May 2004/5

In contrast to barnstorming Q1 results for US and Bermudian (re)insurers, European carriers enjoy a mixed first quarter with some showing a more subdued uplift from hard market conditions.

Ratings agency Moody’s has withdrawn its rating on the American arm of bankrupt Bermudian reinsurer Trenwick.

State-backed French reinsurer Caisse Centrale de Reassurance (CCR) had its AM Best rating upgraded last week from A (Excellent) to A+ (Superior) with a stable outlook.

Despite the risks of criminal proceedings, over 717,000,or 58 percent, of UK businesses have failed to carry out an asbestos assessment on their business premises, according to research commissioned by law firm Davies Arnold Cooper (DAC).

Lloyd’s has set out the cost of setting up and running its electronic risk placing system, Kinnect.

Justin Tweedie, the former underwriter of Heritage Syndicate 1245, has joined the fast expanding Primary Group to help develop its US insurance arm.

Swiss reinsurer Converium is set to replace its expiring catastrophe bond Trinom next month with Helix, a new $100mn product that will provide broader coverage than the three-year Trinom bond.

Organisations have never faced a greater threat to their financial health from environmental risks and toxic tort liabilities, the latest market commentary from brokers Willis concludes.

In contrast to Insider Week’s sister publication The Insurance Insider, analysts at US investment house Prudential Equity believe that the global brokers have only a marginal reliance on so-called Placement Service Agreements for their revenue.

Corporation aims to operate at break-even; Markel named and shamed Lloyd’s has revealed the full cost of a first successful year for its Franchise Performance Directorate in its Corporation of Lloyd’s Annual Report 2003, published last Thursday (20 Ma

The fronting insurer of Spanish football club Atletico Madrid failed in its attempts to overturn a decision in the UK Courts which allowed London market contingency underwriters to void coverage relating to the side’s relegation in 2000.

World’s largest insurer AIG announced last Wednesday (19 May) that it had raised its quarterly dividend by 15 percent from 6.5 to 7.5 cents a share, the third increase in the last year.