November 2004/2

Liability claims costs the world-over are on the rise, according to the latest Sigma report from Swiss Re.

Independent broker BMS International Intermediaries Ltd revealed last month that it had bolstered their marine reinsurance operations with the capture of a four-strong team from Arthur J Gallagher UK Ltd.

Rating agency AM Best has affirmed the “A-” (Excellent) financial strength rating of Olympus Re, and removed the rating from under review. In addition it assigned an issuer credit rating of "a-" to the (re)insurer, assigning both ratings a stable outlook.

Guy Carpenter has appointed Bill Henriques from embattled reinsurer Converium as a senior vice-president in its Professional Liability Specialty Practice.

Rating agency Standard & Poor's has raised its Lloyd's Syndicate Assessment (LSA) on Chaucer Syndicate 1084 to '3' from '3-'.

Faced by a softening product market, US retail brokers are increasingly turning to aggressive acquisition strategies to achieve revenue and profit goals, according to the latest report from investment banking firm WFG Capital Advisors.

Lloyd’s insurer Beazley announced a £105mn Rights Issue today (1 November) with the lion’s share directed to support the additional risk-based capital requirement fuelled by its increased participation on its Lloyd’s Syndicates for the 2005 year.

The failure of lawyers Mel Weiss and Bill Lerach to see eye-to-eye led to the dissolution of their legendary shareholder class action law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP into two new partnerships – safely based on either side of the United S

As third quarter results begin to filter through from US and Bermudian property casualty (re)insurers, the full impact of the season’s quartet of hurricanes is becoming clearer, with interim results hit hard across the board.

Eliot Spitzer gave further indication last week that he is looking for Marsh to disgorge a significant proportion of its Placement Service Agreement revenues as settlement for the civil action filed against the broker on 14 October.

Companies rarely volunteer to forego a lucrative proportion of their revenue streams but that is exactly what the industry’s international brokers have been doing in the wake of Spitzer’s allegations of price-fixing at Marsh.

Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) has confirmed the sale of the UK branch of Turegum Insurance Company to Harper Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Castlewood Holdings Limited.