May 2013/3

Chinese carriers are taking significant participations on large US and global property programmes as they look to diversify exposures and grow their premium bases

Weekly share price movements and key data on The Insurance Insider's universe of P&C (re)insurers and brokers

A Florida district court has refused to throw out a class action suit against QBE and Bank of America that accused the pair of colluding in force-placed insurance deals.  

US insurance lawyer Chip Birthisel has urged (re)insurers to opt for federal courts over state courts to limit the risk of anti-insurer bias from elected judges.

A New York district judge has dismissed a private Libor suit against UK-headquartered Barclays bank, saying that many of the plaintiffs' claims were "non-actionable puffery".

A bill to revive the financially infirm Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (Twia) has ground to a halt in part because its sponsor did not seek to build a consensus, a lawyer close to the legislative process said.

The new CEO of UK trade body the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) last week vowed to have the "courage to stand up and speak out" against regulatory excess.

Berkshire Hathaway has had its counterparty credit rating downgraded by Standard & Poor's (S&P) from AA+ to AA with a negative outlook on all the group's ratings - including financial strength - partly due to capital adequacy questions.

Traditional (re)insurers that describe the emergence of capital markets-backed alternative capacity as unsustainable may be in denial, Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA) wrote in a review of first quarter results from the ILS market.

The fourth Florida-specific cat bond of 2013 is now marketing to investors through a new private deal, The Insurance Insider can reveal...

Earlier this year Trading Risk reported that start-up fund manager Stone Ridge had successfully raised $350mn for two new ILS funds, while fixed-income specialist Pine River had hired convergence market executive Al Selius to oversee investment of up to 5 percent of two of its flagship funds to the ILS sector.

Generalist investors - such as pension funds and other mainstream fund managers - are continuing to lift their share of new cat bond issuance in 2013, according to updated statistics obtained by sister publication Trading Risk.

The global P&C market will expand by 50 percent to EUR1.85tn over the next eight years, fuelled by rampant economic expansion and the growth of the middle classes in emerging economies, according to the industry's largest reinsurer.

Amlin grew its top line by 7 percent during the first four months of the year, falling short of the 11-12 percent growth reported by its fellow quoted peers Beazley, Catlin and Hiscox, all of which based their interim reports on the first quarter alone.

Bermuda-headquartered White Mountains is the latest (re)insurer to enter the convergence arena by unveiling a new capital markets division through its reinsurance arm Sirius International.

Marsh called a London market meeting last week to discuss the Rio Tinto mine collapse in April, which is now expected to lead to a near $1bn loss for mining insurers to make it the worst-ever hit to the market.

The tornado season has been unusually quiet this year but that will provide little comfort to millions of Americans who were affected by a brutal storm system that stretched across Texas and the Midwestern states last weekend.

The UK P&I club is on risk for the cost of the Jolly Nero container ship crash in the Italian port of Genoa, The Insurance Insider has learned.

ANV has struck a deal to sell a book of former Flagstone Re business written out of New York to Tower Group, The Insurance Insider understands.

Up to four parties remain in due diligence with the specialty insurer Torus ahead of the 31 May deadline for final bids, The Insurance Insider understands.

Although the presence of additional capacity on large property placements will inevitably add a competitive dynamic for existing property underwriters, Chinese entrants are not bringing ill-discipline to the sector, according to Marsh's US property practice leader Duncan Ellis.

Chinese carriers are taking significant participations on large US and global property programmes as they look to diversify exposures and grow their premium bases.

Lloyd's is planning to boost its Lloyd's China outpost by expanding its Beijing back office into a full underwriting platform.

The near-legendary QBE Syndicate 386 has again surged ahead on forecast profit margins, revealing an expected average profit of just over £95mn for the 2011 year of account (YoA).

Newly acquired UK motor insurer Equity will make around 200 members of its workforce redundant as it seeks to rein in the expense base that helped cripple the business.

Fast-growing Californian broker Edgewood Partners Insurance Center (Epic) has lured senior property executive Jonathan Griffiths from Aon to head up its national real estate practice, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA) has expanded into Asia with the hire of Michael Guo as managing director and head of Asia.

Private equity-backed Lloyd's (re)insurer Canopius has hired the casualty treaty underwriter from Liberty Mutual's Lloyd's syndicate, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Gallagher International has provided another sign of its intentions to build in Latin America by hiring Aon Benfield's former head of Chilean operations Lionel Soffia, The Insurance Insider reported last week.

Dull blue chips will be the least bad option for investors looking for shelter in the continuing low-yield, low-return global investment environment, London market industry leaders heard last week.

Endurance expands; Texan tornados; Sirius launch; Currie departs; Flood extended

The high sophistication and targeted nature of West African piracy is the most serious immediate threat to marine insurers, an audience of senior claims professionals heard last week.

Hiscox and Aon are in advanced talks about the creation of a property facility that would generate an estimated $15mn-$20mn for the London-listed carrier, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Lloyd's performance management director Tom Bolt has warned Lloyd's insurer CEOs and senior executives of the compliance requirements they will be placed under if they enter into arrangements that ape the controversial Aon-Berkshire Hathaway "sidecar" deal.

He may be an American citizen, but Tom Bolt has certainly mastered the ancient British art of understatement

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has bound its first P&C risks as it fulfills expectations of starting to underwrite inside its first month, The Insurance Insider can reveal.