May 2004/5

Ratings agency Moody’s has withdrawn its rating on the American arm of bankrupt Bermudian reinsurer Trenwick.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

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

Royal & Sun Alliance’s (R&SA) proposal to change terms and conditions on a EUR500mn bond to keep it in line with qualification requirements for regulatory capital with a group solvency test will not affect the rating of the debt, said Standard & Poor’s in

Broking giant Marsh has announced its first large-scale foray since 1998 with the $1.9bn acquisition of corporate security firm Kroll.

Lloyd’s insurer Kiln has acquired a 25 percent stake in South Africa’s International Marine Insurance Managers (International Marine).

The chief financial officer of Swiss Re’s Americas division is taking a US strip club to court alleging it overcharged him for a night on the town.

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).

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.

Strong first quarter results at US reinsurer Odyssey Re prompted Moody’s to place its Baa1 insurance financial strength ratings on review for possible upgrade.

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.

Outsourcing outfit Capital Group announced last week that it had tied up a deal with Winterthur Life UK which positions it as the number one business process outsourcing (BPO) operator in the open book life and pensions market.

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

Hugh Stevenson, the chairman of the Lloyd’s run-off vehicle Equitas, is set to join the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a non-executive director.

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.

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