June 2007/4

UK regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has said that the biggest threats posed by the current boom in private equity are market abuse and conflicts of interest.

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.

Private equity giant The Carlyle Group has formed a financial services division to concentrate on the insurance and banking sectors, again highlighting investors’ appetite for the industry.

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.

The US Congress is due to discuss an extension to the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) that is scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

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.

Nephila Capital the Bermuda-based investment manager specialising in catastrophe reinsurance and weather risk, has announced the launch of Gamut Re, a reinsurance vehicle funded using collateralised debt obligations (CDOs).

“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