June 2011/3

Carlson Capital-backed Barbican Insurance has confirmed that it is holding talks with listed Lloyd's peer Omega, as The Insurance Insider first reported on 9 May.

The P&C (re)insurance sector's historically low valuations have been described as "ridiculous" by a panel of industry leaders, with not enough differentiation between businesses on quality and a surfeit of long-term investors.

New Zealand insurer Tower is taking the state-backed Earthquake Commission (EQC) to court to determine how much the government scheme should pay out to Christchurch householders stricken by multiple earthquakes in the past year.

Back in the early nineties you "only" needed a couple of hundred million dollars to get into the reinsurance game. By the time the class of 2001 came on the scene the price of a perceived entry ticket had risen to $500mn.

The $7bn deal to create TransAllied Group later this year could spur more M&A activity, according to a major equity analyst.