March 2006/4

Start-up Lancashire Holdings’ financial strength rating has been placed under review by AM Best after the (re)insurer announced the departure of vice president Alex Richards. The agency has placed the rating under review with negative implications...

Willis has signed an agreement with the China Development Bank (CDB) that will see it become the bank’s global risk management and insurance consultant. The move is another big step for Willis as it moves into the Chinese insurance market. The firm...

Reinsurance specialist broker Guy Carpenter has appointed Ray Carless as executive chairman of its Australia, New Zealand and Pacific operations. The role will be based in Sydney and will report to Martin Burrough, CEO of the Asia Pacific region.

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...

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”...

Despite raising earnings expectations on improved prospects at UK insurer Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA), analysts at Morgan Stanley believe the company’s stock is overvalued. Equity analysts Jon Hockling and Kathy Fear increased 2006 earnings forecasts..

Inmarsat has become the first satellite operator to insure with newly launched space consortium LibSat. The company is insuring its new generation Inmarsat-4 communications satellites with the $250mn capacity consortium, which was set up at the start..

Lloyd’s insurer Beazley reported a 44.5 percent drop in pre-tax profits on 14 March after absorbing a £60mn net loss from hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma (KRW). Pre-tax profits fell to £16.1mn last year from £35.4mn in 2004, although gross written..

US insurer St Paul Travelers has denied reports that it’s been in merger discussions with Zurich Financial Services Group, that were first reported in the Wall Street Journal on 17 March. The possible creation of an insurance leviathan to match...

As predicted in the January issue of our sister title The Insurance Insider, Allied World Assurance Holdings Ltd (AWAC) is set to become the last of the so-called “Class of 2001” to go public after filing for an initial public offering (IPO) of up to...

US tort costs reached a record level of $260bn during 2004 according to research by Tillinghast’s US Tort Costs and Cross-Border Perspectives: 2005 Update. The figure is up from the previous record of $244bn set in 2004 and averages out at...

Despite fears of a difficult 2006 renewal for the International Group of P&I clubs with predicted 20 percent plus rises in reinsurance as the programme was hit by hurricanes and shipping accidents, the reality was much more benign, according to broker...