May 2012/3

London-listed insurer Aviva's share price fell 4.7 percent to 267.7p on 17 May, after a tumultuous day in which its proposed strategic review and interim management statement were poorly received by the market.

Tawa asset sale heads to formal process; ARC rebrands

More than 20 companies have expressed an interest in purchasing a portfolio of run-off Greek motor insurance, highlighting the strong competition for legacy assets that still exists in the London market, according to sources.

Solvency II reporting regulations under Pillar III are a low priority, with 84 percent of European insurers still not having implemented a reporting framework and complementary systems, according to a recent study.

Eiopa has warned that confidentiality conditions on third-party internal models will not justify an insurer refusing to show that a model fulfils all Solvency II requirements.

A US Senator has said yet another short-term extension of the National Flood Insurance Programme (NFIP) looks likely as US lawmakers will not make the 31 May deadline for acting on a long-term bill. 


Gabriel Bernardino, head of the European insurance watchdog Eiopa, has added his voice to calls for more regulation of loss adjusters and said the profession is likely to be "further recognised" at EU-level in the near future.

Chartis Insurance UK has been ordered to pay out over £4mn including legal fees to a group of UK insurers following a legal battle over property insurance claims from the developers of a waste recycling plant, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Allstate Insurance Company has filed a $30mn insurance fraud lawsuit against 52 New York doctors, attorneys and medical clinics alleging their involvement in a fraud scheme using the state's "no-fault" auto insurance laws.

Former American International Group (AIG) chairman and CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg lost an appeal to dismiss a state fraud lawsuit against him and former AIG CFO Howard Smith over two suspect reinsurance transactions.

Travelers is seeking to raise $150mn from a new issuance of its Longpoint Re cat bond series in its first ever indemnity deal with the capital markets, sister title Trading Risk understands.

With non-traditional reinsurers established as a key provider of US cat capacity, buyers have nevertheless been urged to be cautious over the collateralised writers they select as a counterparty.

ILS fund manager Nephila Capital has bulked up its assets under management (AuM) by more than $1bn over the past year, shoring up its position at the top of the industry leaderboard.

Chris McKeown, the former head of New Castle and CIG Re, is returning to the convergence market as CEO at Bermudian fund manager Juniperus.

Munich Re said it plans to deploy similar capacity in the upcoming US hurricane renewals as it has in past years after cutting back its property cat writing earlier this year.

The top-listed Lloyd's insurers revealed generally upbeat commentary on the January and April renewals in their first quarter interim management statements, but also revealed a noticeable divide on rate prospects.

Benjamin Franklin once said that out of adversity comes opportunity and so it appears for our (re)insurance universe, with significant top-line growth coming after a tumultuous and catastrophe-ridden 2011.

The trend for insurers forging exclusive relationships with brokers limits distribution and ultimately impairs risk selection, according to Ironshore CEO Kevin Kelley.

Requiring other jurisdictions to seek regulatory equivalence to the incoming Solvency II regime was dismissed as an example of European arrogance during InsiderScope New York's regulation panel.

The potentially thorny subject of the 2011 tussle for Transatlantic Re surfaced at the M&A panel at the InsiderScope New York conference last week as three of the rival bidders appeared on the same platform in public.

Not all investors are enthused by the prospect of high returns on offer from hedge fund style reinsurer start-ups despite the recent emergence of the likes of Third Point Re and PaCRe.

Key quotes from our InsiderScope New York event…

The valuation of brokers and other (re)insurance service providers has climbed to highs not seen since the 2008-09 banking crisis, fuelled by private equity (PE) interest and a ready supply of leveraged finance in the US.

Commercial P&C prices in the US were up 4.4 percent on average in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the prior-year period, according to The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB).

Colemont Global's Lloyd's arm, Colemont Insurance Brokers Limited (CIBL), saw revenues decline by 27 percent in 2011 as the loss of its aviation team deprived it of its biggest revenue stream.

US M&A activity continues to be beset by litigation, although early 2012 activity is running slightly behind trend, a report from Cornerstone Research and Professor Robert Daines of the Stanford Law School shows.

In the eight years of account from 2002 to 2009 the average Lloyd's Name enjoyed a five-fold increase in the total value of their investment, data from the Association of Lloyd's Members (ALM) shows.

Lloyd's received its first long-term strategic plan last week as chairman John Nelson revealed a growth plan predicated on the London market tapping into emerging market expansion.

Omega chairman John Coldman safely negotiated a vote on his re-election with only a small minority of voting shareholders in opposition, despite the company's well-documented travails.

Flagstone Re's board will pass another key milestone in the company's history when it considers the long-term ownership ahead of the group AGM on Friday (18 May), with pressure for an announcement growing.

Liability claims from the loss of a prototype Russian aircraft on a demonstration flight could be covered in the Russian market, but reinsurance protection remains uncertain, The Insurance Insider has learned.

Property insurers for major automobile manufacturers are on standby for contingent business interruption (CBI) claims after a fatal fire halted production at a key plastics supplier earlier this year.

Tornado losses have reached $3.48bn for the 2012 season to date, including one $1bn+ event.

Many reinsurers are still talking up the mid-year US property cat market and insist that the 10-15 percent rate increases seen at 1 January can be replicated, but the first cracks in the façade of market confidence have become apparent.

Guy Carpenter will host a gala night in London on 14 June for up to 1,000 young professionals and industry CEOs operating in the global P&C (re)insurance markets.

MMC's reinsurance broking arm Guy Carpenter has reshuffled its senior management with the appointment of Andrew Marcell as CEO of its US operations and Pete Chandler as the platform's chief operating officer.