March 2000/1

Will the London market reject or embrace the opportunities offered by e-commerce? Computers and the London insurance market have not traditionally gone particularly well together. Whether it was the early days of computer leasing or the numerous...

Back in November, David Schiff assessed Reliance’s Unicover related problems Reliance Group Holdings and its primary subsidiary, Reliance Insurance Co, are in dubious financial condition. There’s a distinct possibility that Reliance Group might...

One of the biggest problems facing companies operating e-commerce sites on the web is the ability to handle the anticipated volume of on-line trades both rapidly and securely. A recent report indicated that up to eight out of ten internet trades are...

So here we are, this proud island race, our nautical heritage stretching back centuries. Our fishermen brave weather fair and foul, overcoming mountainous waves and piercing wind to harvest the depths of the cold oceans and put the pick of the catch on...

From consolidation to litigation After the breathing space afforded by the onset of the new millennium, consolidation is firmly and dramatically back on the insurance sector’s agenda. Almost simultaneously, CGU announced its £19bn deal with...

Unlike the anti-climactic aftermath of the Y2K bug, the issue of internet insurance fraud has a big future. So far, reports of the use of the internet for perpetrating insurance fraud are confined to the small-scale chisellers at the consumer end of...

As reinsurers drop out of the PA market, what are the consequences for the London market? After years of operating as a soft, reinsurance-reliant sector, the London accident and health market is finally experiencing a rapid hardening of rates and a...

Is it some strange coincidence that Café Nerro opened opposite Lloyd’s just as the long-awaited Jaffray case finally started, or a classical portent of doom? In the weeks leading up to the start of the action, Lloyd’s seemed to be fiddling in the face...

Curtains For Unicover? The Unicover fiasco could finally be drawing to a close. But where will the buck stop? Odyssey Re suit dismissed Sun Life posts $39m fourth quarter loss Phoenix takes $150m hit Is the Unicover fiasco finally drawing to...

The website of Aon, the world’s second largest broker, is quite something. Not once is there any mention of either broker or broking. Aon, like its great rival Marsh, has seen the future and broking is a dirty word.

Cats are up and it's official; 1999 was the second-worse year for insurance losses. In its 30th year of publication by Swiss Re, the latest Sigma report on major losses in 1999 paints a woeful picture of devastating natural catastrophes and expensive...

Let Battle Commence There is no doubt that Lloyd's is taking its court battle against disaffected Names seriously. Ever since the United Names Organisation launched the Jaffray case, Lloyd’s responded by recruiting an army of Freshfield lawyers and...