June 2004/3

Run-off specialist Omni Whittington has announced the appointment of Harry Whitcher as the new compliance and risk manager for Reliance National Insurance Company (Europe) Limited.

Bermuda’s Everest Re had its A+(Superior) financial strength rating affirmed by AM Best last Wednesday (2 June). The agency also affirmed Everest Re’s debt ratings and extended the group’s financial strength rating to a previously unrated subsidiary Evere

Specialty property and casualty insurer Markel International has announced the launch of a new insurance product to cover professional karting circuits.

Fulham Football Club has issued a High Court writ against a consortium of Lloyd’s syndicates for failing to pay personal accident (PA) claims on one of the club’s former players.

UK broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) has been voted European Commercial Broker of the Year, in a poll of more than 2,000 UK and European risk managers.

Moody’s and AM Best have respectively assigned A3 and BBB+ ratings to ACE INA’s proposed $500mn senior unsecured debt issue, announced last Wednesday (3 June).

Bruno Purro, chief risk officer at Swiss Re is to step down at the end of the year, to be replaced by Christian Mumenthaler, the giant reinsurer revealed last Thursday (3 June).

Reinsurer broker Benfield has appointed Chris Cook to its aviation insurance team, where he will focus on major aviation risks.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) announced Thursday (3 June) it had affirmed Swiss reinsurer Converium’s ‘A’ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings after conducting a review. The group’s US operation Converium Holdings (North America)

SVB Holdings has appointed Stuart Quinlan to the newly-created post of underwriting development director at its specialist liability subsidiary, Novae Underwriting.

Disgraced broking group Stirling Cooke Brown (SCB) – now renamed AlpahStar Insurance Group - is considering suing co-founder Nicholas Brown for his involvement in the group’s collapse.

$110mn has been transferred to the California Insurance Commissioner as part of a settlement in the five-year investigation into the Executive Life saga, United States Attorney Debra Yang said last week.