November 2003/1

Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA) disappointed in November with a set of results that showed earnings at the lower end of expectations for the first nine months of 2003. The UK's second largest insurer, which announced a £960mn rights issue in September, also

CNA's $1.5bn reserve boost Insurer CNA announced a massive $1.5bn post-tax reserve boost in its third quarter results on 12 November. The increase in reserves pushed the company into the red, with third quarter losses of $1.76bn, or $7.94 a share, c

ACE shows solid performance Bermudian giant ACE announced a solid set of third quarter results, returning earnings per share (EPS) of $1.04, almost double the same period last year and topping analysts' projections by 2 cents. Income of $304mn was g

Munich Re misses analyst expectations by EUR277mn Munich Re missed analysts' expectations by a significant margin in its third quarter results for 2003. The world's largest reinsurer said on 25 November that it had made Q3 net profit of EUR152mn - w

St Paul takes strength as Travelers takes on baggage Hailed as a "merger of equals" by the management of both parties, the proposed joining up of US insurance giants Travelers and St Paul has met with a tepid response from some observers, with question

But Everest Re stop loss exhausted on further US casualty deterioration Quoted Lloyd's insurer SVB announced a £50mn convertible bond issue in November to support a 2004 capacity expansion to £500mn. A further fund raising was not unexpected follow

The build-up to the renewals season was marked by calls at conferences across London for pricing discipline, underwriting profit and an end to gearing by under-reserving. Former Morgan Stanley analyst Alice Schroeder kicked off the season on 3 November

The thorny issue of directors' and officers' (D&O) insurance has climbed up the agenda for UK executives. As advisors pick their way through Higgs, directors face soaring premiums and tightening terms and conditions in a capacity sapped market, with many

In what would appear to be a further flexing of Franchise Performance Directorate muscle, Dex Services announced on 25 November that its Syndicate 2241 was pulling out of the Lloyd's market, ceasing underwriting at the end of 2003. Managed by Thomas Mi

Centennial Insurance Company (CIC), revealed by The Insider in September as a new entrant to the UK professional indemnity (PI) market with a chequered past and debatable security, is understood to be the subject of a Financial Services Authority (FSA) en

GoshawK's defunct Syndicate 102 successfully appealed a capital loading penalty that could have prevented losses falling on the Central Fund, The Insider can reveal. Syndicate 102 was finally placed into run-off on 31 October, after a gruelling year wh

Record capacity for 2004 as departures outweighed by new entrants Lloyd's capacity growth for 2004 will not match last year's 18 percent rise, but will still break the £15bn barrier, The Insider can reveal. The slight increase in total market capaci