May 2006/1

London market IT provider Room Solutions has been bought out by the Indian headquartered company NIIT Technologies Limited (NIIT). In an announcement today (8 May), the company said NIIT has taken a majority shareholding in the company "with a view...

Troubled reinsurer PXRE has been hit by a brace of shareholder suits in New York alleging that the company misled investors by hiding the full impact of last autumn’s hurricanes in its initial loss estimates.

The positive first quarter for Bermudian reinsurers continued when RenaissanceRe posted a record net operating income of $195.7mn, or $2.73 per share, up from $54.5mn, or $0.76 per share last year.

Willis Group Holdings Ltd reported yesterday (3 May) net income of $140mn, or $0.89 per share, for the first quarter of 2006, more than double the $67mn, or $0.41 per share, recorded in the prior year period.

MMC chief executive Michael Cherkasky pointed to the green shoots of recovery in his company’s first quarter results today (3 May), but it was also apparent that the global brokers are still operating in a brutally tough trading environment.

Lloyd’s insurer Heritage Underwriting Agency plc has announced plans to form a new syndicate together with a listing on the Alternative Investment Market, The Insurance Insider can reveal. The new syndicate – which will write alongside the insurer’s...

The number of private securities litigation cases filed in the US fell to its lowest in almost a decade during 2005. However, the value of settlements more than doubled, according to a report by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

London based broker Howden Group has appointed the former Aon Ltd operations director Neil Bullivant as its new operations manager.

US insurer WR Berkley reported a 34 percent rise in its first quarter net income from $121mn last year to $162mn in 2006. Net income was $0.84 per basic share and $0.80 per diluted share, up from $0.64 and $0.64 respectively for the same period in...

Swiss reinsurer Converium received another boost when rating agency Moody's upgraded the outlook on its Baa1 insurance financial strength rating ratings from negative to stable. Moody's said: "Converium reported net income of US$68.7mn in...

Lloyd's insurer Atrium Underwriting plc announced pre-tax profits of £10mn for last year, 68 percent down on 2004's record return of £31.6mn. The company suffered from £26mn in net losses from last year's hurricanes, which also added 22 points to its..

Bermudian (re)insurer Aspen reported a 13.4 drop in its first quarter post-tax net income after reducing its catastrophe exposures. Post-tax net income was $61.8mn for the quarter, down from $70.1mn in the same period last year.