May 2005/6

The head of Xchanging’s London market sector Clive Buesnel is to pioneer the rollout of the outsourcing firm in the US, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Embattled insurance giant American International Group moved a step closer to settling with US regulators over allegations of fraudulent business practices with the filing of a civil lawsuit against the firm and its former management duo Hank Greenberg...

After multiple delays, under-fire insurer AIG has announced today that it has finally filed its 2004 Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The insurance giant, which was forced to restate its accounts in the wake of the SEC...

Syndicate 33, the Lloyd’s operation managed by Hiscox, today reported unchanged forecasts for the 2003 and 2004 years account. For the 2003 year, the insurer projects a 12.5 to 17.5 percent profit on the Syndicate’s £842mn, 65 percent of which it owns.

Ambitious Lloyd’s listed insurer Chaucer Holdings said it plans to double its current underwriting capacity by the time the next sector cycle peaks, as it reported a positive start to the year in its latest trading statement, released to the London Stock

Matthew Fosh, the chief executive of Lloyd’s insurer SVB Holdings plc, described his company’s first quarter syndicate forecasts as “pleasingly uneventful” last week. The insurer – which continues to battle against a legacy of US professional indemnity

As predicted in the May edition of The Insurance Insider, UK broker Heath Lambert Group has undergone another capital restructuring less than two years after a debt-for-equity swap with its bankers.

Kinnect, the Lloyd’s-backed electronic data transfer initiative, has confirmed that it is recoding its platform for future releases. Speaking to Insider Week, Iain Saville, chairman of Kinnect, said the re-coding aimed to improve the functionality...

The president and chief operating officer of US broker Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co. (HRH) resigned last week (26 May) after evidence was uncovered of his involvement in illegal payments in exchange for steering accounts to insurers.

Declining P&C insurance rates, the weak dollar and the impact of Spitzer were all blamed by South African financial services firm Alexander Forbes for a 5 percent decline in revenues in its international risk services unit.

Reinsurer Hannover Re confirmed last week that it had successfully completed its EUR500mn hybrid capital bond via its subsidiary Hannover Finance (Luxembourg) SA.

French reinsurer SCOR today (31 May) revealed a disappointing set of first quarter results, as the repercussions of the crisis it slipped into during the latter half of 2003 continued to dog its recovery.