March 2005/1

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

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

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”.

Wellington Underwriting Plc saw its pre-tax profits fall by a third to £78.1mn (2003 £116.7mn) but raised its dividend on the back of strong underwriting returns.

MMC Capital’s chief executive Charles Davis is to lead a management buy-out of the private equity firm from its parent, the broking giant Marsh & McLennan Companies. The former Goldman Sachs banker confirmed last week that the firm will be spun-out of

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

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).

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.

US insurer CNA has become the latest company to be subpoenaed in connection with ongoing investigations into the practice of finite reinsurance. In its 10-K annual report filing, CNA revealed that it has received both subpoenas and interrogatories from

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.

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.

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.