March 2005/2

Listed Lloyd’s insurer Amlin rode a year dominated by record industry natural catastrophe losses to register year-on-year improvements in its earnings per share and combined ratio for 2004.

Benfield Group Ltd posted flat trading profits and a slide in revenue last week while outlining a strategy to grow its primary operations in response to the turmoil facing the US insurance industry.

Hank Greenberg may be set to stun the insurance industry by stepping down from his post as chief executive of the world’s largest insurance company American International Group (AIG).

But viaticals and bail bonds continue to pose questions... GoshawK has announced a post-tax $3mn loss for 2004 in its full year results – with claims of $40mn from Q3 hurricanes and other catastrophes blamed as the main reason for the losses.

FSA chief executive John Tiner may turn the regulatory spotlight on finite reinsurance in the UK, it emerged last week.

The sentencing of flamboyant insurance executive Michael Segal was postponed from 6 April to 29 June last week under a motion approved by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Marsh & McLennan Risk Capital Holdings has agreed to sell around half of its share in AXIS Capital, the Bermudian (re)insurer it helped found in the wake of 9/11.

As UK insurer Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA) continues the hunt for a solution for its discontinued operations in the US, it revealed last week that it also plans to sell part of its ongoing business with the divestment of its non-standard auto unit.

Bermuda-headquartered London listed insurer Catlin last week (11 March) announced record premium and profit figures for 2004, despite the year’s record hurricane losses. The company booked gross premiums of $1.43bn, a 20 percent increase on 2003’s $1.2

Lloyd's has settled its £500mn Central Fund dispute with its six reinsurers, following the second phase of its arbitration tribunal, for a total of £152mn.

Insider Week’s sister publication The Insurance Insider is sponsoring a series of free briefings on the UK regulatory compliance landscape during April.

Specialist insurer Markel International has set its sights on continental Europe, announcing last week that it will open an office in Spain. Markel International España will be based in Madrid and will focus initially on Professional Indemnity and Dir

Broker Willis has boosted its property credentials after poaching 15 executives from rivals Aon and Heath Lambert last week.

Mark Hewlett, the former Sedgwick broker and European insurance managing director of Moody’s, has left the rating agency, Insider Week can reveal.

Insider Publishing Ltd, the publisher of Insider Week and The Insurance Insider, has launched a new publication that focuses on the life insurance, investment and pension industries.

Despite closing the 2002-year of account on its Syndicate 1200 with a 38 percent profit on capacity, claiming the third best result in the market, listed Lloyd’s managing agency Heritage has been forced to leave the year open on Syndicate 1245 due to unce

Robert Hiscox, the forthright chairman of Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox plc, has slammed the “petty rules” culture of the UK regulator Financial Services Authority (FSA) while unveiling a slight fall in trading profits at the eponymous insurer.

Lloyd’s (re)insurer Wellington has announced that it will sell off more of its shares of Aspen Re, the Bermudian former subsidiary it helped found. On 8 March, the company issued a press statement in which it said it was willing to sell 10 percent of i

US reinsurer Odyssey Re Holdings Corp has announced the retirement of its executive vice-president and chief financial officer Charles Troiano. In his stead comes Robert Giammarco, currently the managing director in the Financial Institutions Investment B

Accountancy firm Deloitte & Touche won a small skirmish last week in the battle over its involvement in the collapse of the controversial aviation pool, Fortress Re.