June 2005/2

Fellow Lloyd's insurers Hardy Underwriting Group plc and Omega Underwriting Holdings plc remain in merger talks despite the failure of two approaches.

Jeremy Pinchin, the head of Reinsurance and Claims at the Society and a senior member of the Franchise Performance directorate, has resigned from Lloyd’s.

Ratings agency AM Best has upgraded the financial strength rating of London (re)insurer QBE to "A" (Excellent) from "A-" (Excellent) and the company's issuer credit rating to "a+" from "a-", citing a stable outlook for both ratings.

French reinsurer SCOR last Friday (10 June) announced restructuring plans, reflecting the change in its profile brought about by the so-called “Moving Forward” plan actioned by the group in August last year to continue its recovery.

American International Group (AIG) disclosed last week that Howard I Smith, the company's former chief financial officer, has resigned from its board.

Corporate Britain rates loss of reputation and business interruption as its biggest health risks in 2005, according to a survey by broker Aon ahead of the annual conference of The Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (AIRMIC) which kicks off in Brig

Reinsurance broker Benfield Group has warned that 2005 profits will be lower than last year because of an increasing cost base.

Despite boosting asbestos reserves by £167mn, Lloyd’s pre-1993 run-off vehicle Equitas heralded a year of progress which has left it in a stronger financial condition as it announced its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2005 today (7 June).

The European Parliament has approved the reinsurance directive which paves the way for a regulatory level playing field for companies operating in Europe.

After approving competition directorate proposals, the European Commission (EC) has today (13 June) announced the launch of a competition investigation into the commercial insurance sector.

A positive trading update from Lloyd’s (re)insurer Wellington was enough to give the company’s share price a small fillip to close up 4.61 percent at 107.75p Wednesday last week.

The Association of Lloyd’s Members welcomed the possible arrival of English Limited Liability Partnerships as an alternative investment vehicle for private Lloyd’s investors at its national conference last week.

A week after publishing a relatively upbeat trading statement, London-listed Bermudian Alea had its "A-" AM Best financial strength rating and "a-" credit rating put under review with negative implications on Friday (10 June).

Amlin plc confirmed last week that it is in discussions with fellow Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer plc about a possible takeover.

Lloyd’s members’ agency CBSPC has launched a new investment fund for private capital.

The FBI has placed insurance fraud high on its agenda because of the size of the industry, according to its 2005 Financial Crimes Report released last month.

Switzerland based (re)insurer Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) has appointed Jane Tutoki as its new group chief claims officer for the general insurance business.

Broking start-up Integro has announced the appointment of five senior executives to its US operations.

FM Global announced last week its first involvement with catastrophe bonds after Goldman Sachs placed a $300mn bond covering earthquake activity in the Northwest region of North America.

MMC’s wholesale arms Price Forbes and Clump are likely to be the only significant units spun-out of the broking giant, the company confirmed last week.

Merrill Lynch analyst Blair Stewart has reaffirmed his “buy” recommendation on Paris based (re)insurance giant Axa, while also increasing its price objective by 4 percent to EUR25.