the House of Rep

But Kinnect CEO is upbeat on the venture’s longterm prospects... Business process reform in the Lloyd's market is still at a rudimentary stage and the situation is unlikely to improve within the next two to three years, the Franchise Board's Franchise

Equitas announced its annual results for the year ended 31 March 2004 on 8 June, revealing a £296mn increase in gross discounted reserves for asbestos claims. Accumulated surplus after tax fell £67mn from £527mn to £460mn, but the reinsurer's solvency