March 2006/5

Insurance claims from Cyclone Larry, which struck north-eastern Australia on 20 March, reached AUS$90mn last week with 4,000 claims already made, according to the Insurance Disaster Response Organisation (IDRO).

A group of hard-hit US reinsurers suffered over $7bn in collective underwriting losses during 2005 after hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma (KRW) added 23.2 points to the sector’s combined ratio, according to the Reinsurance Association of America (RAA).

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. Despite the 17.8 percent increase on the previous year’s underwriting...

Lloyd’s insurer Omega Underwriting Holdings plc (Omega) has reported a £6.7mn pre-tax profit in its maiden results as a listed company. The results follow a busy year for the company, which floated on London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment...

Allianz’s head of UK aviation business, Emilio Di Silvio, has parted company with the insurance giant, and is set to head a new aviation syndicate at QBE’s Limit. Di Silvio – who has more than 29 years of aviation underwriting experience – resigned...

Class of 2005 start-up Lancashire Holdings Ltd passed a potentially difficult test last week when rating agency AM Best affirmed its A- financial strength rating. The rating agency placed Lancashire’s ratings under review with negative implications...

Troubled Bermudian reinsurer PXRE Group Ltd has negotiated a deal with Lloyd’s for “early settlement” of claims outstanding to the market, but has denied the move is connected to its possible re-entry to the market, Insider Week can reveal.

The fast-expanding London broker SBJ Group Ltd has acquired the employee benefits technology company Orbit Benefits Ltd from Benfield Group. SBJ – which is majority owned by the private equity firm Capital Z Financial Services Partners – said the...

Bermudian reinsurer RenaissanceRe has promoted Ross Curtis to senior vice president of its catastrophe reinsurance unit. Curtis has been with the company since 1999, when he joined as a catastrophe reinsurance analyst, and is involved in the...

German reinsurer R+V returned to the Royal Courts of Justice last week as it attempts to establish the quantum of liabilities due from the controversial, Lloyd's based managing agency Risk. The case, on which The Insurance Insider has reported...

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. However, the legacy of the past...

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...