March 2012/4

Omega has disclosed to shareholders that it received a 65p per share all-cash offer from Lloyd's rival Canopius, confirming the news broken by The Insurance Insider after markets closed yesterday (2 April).

Insurance services provider Charles Taylor Consulting (CTC) has reported a £6.4mn profit for 2011 and confirmed it will no longer be seeking to buy non-life legacy business.

Tawa's investment in its services business during 2011 should be considered a successful year of investment despite a big accounting loss, according to the company's CEO Gilles Erulin.

ANV's proposed acquisition of Flagstone's Lloyd's operations includes the prior-year liabilities of Syndicate 1861, The Insurance Insider understands.

Hardy Underwriting, which last week confirmed a takeover deal with CNA Financial, is set to take a $25mn gross loss on one of the largest direct and facultative (D&F) losses to stem from last year's Thai flooding, sister title Inside FAC revealed last week.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a subpoena enforcement action against Wells Fargo after the US bank failed to produce all documents relating to a $60bn fraud probe.

A fifth circuit appeals court has ruled that investors burnt by Allen Stanford's $7bn Ponzi scheme are entitled to pursue a class action suit against his insurance broker Willis in the district court.

Washington Mutual Inc (WMI) is suing its directors' and officers' (D&O) insurers in an attempt to recover up to $265mn underwritten by a group led by XL Specialty and Chartis subsidiary National Union Fire Insurance (NUFI).

The Financial Services Authority (FSA)'s stringent liquidity demands on larger UK insurance brokers has spurred the development of a new insolvency risk insurance product, according to accountancy firm Littlejohn.

Lloyd's (re)insurers, the Corporation of Lloyd's and UK general insurers will all experience hefty increases in their Financial Services Authority (FSA) levies this year. The UK regulator cited pay increases, Solvency II, the change to the regulatory system and IT costs for the sharp increase in the budget.

A "paradigm shift" is needed in how policy tools are used to combat conflicts of interest, information asymmetries and market inefficiencies in the insurance and pensions industry, said Gabriel Bernardino, chairman of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa).

Lloyd's has delayed the submission of its internal model to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) until July. The model was originally due to be submitted for approval next month.

A key European Parliament committee has approved the draft Omnibus II legislation, helping ease industry fears that lawmakers would miss tight deadlines required to get the Solvency II legal framework in place for a 2014 launch.

The UK will cut its corporation tax rate again as the government unveiled a "pro-business" budget last week in a bid to end the flight of companies from London domiciles to overseas jurisdictions with lighter business tax regimes.

Swiss Re has closed its new multi-sponsor cat bond Combine Re on target at $200mn, offering an indication of ILS investor appetite at two very different ends of the US risk scale.

Bermudian (re)insurer Alterra is fundraising for another incarnation of its New Point fleet of retro sidecars ahead of the mid-year US renewal season.

Lloyd's will inevitably post a market-wide loss for 2011 this week, but if the distorting effect of Kiln's $700mn+ single contract Thai flood loss is excluded, the result actually comes in at a modest profit, according to The Insurance Insider's updated forecasts.

Novae, the other remaining "small-cap" player in the publicly listed composite, enjoyed only a modest uplift in its share price after the Hardy deal was announced, despite analysts touting it as the most likely beneficiary.

London's small cap (re)insurers should be boosted by the agreed sale of Hardy to CNA at 1.55x year-end net tangible assets (NTA), according to first-reaction notes from analysts and stock price movement since the deal was announced.

The handsome multiple to book value that CNA has agreed to pay Hardy shareholders has understandably gained much of the attention since the deal was announced.

Modelling firm Eqecat estimates that the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck 300km south of Mexico City overnight on 20 March will cost the insurance industry less than $100mn.

A coup ahead of Mali's April elections has put large firms operating in the country - including AngloGold Ashanti and Randgold - at risk of higher taxation and state interference, but (re)insurance markets are likely to escape the incident unscathed after both mining giants announced they had no political risk cover.

The disclosures of the world's biggest property cat underwriters have thrown up something of a mystery about the 1 January renewals.

John Paulson has welcomed last week's announcement that US composite The Hartford will put its underperforming individual annuities business into run-off, but said the decision did not address the main problem with the insurer's undervaluation.