May 2008/2

The UK Treasury is under renewed pressure to create a more favourable tax regime for businesses or face an exodus of corporations to overseas domiciles.

Profits at specialty insurance group Markel Corporation shrank by 66 percent after the firm was hit by a $56.3mn loss in its investment portfolio.

Allied World Assurance Company Holdings Ltd (AWAC) said underwriting discipline helped net income grow by $17mn in the first quarter of 2008, compared to the prior-year period.

Bermudian sidecar-style reinsurer Castlepoint Holdings Ltd continued to grow both its top and bottom line in the first quarter.

Standard & Poor's (S&P) has improved the outlook on Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd (MRH) and its core operating subsidiary Montpelier Reinsurance Ltd (MRE) from negative to stable citing "meaningful" improvements in enterprise risk management (ERM).

Rating agency AM Best has downgraded Lehman Brothers subsidiary Lehman Re because it has been under-utilised.

Embattled bond insurer FGIC Corp said it has received a "significant number of indications of interest" since revealing that it was looking for a fresh capital injection.

The continuing saga of QBE Insurance's merger approaches to Insurance Australia Group (IAG) is beginning to take on the appearance of an Australian soap opera as twists and plot developments play out through the Australian Stock Exchange.

French reinsurer SCOR saw Q1 profits rise by almost two-thirds to EUR124mn, compared to the prior-year period, after solid growth in Asia and the US.

Allianz Group's first quarter results have been hit by a EUR845mn writedown at subsidiary Dresdner Bank following "difficult market conditions".

Italian financial services firm Generali Group’s interest in purchasing the UK’s second largest non-life insurer, RBS Insurance (RBSI), would be a “very significant financial stretch”, warned a leading insurance analyst.

Despite a slower than expected start to insurance linked securities (ILS) issuance in 2008, the pipeline of cat bond deals is again filling up, with a renewal of a Japanese quake bond expected to close shortly.

The European Commission (EC) has finally given public backing to the industry's response to concerns surrounding co-insurance, or subscription, market practices.

The chairman of "Class of 2005" firm Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings said its nimble stature was key to its ability to ride through the softer market conditions.

Shares in Highway Insurance Holdings plc nosedived after the UK motor specialist offered a bleak update on the sector leading to fears its dividend might be cut.

First quarter profits fell at US insurer HCC Insurance Holdings Inc following losses in its investment portfolio.

Monoline bond insurers Security Capital Assurance (SCA) and Assured Guaranty Ltd (AGL) both reported further losses in the first quarter of 2008.

Berkshire Hathaway revealed first quarter net profits dropped by around 64 percent to $940mn from $2.6bn in the prior-year period.

French insurance giant AXA said its property and casualty revenues grew by 2 percent in the first quarter of 2008 to EU8.89bn compared to the prior-year period.

Trading risk platform Insurance Futures Exchange Services (IFEX) is to facilitate margin trading during the North Atlantic wind season - in a move that may encourage greater activity on the derivative exchange.

Signs of recovery in the hard-pressed airline market are continuing with a 16 percent increase in April's hull and liability premium, according to Aon Aviation's latest report into the sector.

Swiss Re shares fell more than 5 percent last week after the reinsurance giant continued to disappoint analysts with further structured credit losses that halved Q1 profits.

Pressure is mounting on American International Group (AIG) CEO Martin Sullivan as the crisis at the US giant deepened after a second consecutive record quarterly loss.

UK listed broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) has strengthened its reinsurance operations with a slew of appointments from rival firms.

Aon Corp has expanded its presence in the Latin American market after snapping up Peruvian reinsurance intermediary, Cosegur Re.

Max Capital Group Ltd revealed net income slumped $72.3mn compared to the prior-year period, which has been attributed to losses on investments.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) slipped to a $210mn first quarter net loss as a result of a $425mn goodwill writedown at its security consulting arm Kroll.

Monoline bond insurer MBIA Inc is suing two insurers over a $75mn settlement it made with US regulators last year.

As RSA announced a 15 percent rise in group net written premiums to £1.7bn in the first quarter of 2008, compared to the prior-year period, one analyst believes it is "likely" the group will be broken up.

The introduction of the Solvency II regulatory system in 2012 will be far more significant to European insurers than sub-prime losses and the credit crunch, according to a report by ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P).

Three companies have joined together to launch ACR ReTakaful Holdings Ltd, the largest retakaful company in the reinsurance industry with a capital base of almost $300mn.

Bermuda-headquartered Lloyd's insurer Hiscox Ltd has dropped its premium income by 10 percent this year as it sticks to its guns about underwriting discipline in the soft market.

Munich Re's first quarter profits dipped 19 percent as it took a EUR578mn hit in its reinsurance division from the spate of major losses hitting the market in the period.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is to begin distributing over $800mn to American International Group (AIG) shareholders as part of the giant's settlement with regulators.

Willis has launched a new Malta-based captive management operation, Willis Management (Malta) Ltd.

The US Senate has rejected moves to add wind coverage to the federal programme that provides flood insurance.