June 2014/5

A look-up table for The Insurance Insider's universe of P&C (re)insurers

Bermudian (re)insurer Validus was the biggest riser in the Insider 30 composite last week, climbing almost 2 percent as investors gave their seal of approval to the company's $690mn takeover of US carrier Western World.

Tighter US tax regulation could be in the pipeline for hedge fund-backed reinsurers, amid calls from lawmakers for tougher tax treatment of investors in the offshore vehicles.

Run-off acquirer Catalina has sealed a $77mn deal with US construction insurer NationsBuilders Insurance Company (NBIC).

The regulatory landscape has become more parochial since the financial crisis, CEO and president of Axis Capital Albert Benchimol said at the 50th annual seminar of the International Insurance Society last week.

(Re)insurers have failed to convince the Financial Stability Board they should not be considered systemically important financial institutions (Sifis), according to Scor chief executive Denis Kessler.

The London Market Group (LMG) last week announced it was commissioning major research into the London insurance market to provide a factual basis for its future strategy.

Maurice "Hank" Greenberg's defamation suit against former New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer moved closer to trial last week, despite several allegations being dismissed.

A legal dispute between AIG subsidiary Lexington Insurance and retailer Wakefern Food Corporation over a claim arising from Superstorm Sandy continued last week as the two sides argued over whether Sandy met the US National Weather Service (NWS)'s definition of a "named storm".

A US Supreme Court ruling last week modifying procedures in securities class action lawsuits could prompt a reshaping of directors' and officers' (D&O) coverage, market observers have advised

Worldwide insurance sales growth slowed last year, with stagnation in the industrialised world partly offsetting continued strong expansion in emerging markets, according to the latest Swiss Re Sigma world premiums study.

Much of the commentary on the US commercial P&C insurance market in 2014 has focused on concerns about the sustainability of attractive pricing.