June 2006/4

Bermudian giant XL Capital announced the restructure of its management team on 15 June with Henry Keeling taking over as chief operating officer.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) voted last week to take the first steps towards scrapping the "full collateral" requirements imposed on non-US-based reinsurers.

UK general insurer Royal & Sun Alliance has unveiled plans to cut over 1500 jobs in an efficiency drive that will save the group £130mn in annual costs.

Rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) confirmed on 12 June that Swiss Re's acquisition of GE Insurance Solutions (GEIS) has cost the reinsurer its AA rating, which has been downgraded a notch to AA-.

Insurance service provider Whittington signed a conditional agreement on 15 June to sell its newly formed Lloyd's Managing Agency and specialist Asian syndicate, Alba, to Insurance Australia Group (IAG).

Companies have been warned that their public liability insurance does not always cover environmental risks that firms expect.

The new chairman of The Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (AIRMIC), Geoff Taylor, has pledged to make small and medium (SMEs) firms a priority during his tenure.

Shares in White Mountains Insurance Group Inc closed down 5 percent on Friday to $489 on the New York Stock Exchange after the group admitted its reinsurance losses from last year's storms would be almost fifty percent higher than previously estimated.