June 2004/2

Following his targeting of uber broker Marsh for its use of PSAs (see Insider Week passim), New York attorney-general Eliot Spitzer has now set his sights on another Marsh & McLennan (MMC) subsidiary, namely Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Last week was another hive of activity at fast growing (re)insurance group White Mountains as it was revealed that investment giant Berkshire Hathaway had taken a 16 percent stake, while subsidiaries Folksamerica and recently acquired Sirius were subject

Bermudian (re)insurer XL will be praying for good weather this summer after revealing its subsidiary XL Trading Partners has tied up a derivative deal with Corney and Barrow Wine Bars in London to pay out if there’s a shortage of hot days.

A new property treaty reinsurance underwriting team has been formed at Lloyd’s insurer Wellington Underwriting, headed by former Beazley catastrophe, risk & aggregate excess of loss underwriter Will Curran.

Lloyd’s specialist insurer Hardy has announced the appointment of George Doughty as underwriter for political risks, a class of business it has not provided until now.

The outlook for the 2002 year of account for Syndicates 587, 1084 and 1096 has improved significantly, according to the latest forecasts from Chaucer Holdings.

Environmental insurers could be set to benefit from the EU’s new environmental liability directive, according to Valerie Fogleman, partner and head of Environment Group at lawyers Barlow Lyde & Gilbert.

Asbestos settlements continue apace – this time with the news that mega mergees St. Paul Travelers had agreed a $90mn sum to settle common law asbestos-related suits.

Moody’s announced last week that it had downgraded giant reinsurer Swiss Re’s insurer financial strength and senior debt ratings from Aa1 to Aa2 and its subordinated debt rating to A1 over concerns of the sector’s earnings prospects and Swiss Re’s ability

KKR-backed Bermudian Alea received a strong endorsement from AM Best and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) last week as the rating agencies affirmed their A- stable outlook financial strength ratings on the (re)insurer.

The British outsourcing company Xchanging is on the way to becoming a “global phenomenon” following its €40mn deal with Deutsche Bank, claims company founder David Andrews.

Lloyd’s listed insurer Amlin received a boost last Thursday (17 May) as Moody’s upgraded its financial strength rating on Syndicate 2001 from A2 to A1.