November 2005/1

Last month, Lloyd’s chief executive Nick Prettejohn confirmed that he was to end his ten year association with the Corporation and join Prudential plc at the beginning of next year. It was widely regarded as a successful reign, and Prettejohn can...

Lloyd’s capacity for 2006 looks set to come close to its record £15bn capacity level in 2004 as a host of the market’s syndicates plan to increase their business in the wake of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Only a few months ago, most...

Despite successful fundraising efforts to repair balance sheets battered by spiralling hurricane losses, a slew of rating downgrades has begun, with AM Best leading the way. The agency’s response appears to be toughest on those bearing the biggest...

Lloyd’s insurer SVB has sold its SME property focused underwriting agency to the fast-expanding insurance consolidator Towergate Partnership in a deal worth up to £25mn. After several months of talks, Towergate and SVB agreed terms for the transfer...

A bullish stance on the insurance broking sector by analysts at Numis Securities fuelled a price hike in the shares of brokers Benfield and JLT last month. In the research note, released on 10 October, Numis analysts...

After downgrade and developing hurricane losses, investors await strategic plan... Post-9/11 start-up Montpelier Re has pleaded for patience from investors as it formulates a strategic plan to recover from heavily deteriorating hurricane losses that...

AM Best downgrade for once revered reinsurer... Rating agency AM Best downgraded the insurer financial strength ratings of troubled Bermudian RenaissanceRe from A+ to A just two days after the reinsurer revealed CEO and chairman James Stanard had...

Like their Bermudian based counter-parts, Lloyd’s quoted insurers are rushing to raise funds from the capital markets to take advantage of the expected uplift in rates that has followed the estimated $60bn-$80bn of storm losses this hurricane season.

Existing reinsurers are creating innovative “side-car” companies with hedge fund capital eager for exposure to the reinsurance sector. At a time when rating agencies are scrutinising companies’ exposures to property catastrophe and retrocessional...

It was a mixed bag as the big three global brokers announced their third-quarter results. Although Aon’s net income was unchanged from 2004 at $122mn it was below analysts forecasts.

Allstate cuts Gulf Coast homeowners’ exposure America’s second largest personal line insurer Allstate has said it will reduce coverage of homeowners’ risks in the Gulf Coast region after being hit by a $1.55bn loss in the third quarter as a result of..

In our regular monthly London News Digest, we round up key stories from the last month, presenting them to you in easily digestable snippets.