June 2008/3

The Travelers Companies COO Brian MacLean has also been named president of the group after being promoted from executive vice president.

Embattled reinsurer Scottish Re Group Ltd has agreed to sell its non-US life reinsurance unit to US-based insurer Pacific Life insurance Company for more than $71mn.

Beleaguered bond insurer Security Capital Assurance (SCA) has lost a legal battle with investment banking giant Merrill Lynch & Co over its obligations of up to $3.1bn on credit default swaps (CDS).

Bond insurer MBIA Inc is reconsidering the deployment of the $900mn it raised in a recent equity public offering, including the launch of a new insurer.

Willis Group Holdings has had its debt ratings placed under review for downgrade by rating agency Moody's after last week’s announced $2.1bn acquisition of Hilb Rogal & Hobbs (HRH).

All the member governments of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) have renewed their 2008 policies as this year's Atlantic hurricane season gets underway.

In another tough week for the stocks of the UK's quoted non-life insurers, RSA share price was a rare exception buoyed by vague suggestions of a possible bid from QBE.

German insurance giant Allianz is in talks with Commerzbank and Postbank over the proposed sale of its embattled banking division Dresdner Bank, according to reports.

Heath Lambert's drive to divest itself of its wholesale business units to focus on UK retail was finally realised last week when the intermediary sold its Global Business Solutions (GBS) unit to Arthur J Gallagher International Ltd.

US property & casualty insurers look set to post a modest underwriting loss and suffer significant reduction in profits and return on surplus for the year, according to Fitch Ratings.

A potential bid from Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) for the Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) insurance unit has continued to place downward pressure on the company's share price.

Space insurance underwriters are facing the prospect of yet another loss with the failure of a Kazakhstan communications satellite in orbit, The Insurance Insider revealed last week.