June 2004/4

Investment analysts at Morgan Stanley have revised earnings estimates upwards for a number of US insurers on the back of improved prospects for the personal auto sector.

Despite Benfield’s upbeat assessment, fear of an imminent and prolonged soft market, have led to analysts at US investment house Lehman Bros downgrading their views on the property and casualty sector.

Lloyd’s announced further improvements in the market’s use of the mandatory London Market Processes (LMP) slip last Wednesday (9 June) but warned it would turn up the heat to raise the standards of reporting.

Ron Pressman, the chairman and president of Employers Re, predicted a new era for the reinsurer as it looks to the future after the debilitating losses of recent years.

Rationale questioned as Cox answers back to concerns over reserving

Adrian Colosso has been promoted to Group managing director of the broker Heath Lambert, following a year of flux which witnessed the ousting of chief executive David Margrett, a restructuring of its debt and ownership and the selling-off of a number of d

The campaigning New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has widened his investigations into broker commissions by examining payments made by life and health insurers.

Reborn Bermudian Rosemont Re mapped out its progress to date at its annual general meeting last Thursday (10 June), outlining April renewals and plans for the future as it looks to put the past of troubled parent GoshawK Insurance Holdings to rest.

Germany’s federal cartel office revealed last Monday (7 June) that it had written to a further 11 German insurers last month accusing them of price fixing in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Charge signals further hits for industry, while doubts remain over run-off reinsurer’s health Equitas announced its annual results for the year ended 31 March 2004 last Tuesday (8 June), revealing a £296mn increase in gross discounted reserves for asb

Reinsurance broker Benfield has offered a positive outlook for European reinsurers as it published its latest analysis of the sector today (14 June 2004).