March 2016/4

The insurance industry must tackle the issues of quality customer service and technological advancement to continue to prosper in the future, according to Cunningham Lindsey executive chairman Richard Ward.

Share price data on The Insurance Insider's universe of P&C (re)insurers

Despite enjoying a strong performance throughout the past month, White Mountains and Everest Re both gave up earlier gains to end last week with negative share price movements.

JLT Specialty is being sued in the UK High Court for broker negligence after a waste recycling plant suffered a £6mn ($8.7mn) loss as a result of a factory fire in 2011.

A (re)insurance company in liquidation has taken its former finance director to court following allegations he siphoned off some £2.4mn of its funds into personal bank accounts.

Belgian insurer Ageas, which was spun-out from financial services conglomerate Fortis after the group collapsed amid the financial crash, has agreed to pay EUR1.2bn ($1.4bn) to settle crisis-era shareholder suits.

Californian broker Alliant is looking to move a bitter poaching dispute with Aon to a court in its West Coast heartland where restrictive covenants carry less weight.

The UK government will clamp down on claims management companies (CMCs) and establish the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as their regulator, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said in the budget statement last week (16 March).

Former Willis Re executives Peter and David Hearn have asked a court to throw out a $3.6mn claim brought against them by their erstwhile employer.

Lloyd's chief risk officer Sean McGovern has warned against comparing the solvency capital requirement (SCR) of different insurance companies.

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has warned that the insurance industry is facing an increasing risk of billion-dollar losses from mega-ships as demand for larger container vessels continues unabated.

Global reinsurers' P&C reinsurance arms reported a general improvement in underwriting performance in the final quarter of 2015, with a benign catastrophe environment helping produce better results.

Despite suppressed demand for reinsurance coverage in the P&C market and continued oversupply of capacity, global reinsurers successfully found opportunities to expand their portfolios in the final quarter of 2015.

"Beaten up" US consumer auto insurers are set to bounce back after a round of rate increases, amid a backdrop of competitive pricing, Bernstein analysts have found.

Several members of the legal team at Chubb's former head office in New Jersey have been let go in the wake of the carrier's landmark acquisition by rival Ace, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

American International Group (AIG) has promoted Anthony Tatulli to head up its executive liability team as the carrier looks to replace a number of the product leads it has lost amid a mass executive cull.

The British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba) has said it would like to launch its flood insurance initiative for UK businesses and property owners this summer.

Moody's warns on Solvency II ratios; De Castries retires; Generali unveils CEO; TMK's Lewis departs; Talanx books record 2015 profit; Kessler warns of Brexit ‘disaster'; Exor/PartnerRe closes; African broker opens London office;TMK builds Asian construction; Reinsurer profits near breakeven; Australian cyber terror gap; Channel hires A&H head; JLT exec pay falls; ICA welcomes insurance law review; Flood Re assigned A- S&P rating; Howden Middle East hire; Universal gets New Jersey l

AM Best's revised Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR) model has been released for comment, with discussions with carriers likely to focus on the rating agency's updated view on investment and catastrophe risk.

A handful of Florida carriers are looking to reduce their reliance on the state-backed Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF), which is expected to create more than $900mn of new demand for private cover at this year's June renewals, Trading Risk reported earlier this month.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) topped up its traditional reinsurance limit with an extra $175mn placement in December, sister publication Trading Risk reported last week.

The Hartford's bolt-on acquisition of excess and surplus lines (E&S) carrier Maxum Specialty Insurance Group for $170mn in cash will accelerate expansion of the US insurer's small commercial segment, it said last week.

HCC Insurance Holdings has parted company with the head of its excess casualty division Phil Joschko in a restructure as it looks to continue to grow its liability business, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

AmTrust has emerged as the most probable acquirer of ANV as the auction process for the struggling Lloyd’s insurer enters its final furlong, The Insurance Insider revealed last week.

As reinsurance professionals gathered in Doha for the Multaqa Qatar conference last week ahead of the April renewals in Asia and the Middle East, underwriters spoke in bearish terms about the prospects for profitable underwriting.

The Address Downtown Hotel complex that caught fire during New Year’s Eve in Dubai last year is heading towards a $200mn insured loss, according to market sources.

Despite the co-option of activist investors to the board and the announcement of a broad remediation plan for the business, the perception at the top levels of the insurance industry remains that Peter Hancock will do well to see out the year as CEO of American International Group (AIG).

Global broker JLT has won the major aviation account of Chinese airline company Hainan from Aon, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Noel Holloway, former head of aviation for Mitsui Sumitomo (MSI)'s Lloyd's insurance arm, has left MS Amlin, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

David Whiter, Aspen's chairman of international marine, energy and aviation, is leaving the company, The Insurance Insider has learned.

Mike Hansen, former aerospace global product leader at Catlin, has resigned from XL Catlin, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Chubb leads the Emirates programme that will be hit by a $49mn hull claim following the loss of a FlyDubai flight in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don over the weekend, The Insurance Insider has learned.

International Airlines Group (IAG) and Qatar Airways are set to pay premium increases on their insurance programmes at 1 April, in a development that has left the market divided on the trajectory that rates will take in 2016.

ANV Syndicates has received green light status from Lloyd's, indicating that the Corporation now considers the carrier to be compliant with Solvency II, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Just after the global financial crisis had done its worst, and ahead of the 2010 UK elections, a former senior Conservative Party politician came to speak at one of our executive briefing events. One of his insights was particularly penetrating and counterintuitive.

American International Group (AIG) is lining up a number of quota share placements including a financial institutions (FI) cover, following on from its US casualty reinsurance deal with Swiss Re, The Insurance Insider can reveal.