March 2006/4

Michael Bright, the colourful founder of collapsed UK insurer Independent Insurance, will face trial on charges of conspiracy to defraud at a trial starting after Easter 2007, a preliminary hearing at Southwark Crown Court heard today (24 March).

A EUR1bn bill from last year’s natural catastrophes – including almost EUR800mn from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma (KRW) – dragged Hannover Re’s net income down from 2004’s 279.9mn to EUR49.3mn.

Lloyd's insurer Hardy bucked the trend of underwriting losses when it reported profits of £7.5mn for 2005 on 22 March, underpinned by a positive underwriting result of £6.3mn.

Shares in Canadian combine Fairfax Financial Holdings have dropped almost 15 percent percent on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today (22 March).

Strong investment income helped French reinsurer SCOR continue its recovery as it recorded a 22 percent increase in 2005 operating profits to EUR242mn, along with a 75 percent increase in net profit to EUR131mn.

Wellington Underwriting plc says its reinsurance costs have risen substantially after restructuring its programme following Hurricane Katrina last year. The Lloyd's insurer posted a full-year pre-tax loss of £26.2mn for 2005 as the devastating storm...

Defunct Australian insurer HIH’s film finance action against its broker JLT Risk Solutions has ended with its claim being dismissed on 15 March. Despite Mr Justice Langley finding that JLT was in breach of its duty as a broker, he concluded...

Bermudian start-up reinsurer Validus has announced it is entering into a $300mn syndicated credit agreement. The transaction consists of a $100mn Senior Unsecured 364-Day Revolving Credit Facility and a $200mn Senior Secured Three-Year Letter of...

Tropical Cyclone Larry slammed into north-eastern Australia early today (20 March) causing damage to buildings and crops. Larry made landfall as Category 5 storm, the maximum grading, near the town of Innisfail, Queensland, and was downgraded to a...

German insurer Allianz AG almost doubled profits last year, it announced on 16 March. Net income for 2005 was up to EUR4.38bn, a 93 percent rise from the previous year’s EUR2.66bn. Total revenues rose by 4.2 percent from EUR96.9bn in 2004 to...

Swiss reinsurer Converium announced on 15 March net income of $68.7mn for 2005, with $34.2mn added to the total during the final quarter. The fourth quarter figure beat some analyst’s forecasts by close to $30mn, and provided a solid start for the...

Strong investment performance enabled German giant Munich Re to shrug off its hurricane losses and post record profits of EUR2.7bn for 2005, increasing its dividend 55 percent to EUR3.10 as it raised the prospect of an “active capital management”...