March 2005/1

US insurer Markel’s London operation, Markel International (MINT), plans to open a branch office this summer in Toronto in order to access Canadian business for its Lloyd’s Syndicate 3000.

Fitch Ratings is to finally publish its “Q” ratings on between 150-200 European insurers later this week after becoming embroiled in a controversy with the German industry association GDV earlier this year (see January edition of The Insurance Insider).

Heath Lambert Group’s Adrian Colosso has become the group chief executive following the retirement of its executive chairman, the scotsman Ian Martin.

Brad Cooper, the Australian entrepreneur and former associate of FAI managing director and HIH director Rodney Adler, pleaded not guilty to 13 charges relating to the A$5.3bn collapse of HIH in a New South Wales court, last week.

Lloyd’s sponsored electronic data transfer platform Kinnect has a new board, with representatives from the broking and underwriting fraternity taking up non-executive positions to “drive its adoption, guide its development and manage its performance”.

Reinsurance broker RK Carvill & Co Ltd has promoted its long-serving executive David Thomas to the role of managing director.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has today outlined how it will treat counterparty credit ratings of property casualty insurers implementing solvent schemes of arrangement.

Despite a record fourth quarter result and a $79.4mn release from prior-year reserves, Allied World Assurance Holding’s 2004 results were down 32 percent in response to last year’s severe catastrophe losses.

Bermuda-headquartered Aspen reported 2004 fourth quarter and full-year after tax net income up on 2003 last Thursday (3 March).

Less than a week after axing CEO Dirk Lohmann, troubled Swiss reinsurer Converium reported a net loss of $760.8mn last Tuesday (1 March), made worse by a higher than expected fourth quarter net loss of $50.2mn. The results were in contrast to the $56.2

As predicted in the February edition of The Insurance Insider, Aon Corp has struck a nationwide agreement with US regulators to settle the bid-rigging, kickback and steering investigations into the broking giant.

Lloyd’s specialist helicopter insurer Hardy Underwriting Group Plc announced last Friday (4 March) that it has made strong profits on its Syndicate 382’s 2002 year of account, but warned that it expects to make pre-tax profits of £8mn when it reports its