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May 2011/3

  • The eternal debate between the scientific and the more humanist market worldviews was thrown into relief last week at our flagship InsiderScope conference in New York
  • Expansive run-off acquirer and manager Catalina Holdings has confirmed its acquisition of Swiss-based run-off reinsurer Glacier Reinsurance AG.
  • The long-running dispute between Goldman Sachs-backed Enstar and London-based Randall & Quilter (R&Q) finally ended last week.
  • The American Insurance Association (AIA) says it is critical that reform legislation on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is passed, given the current flooding along the Mississippi river.
  • Solvency II (SII) regulations could have a negative impact on the demand for corporate debt, according to a survey conducted by ratings agency Fitch.
  • Captive insurers should start preparing for the worst-case scenario from the introduction of Solvency II and begin working to mitigate its likely effects, ratings agency AM Best has said.
  • Florida's insurance bill is facing an 11th hour lobbying attempt to derail it before Governor Rick Scott signs it into law.
  • US P&C insurers will find out this summer whether their fight to avoid additional regulation for companies deemed to be systemically risky financial institutions has been successful.
  • The US Treasury has announced the creation of a Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI) as part of its post-financial crisis regulatory overhaul.
  • Stalwart cat bond sponsor USAA has launched its latest Residential Re offering, seeking $200mn across three tranches of risk with two per-event and one aggregate.
  • If tornado losses continue to stack up the ratings on two cat bonds could be affected, Standard & Poor's (S&P) has warned.
  • The Johnston Re offer from the North Carolina wind pools was slightly upsized when it closed, Trading Risk understands.
  • After a month of extreme tornado activity the US, cat-watch focus is now on flooding, as the Mississippi River rose near record levels set during the 1927 and 1937 floods.
  • Modelling firm Eqecat says loss amplification from the Fukushima nuclear incident is the highest single contributor to its upgraded loss forecast for the Japanese earthquake.
  • Sagicor falls to Q1 loss on Lloyd's cats; Allianz fails to shine; RSA posts Q1 growth
  • Lloyd's stalwarts Amlin and Catlin surprised investors last week with interim management statements highlighting fast growth from their newly formed Swiss reinsurance operations.
  • Japan loss estimates are likely to rise significantly in the coming weeks and months as Zenkyoren's loss notification makes itself felt, according to Stifel Nicolaus.
  • The cost of insuring debt on leading reinsurers has begun to taper off after a small spike that followed the Japanese earthquake.
  • A trio of US equities analysts has endorsed the now near unanimous view that reinsurers are achieving some rate increases, but were sceptical about the breadth and the length of this hard market.
  • The cycle has reached a point where reserve releases are no longer masking poor underwriting results stemming from declining rates and rising claims, according to Stifel Nicolaus analysts.
  • Arthur J Gallagher International has closed its long-running takeover of UK broker Heath Lambert, a move which will catapult the group into the top ten UK insurance brokers by revenue, leapfrogging fellow London-based peer Lockton.
  • Aon founder Pat Ryan is sanguine about being treated differently by Lloyd's as he is poised to become the first broker to own a syndicate in almost 30 years.
  • Despite the flurry of international and US catastrophe losses the industry is still awash with excess capital and those anticipating an imminent turn could be in for a long wait.
  • Florida property catastrophe reinsurance rates are expected to increase by 10 to 15 percent at mid-year renewal, according to TigerRisk CEO Rod Fox.
  • The debate over the impact record Q1 catastrophes and model changes are having on the reinsurance market took centre stage in New York last week.
  • Management reshuffle as Paraline looks to grow platform; Cooper Gay UK merges energy and non-marine leadership; AHJ boss Price relinquishes CEO role; BP doubles captive loss limit after $590mn Deepwater hit
  • If The Hanover's bid to take over Lloyd's insurer Chaucer plc is successful, shareholders in the UK-listed firm will receive their cheques on or around 15 July.
  • Lloyd's $3.8bn of catastrophe losses from Japan, New Zealand and Australia exceed its estimated 2010 premium base for those three countries by $1.6bn, analysis from The Insurance Insider shows.
  • Investors have already given indications of interest for around half of the trimmed down $9bn AIG share offering by the company and the US Treasury, according to reports.
  • US wholesale broker CRC has claimed that RT Specialty's mass hire in 2010 cost the company around $575mn in annually placed business, according to court documents.
  • AM Best has thrown its weight behind the growing mass of opinion that US reinsurance rates will harden at the 1 July renewals, leaving Aon Benfield as almost the lone dissenting voice.
  • WR Berkley Corp has announced the launch of a London market reinsurer that will begin underwriting in the fourth quarter of 2011.
  • French mutual insurance group Groupama's insurer financial strength rating has been downgraded from A- to BBB+ by Standard & Poor's (S&P) because of its "material exposure to Greek government bonds".
  • Citizens Property Insurance Corporation's return to the private reinsurance market after a two-year hiatus to purchase up to $580mn of cover has raised hopes that Florida's state-backed insurer will become a consistent buyer of the product.
  • The portion of the New Zealand Earthquake Commission (EQC)'s reinsurance programme that renews at 1 June will see a 130 percent premium increase, market sources explained to The Insurance Insider last week.
  • Bermudian reinsurer White Mountains looks set to end its lengthy wait to enter the Lloyd's market with a syndicate primed for a 1 July start, The Insurance Insider can reveal.