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...

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...

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...

An unusually high currency boost and a release from reserves enabled expanding Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox plc to transform a narrow 2005 underwriting gain into a healthy £70mn pre-tax profit. An increase in the group’s US storms exposures – up from...

Castlepoint Holdings Ltd, the latest insurer hoping to land on Bermuda’s shores, has been told by AM Best that it can expect an A- rating if its advisers raise the $220mn needed to capitalise the start-up. As revealed by The Insurance Insider...

UK regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has recognised progress in pursuit of contract certainty by putting on hold work to develop rules it threatened to impose if the London market failed to meet the deadline set for the end of the 2006.