May 2005/3

In the week that MMC had to reveal a 70 percent cut in first quarter earnings, more bad news arrived in the form of a legal action against the broker from Fortune Brands - the former Marsh client who was an apparent victim of bid-rigging.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), the parent of world's largest broker Marsh, reported first quarter net income of $134mn, or $0.25 a share, well down on the $446mn or $0.83 a share booked in the first three months of 2004.

Privately owned Lloyd's broker FirstCity Partnership has parted company with senior executive Roddy Graham only days after promoting Stephen Burnhope to the head of its financial institutions and professional lines, The Insurance Insider understands.

The fall out from the $500mn transaction between AIG and Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary General Re (Gen Re) that brought down Greenberg continues, with reports in the Wall Street Journal that the US Securities and Exchange Commission...

World's biggest reinsurer Munich Re says it's on track to meet its 2005 earnings target after reporting a strong set of first quarter results, with after tax profits of EUR688mn up 26.7 percent on the first three months of 2004.

CNA, the seventh biggest commercial insurer in the States, reversed its $124mn first quarter 2004 net loss into a $178mn profit this time around, and revealed it would restate results for the last three years after reviewing its relationship with...

Lloyd's insurer Heritage Underwriting Agency Ltd has urged its shareholders to reject an offer for 7.4 percent of the company's stock because it undervalues the company.

In our regular monthly News Digest, we round up key stories from the last month, presenting them to you in easily digestable snippets.

Start-up broker Integro Ltd will pursue a policy of strictly limited acquisition as it attempts to crack the hegemony enjoyed by Marsh and Aon in the US commercial risks market, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

The run-off managers of defunct Lloyd's insurer GoshawK are appealing a controversial Court decision which allowed brokers Tyser & Co to avoid handing over claims files that led to severe underwriting losses.

Lloyd's CEO Nick Prettejohn has called on London Market brokers and underwriters to voluntarily embrace contract certainty initiatives ahead of the FSA's 2006 deadline.

Run-off reinsurer CX Reinsurance Company Ltd saw its surplus fall by a third last year as losses from its US professional liability exposures continued to hit the company hard.