May 2009/3

XL boosts aviation team with Catlin hires; Arch CEO Iordanou takes on chairman role; Allianz Global in UK PI push; XL Insurance energy promotion; Cooper Gay bolsters EE energy business

The joint venture that acts as the clearing house for the London market, Xchanging Ins-sure Services (XIS), has appointed Richard Bucknall to succeed its current chairman, Sir Laurie Magnus.

Legacy UK (re)insurer Scottish Lion has applied to the Scottish Court of Session to sanction its proposed solvent scheme of arrangement after receiving "overwhelming support" from its creditors for the proposal...

UK insurer RSA has raised £500mn of subordinated debt to bolster its financial flexibility ahead of any call on its existing EUR500mn subordinated guaranteed bonds.

Troubled US insurer The Hartford Financial Serviced Group has been given a much needed fillip with preliminary approval for a $3.4bn participation in the US Treasury's Capital Purchase Program (CPP).

Great American Insurance has asked for a judge to decide the outcome of a $15mn claim from a directors' and officers' (D&O) insurance policy that relates to an ongoing dispute with American International Group...

Newly founded Zurich-based Perils AG estimates the property insurance market loss for windstorm Klaus at EUR1.55bn.

With investor calls for peril diversification in insurance-linked securities (ILS), Munich Re's EUR100mn European windstorm and Turkish earthquake cat bond - Ianus - will be seen as a welcome move.

Paris Re has given a cautious welcome to price hardening in some of its core short-tail lines of business, but has again struck a notably less excitable tone than many in its global P&C (re)insurance peer group...

Insurance giant Allianz saw its net income for the first quarter of 2009 drop by EUR1.12bn to EUR29mn compared to Q1 2008, as write-downs almost doubled to EUR708mn and its property and casualty (P&C) business produced sluggish figures.

Lancashire Holdings saw its first quarter revenues fall sharply as it said it was holding back capacity to take advantage of "improving opportunities".

Dermot O'Donohoe is set to join Torus on 1 September after resigning as chief underwriting officer of XL Insurance’s global specialty operations and CEO of its London market operations, The Insurance Insider can reveal.