March 2005/1

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.

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

A drop in underwriting profits from $1.72bn to $1.55bn from its (re)insurance operations contributed to Warren Buffett-managed investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway posting net earnings of $7.31bn for 2004, down on the $8.15bn it recorded in 2003.

Embattled broking giant Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc is to shed a further 2,500 people in its global operations in a bid to save $375mn a year. The broker confirmed the job cuts in revealing its 2004 results that saw earnings decimated by the impact

Court case calls into question scope of Aon’s personal accident reinsurance Claim and counter-claim echoed across the oak-panelled walls of Court 11 at London’s Royal Courts of Justice today as a legal dispute between Aon’s insurance company and its re

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