March 2008/1

Property damage from the earthquake that hit the UK on 27 February is likely to cause insured losses of between £15-30mn, according to initial estimates by Risk Management Solutions (RMS).

Swiss reinsurer Glacier Re continued to grow in 2007 with an increase in premiums and the launch of its first securitisation.

London market broker Glencairn dragged the 2007 earnings of parent US broker Hilb Rogal & Hobbs' (HRH) down by $0.11 per share, it was revealed last week.

UK general insurer Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) bounced back to a profit of £638mn for 2007 despite taking a hit from last summer's UK floods.

Standard & Poor's (S&P) has put a positive outlook on UK insurer Novae's Lloyd's Syndicate 2007 in the expectation that its legacy issues will see further resolution in 2008, through the run-off or sale of the affected business.

The dramatic lowering of SCA’s rating by Standard & Poor's (S&P) last week from AAA to A- was part of a series of actions by the ratings agency on the troubled bond insurance sector, which has been beset by sub-prime related losses.

XL Capital added to fourth quarter losses arising from its relationship with troubled bond insurer Security Capital Assurance (SCA) in a Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filing after close of markets Friday (29 February).

The appointment of Peter Zaffino as CEO and Britt Newhouse as chairman at Guy Carpenter marks a statement of intent by Brian Duperreault as he seeks to gather his senior lieutenants around him in New York...

Microsoft has teamed up with six insurance IT firms in a bid to provide a "one-stop-shop" for the London market.

UK consolidator Towergate Partnership has acquired the private medical insurance (PMI) provider City & Suburban Health.

Swiss Re has devised a new business model, with the aim of being "the first place companies turn to for solutions", according to the firm's CEO Jacques Aigrain.

Lloyd's insurer Beazley has warned that the squeeze on commercial property insurers will become "extreme" as market discipline slips and rates continue to fall.

The Association of Run-off Companies (ARC) is canvassing members over the proposed development of a capital adequacy model to help firms in run-off deal with Solvency II requirements.

Losses from the global credit market crisis are set to top $600bn, with banks and brokers accounting for over half that figure, according to UBS analyst Geraud Charpin.

Robert Hiscox, a former deputy chairman of Lloyd's and one of the most strident voices in EC3, has called the reduction of only 2 percent in the Society's capacity for 2008 "disappointing".

Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty (AGCS) has set up a Global Discontinued Business division to handle its vast legacy business, The Insurance Insider has learnt.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s claims stemming from 9/11 will be restricted to two buildings a judge has ruled.

Shares in Australian (re)insurer QBE Group slumped after the company missed analyst profit estimates for 2007.

Omega Insurance Holdings Ltd Lloyd's Syndicate 958 has withstood the impact of hurricanes Katrina Wilma and Rita to post a profit for 2005, maintaining its pedigree of a pure underwriting profit in every year it has traded since its launch in 1980.

A further symptom of the impact of the sub-prime crisis has emerged, with the hardening of directors’ and officers’ (D&O) rates for financial institutions, according to new research.

Lloyd's insurer Chaucer Holdings plc has struck a deal to close Heritage Managing Agency Ltd's Syndicate 1245 into its own Syndicate 1084.

New York-based hedge fund Institutional Credit Partners (ICP) has been dismissed from Canadian conglomerate Fairfax Financial Holdings lawsuit against it and a number of other funds.

Although Swiss Re reported only modest deterioration on its credit default swaps (CDS) as it booked a 9 percent fall in 2007 net income to SFr4.2bn last week, its disclosures on credit market exposure and its recent quota share deal...

Shares in American International Group (AIG) closed down 6.56 percent on Friday after the US insurance giant announced the biggest quarterly loss in its history driven by a $11.12bn pre-tax writedown in its financial products division, AIGFP.

Rod Fox has teamed up with his former EW Blanch colleague Ted Blanch to launch a "private boutique" reinsurance broker provisionally called Alpha Re.

Prosecutors in the trial of former General Re and American International Group (AIG) executives found guilty in a sham finite reinsurance contract have vowed to continue investigations up the corporate ladder.

(Re)insurance broker Willis Group Holdings has extended the contract of its chairman and CEO, Joe Plumeri, until 2011 as well as making a number of changes to its senior management.

Amlin reinforced its position as a leader among the quoted Lloyd's insurers with "record" results that included a 30 percent leap in pre-tax profits to £445mn and a lowly 63 percent combined ratio.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is reviewing claims handling in the UK run-off market but denies this reflects concerns about standards among some legacy insurers.

As broadly healthy earnings continue to be set against the threat of the softening market, AM Best has affirmed its stable outlook on the reinsurance sector, with a minority of upgrades and downgrades expected to balance out...

Bermuda could be in line for an influx of financial guarantee reinsurers following the sub-prime mortgage crisis, according to The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA).

Warren Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, has warned insurers that the party is over and tougher times lie ahead regardless of what the weather does this year.

The UK's first dedicated insurance company providing takaful policies is set to be launched in a bid to tap into the UK's large Muslim population.