May 2007/3

Russian insurance, investment and leasing group Oslo Marine Group Ltd (OMG) has established a London representative office headed by ex-Novae and CLM Insurance Fund plc executive, Keith Parker.

In an era of increased globalisation, "understanding and preparing for political violence has arguably never been more important for business", according to Lloyd's chairman Lord Levene, at the launch of a new report on terrorism.

HCC Insurance Holdings bucked the trend set by a number of its peers, as it announced last week record first quarter earnings and revenues up 28 percent.

US giant American International Group (AIG) reported strong first quarter results on the back of a 31.5 percent increase in operating profits at its general insurance business.

French insurance giant AXA announced first quarter revenues up 34 percent, driven mainly by the Winterthur acquisition, sealed in January this year.

Talbot is expected to announce within days that it has found a buyer in Bermudian (re)insurer Validus Holdings Ltd (Validus). The Insurance Insider revealed in its May issue that Validus has emerged as the front-runner to buy the Lloyd’s managing agency.

The impact of recent changes to the Florida Hurricane Cat Fund (FHCF) will be less than originally anticipated, according to Geoffrey Bromley, non-Americas chairman of reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter.

RenaissanceRe is set to launch a second Starbound Florida-dedicated sidecar as evidence emerges that the impact of the state’s hurricane catastrophe fund expansion earlier this year may be less severe than first feared.

As SCOR found out recently, there are times when shareholders need an extra incentive before they will support take-out offers – and this is looking increasingly the case with the defunct reinsurer Alea Group Holdings.

Allstate Insurance Co announced that it would not be writing any new homeowners policies in the state of California from 1 July.

Maintaining underwriting discipline and good cycle management will be key as falling aviation rates send the market towards the "burning cost" for airline business, according to Lloyd’s Annual Report 2006.

Provisional liquidator Grant Thornton has confirmed the initial dividend payment under its proposed UIC Insurance Company Limited scheme of arrangement has been set at 100 percent.