June 2008/2

Willis' proposed $2.1bn acquisition of US retailer Hilb Rogal & Hobbs is the largest insurance broker M&A deal for a decade and, with margins under threat from the weak market conditions, may be seized upon as evidence that the sector is about to...

Bond insurers MBIA and Ambac have spoken out after their AAA ratings were downgraded to AA by Standard & Poor's (S&P) and placed under review by Moody's.

Security Capital Assurance (SCA) has been hit by a further blow with the three notch downgrade of its two main operating units from A- to BBB- by Standard & Poors' (S&P) on Friday (6 June).

Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe has announced a number of senior management changes in its global (non-US) operations.

Energy broker Guy Bessis is moving to Marsh Ltd less than eight months after joining (re)insurance intermediary Integro, The Insurance Insider understands.

Finnish insurance group Sampo's P&C insurance subsidiary has agreed to purchase Russian insurer SOAO Region, the group announced last week.

Andrew Annandale has been appointed managing director of Argenta Syndicate Management Ltd, the group's managing agency - in a move designed to support new start-ups.

Willis has committed to phasing out its newly acquired contingent commissions within three years following its announced acquisition of Hilb Rogal & Hobbs (HRH) for $2.1bn.

Florida property reinsurance underwriters are set to find out tomorrow (10 June) whether they will benefit as a result of fresh demand from the state’s hurricane cat fund.

Regulatory hurdles in Brazil are one of the biggest challenges for risk managers despite the recent deregulation of the country's reinsurance market, according to Willis Energy.

Class action pioneer Mel Weiss has been sentenced to 30 months in prison, after pleading guilty to illegally paying clients to file claims.

New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo has reached an agreement with three major rating agencies that promises to overhaul the way they collect fees and to improve their process for rating mortgage-backed securities.