June 2012/4

Tawa's long-term strategy has vexed many legacy market observers, with the company earning a reputation as an enigma wrapped in a mystery.

Bermudian run-off giant Enstar leads the queue of suitors interested in purchasing the up-for-sale run-off portfolios of Tawa, The Insurance Insider understands.

Corporate financier Evercore has bowed to the inevitable and started sounding out interest from legacy buyers over a potential sale of Australian insurer IAG's UK unit, The Insurance Insider understands.

Fairfax Financial Holdings subsidiary RiverStone has trumped legacy acquisition rivals such as Enstar and Catalina to acquire over $1bn of Brit Insurance reserves from its UK run-off business, BIL.

Former Dewey & LeBoeuf partner Henry Bunsow has sued the fallen law firm's leaders, including chairman Steven Davis, alleging that they misrepresented the firm's finances.

US broker Alliant has won a significant victory in its home state of California against larger rival Aon over the mass defections last year of a construction team led by Peter Arkley.  

The London market (re)insurance sector is undervalued by around 30 to 40 percent based on a fundamental analysis of expected cost of capital versus the sector's projected return on equity (RoE) performance, according to Espirito Santo analyst Joy Ferneyhough.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) almost doubled its expenses from 2010 to 2011 as Solvency II preparations gathered pace, according to the EU insurance watchdog's latest annual report.

Insurers and London brokers should consider amending contracts with clients in countries they consider to be at risk of exiting the euro to include "continuity" and "re-denomination" clauses to prevent arguments over premium payments in a new currency, the London Market Association (LMA) advocated in an advisory paper.

UK motor insurers won't be able to crack down on claims farming for whiplash claims without support from government and regulators, a panel of senior claims experts said in a report published by Clear Path Analysis last week.

Heavyweight London-based underwriting bodies the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) and the International Underwriting Association (IUA) last week welcomed potential amendments to proposed financial services reforms that would bind future regulators to act in a "proportionate, reasonable and fair" manner.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) premiums rose 8.47 percent on a risk-adjusted basis from the end of the first quarter to the end of May, according to Willis Capital Markets & Advisory data.