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June 2007/4

  • New York based hedge fund Fortress Investment Group said last week its offer to buy defunct run-off insurer Alea Group Holdings Ltd had gone unconditional after receiving irrevocable undertakings from 61 percent of shareholders.
  • Lloyd’s has appointed Jose Ribeiro as its new director of International Markets and Business Development following the departure of Julian James earlier this year.
  • Expanding Australian sports underwriter Sportscover has announced the extension of its network into Ireland after teaming up with broker and sports specialist O’Driscoll O’Neil.
  • Insurance claims are continuing to rise following severe storms on its East Coast over 9-10 June. The Insurance Council of Australia said the estimated cost of claims from the storm is now A$270mn.
  • Lloyd’s set the terms for the public issue of £500mn of tier 1 subordinated debt last week. Following a three-day investment road show, the Corporation saw its debt issue several times oversubscribed by institutional investors.
  • The reserving practices of Independent Insurance came under scrutiny as several of the company’s former claims staff testified in court last week.
  • Swiss reinsurer Glacier Re joined the list of carriers accessing the capital markets with a $75mn offering under a shelf programme providing it with retrocession cover from windstorm and earthquakes.
  • “Class of 2005” insurer Lancashire Holdings Ltd is likely to be the first of a number of insurers structuring contingent capital deals after it co-operated with investment bank JP Morgan to launch a financing deal last week that would allow it to tap the
  • Brit Insurance chief executive Dane Douetil joined a select club at the weekend – he became one of a limited number of insurance figures ever to be honoured following the publication of the Queen’s birthday honours list.
  • Aspen Re, a subsidiary of UK (re)insurer Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd, has announced plans to open a major office in Zurich, to act as the hub for Aspen’s European reinsurance activity.
  • US insurer State Farm is set to place a giant $4bn cat programme, consisting of both bonds and loans, to provide retrocessional protection for one of its subsidiaries. The company has formed a special purpose vehicle, called Merna Re, which will provide
  • Giant Bermuda-based investment hedge fund DE Shaw Group agreed a $575mn deal for US property/casualty insurer James River Group last week.