May 2010/4

WR Berkley to build Lloyd's marine book with Talbot hire

Reinsurance broker BMS has taken advantage of the fallout from Marsh's acquisition of HSBC Insurance Brokers (HIBL) by setting up a specie division.

Marsh's wholesale division, Bowring Marsh, has opened an office in Tokyo as part of its plans to expand in Asia in 2010.

Trade credit specialist Coface looks to have recovered in the first quarter, as its insurance segment produced a net profit for the first time since the onset of the global recession.

American International Group (AIG) has announced that Henri Courpron will serve as the fourth CEO within the last six months of its embattled aircraft leasing business.

Fairfax Holdings CEO Prem Watsa, who accumulated over $2bn betting against credit default swaps (CDS) at the height of the financial crisis, has started investing in US commercial real estate.

The Conservative Party has abandoned plans to abolish UK regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a concession to its coalition partners the Liberal Democrats.

The fine art insurance market has been spared a potential EUR100mn mega-loss after the audacious theft of five masterpieces from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris on 19 May.

The German financial regulator has banned naked short selling of stocks in key financial services companies including Munich Re and Hannover Re, as concerns rise over the stability of the Eurozone.

The European Union has expressed strong opposition to "anti-competitive" Washington tax proposals, which it says could result in non-domestic operators withdrawing from the US reinsurance market.

Hampden Underwriting swung to a pre-tax profit of £985,000 in 2009 from a loss of £85,000 a year earlier, as it shrugged off start-up costs and began to enjoy positive cash flow from its acquisition of 2006 and 2007 year underwriting capacity.

Lloyd's insurer Chaucer has forecast a "significant increase" in offshore energy rates and flagged up hardening conditions in aviation and catastrophe-exposed property markets.