June 2007/2

Insurance giant Allianz SE and its core operating companies have been upgraded from AA- to AA by Standard & Poor's (S&P) as a result of "major and sustained" improvements in its operating performance.

Lloyd’s CEO Richard Ward has warned the London market that the “pace of change” on business processes remains too slow and reiterated his willingness to mandate action if necessary.

In a pioneering transaction, the US insurer Farmers Insurance Exchange has acquired the right to issue $500mn of regulatory capital if it suffers a severe US natural catastrophe loss in the next five years.

Lloyd’s insurer Kiln plc has revealed its intention to drop the capacity of its four syndicates by 14 percent to £847mn next year in the face of the cycle downturn.

Rates continue to fall at the 1 July reinsurance renewal season, as insurers add to the pain of increased competition by electing to retain more, according to Wills Re’s reinsurance renewal review published today.

Lloyd’s insurer Ascot Underwriting has established a renewable energy operation, Renewco Underwriting, it announced today.

Gerling at Lloyd’s has been sold by its German parent to Caribbean financial services group Sagicor.

Karel Van Hulle, head of insurance and pensions unit at the European Commission and responsible for the preparation of the Solvency II regulation has said that the deadline for implementation of the regulation will be pushed back by two years to 2012.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has said the cost of the recent UK floods is expected to reach £1bn, double the £500mn estimated by modeller Risk Management Services yesterday.

The devastating floods that have hit large parts of England this week will inflict insured losses in excess of £500mn, according to Risk Management Solutions (RMS) estimates.

Jacques Aigrain, CEO of reinsurance giant Swiss Re described insurance linked securitisations (ILS) as a “major revolution in how we perform in the market”, and predicted that the ILS market could reach $1trn by 2016.

Paris Re has priced its forthcoming initial public offering (IPO) with a range of EUR19.35 to EUR22 a share, which could raise up to EUR311.9mn at the mid-point price.