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...

Ratings agency Fitch announced on 25 April that it had begun operating from its new office in Dubai. Stephen de Stadler, Fitch's head of Business Development for the Middle East, said: "Fitch Ratings recognises that the economic growth currently...

Insurance broker Marsh Inc has announced the appointment of Stanislas Chapron as chief executive officer of Marsh France, following the retirement of Jean-Yves Durance.

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...

Bermuda-based (re)insurer White Mountains Insurance Group reported a strong first quarter adjusted comprehensive net income of $117mn compared with $75mn for the first quarter of last year. The result benefited from a $21mn gain due to a foreign...

Bermudian reinsurer Montpelier Re reported a 34.7 percent rise in its first quarter net income, $48.5mn, or $0.54 per share, compared with $36mn, or $0.54 per share, for the same quarter last year. Net income excluding net realised and unrealised...

Bermudian reinsurance ACE limited has announced a record net income of $489mn for the first quarter of 2006 despite an $80mn charge to cover an imminent settlement with regulators. Post-tax the charge wiped $66mn from ACE's net income, which rose 12...

GoshawK Insurance Holdings plc, the UK parent of failed Bermudian reinsurer Rosemont Re, has had its shares suspended with immediate effect today (2 May).

UK regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Lloyd's broker Besso £20,000 for failure to apply for approval of a member of its management who had previous fraud convictions and is alleged to have gone on to commit fraud whilst at the...

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

Platinum Underwriting reported a 41 percent fall, to $293.3mn, in its net written premiums for the first quarter of 2006. Net premiums also fell, by 16.2 percent for the quarter, to $344.3mn. Net income was up from $73mn for the first quarter...

Bermudian (re)insurer Arch Capital Group reported first quarter net income of $129.6mn - up from the $115.9mn earned in the corresponding period of 2005. Operating income rose more significantly, from $111.9mn in the first quarter of...

Bermudian giant XL Capital reported record first quarter income of $405.5mn, or $2.26 per ordinary share, last Tuesday (25 March). The company's combined ratio was 89.6 percent.

It is the last chance to join The Insurance Insider, and our illustrious panels of senior reinsurance executives, at two free-to-attend Post-Katrina briefing events in London later this week.

Willis Group Holdings has parted company with Arlene Corsetti - only a year and a half after trumpeting her defection from rival broker Marsh Inc. Corsetti, the former managing director of Marsh's midwest operations, was one of the first high...

All eyes will be on the global brokers' first quarter results later this week as concerns grow that Marsh Inc's brokerage revenues may have fallen for yet another quarter. The world's largest broker saw its revenues decline in all four quarters...

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).

Aon Corp's former US wholesale arm Swett & Crawford Group has promoted its chief operating officer to succeed David Hartoch as group chief executive.