June 2013/2

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has continued to add to its ranks by hiring Catherine Miller from the US operations of up-for-sale Torus.

The entry of Berkshire Hathaway is unlikely to destabilise the US excess and surplus lines market because of the fragmented nature of the marketplace, according to Pat Gallagher, Chairman and CEO of major US and international broker Arthur J. Gallagher.

New York-based international insurance broker Integro has announced the appointment of its UK leadership team after the departure of its co-heads of international Ron Whyte and Julian Samengo-Turner.

New York-listed insurer Travelers has agreed to acquire The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company from investment holding company E-L Financial Corporation for around $1.1bn in cash.

Lloyd's members' agent Argenta is poised to launch a new investment vehicle that will provide investors with direct underwriting exposure to Lloyd's syndicates, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

XL creates; P&C prices up 5%; HCC promotes; Andrea arrives; Axis A&H; Marsh acquires; Smiddy replaced; Legal focus; New capacity; Down Under; Deadline unlikely; Generali sells; Advent hire

Charles Taylor's drive to build out its live claims service received a boost last week when it unveiled Brit Insurance as the first firm to sign up to its new London market Taylored Claims Management (TCM) product.

New York Stock Exchange-listed insurer AmTrust is the party that Sagicor Financial turned to after talks with private equity house Anacap broke down last week over the sale its loss-making Sagicor at Lloyd's operation, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

To the optimist, last week's public rapprochement between Lloyd's and Aon Risk Services over the latter's market-busting 7.5 percent following facility with Berkshire Hathaway looked to be a welcome return to business as usual after two months of tumult.

Endurance's new chairman and CEO John Charman has vowed to radically overhaul his new company over the next few years in an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with The Insurance Insider. "Endurance will be a fundamentally different company than it is today within the next three-to-five years," he said