March 2004/2

Andrew Gammell, the co-founder of troubled insurer GoshawK stepped down from the board of its quoted parent GoshawK Insurance Holdings plc last week.

Analysts applauded Munich Re’s announcement last week (26 February 2004) that it would effectively dilute its shareholding in HypoVereinsbank (HVB) by not participating in the bank’s current equity issue.

Montpelier Re has announced the appointment of Anthony Taylor as chairman of the Board of Directors.

A doubling in the number of hostile bids in 2003 is likely to prompt higher demand for insurance protection against the cost of fending off unsolicited takeovers, according to Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox.

Bumper profits from Australia – this time with the news that QBE Insurance Group has doubled 2003 second half profits on the back of increased premiums, higher policy sales.

French giant Axa saw its earnings outpace projections on the back of strong performance from its property casualty arm as it announced net income of €1bn for 2003, up 6 percent on 2002.

Former Royal & Sun Alliance Australasian subsidiary Promina Group last week announced net profits of A$271.8mn for 2003, excluding New Zealand contributions until May. Including a 12-month New Zealand contribution, pro forma net profits reached A$298mn. T

Despite delivering consensus earnings and double-digit growth, Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) saw its share price decline last week to close on Friday (27 February, 2004) at 541p, down from 595.5p at the beginning of the month.

Specialist Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer Holdings has announced a strong start to the year in its latest trading update. It said gross written premiums for the 2004 year of account were higher than for the same period in 2003 and that pricing remained strong. 2

Lloyd’s insurer Amlin offered a cautious initial estimate of Syndicate 2001’s prospects for the 2003 year of account after the syndicate came in towards the lower end of forecasts with its 2001 results.

Lloyd’s insurer RJ Kiln has published positive results for its managed syndicates for the 2001 year of account as well as optimistic forecasts for the 2002 and 2003 year of account.

Troubled French reinsurer SCOR revealed the extent that events of the last few months have impacted its business prospects last week as it admitted 2004 renewals suggest a reduction in expected gross premium for the year of 29 percent in non-life and 11 p