November 2005/4

The Lloyd’s deputy chairman has called on UK regulator the Financial Services Authority to strike fear into the London insurance market by outlining what it will do if the industry fails to drive through contract certainty next year.

Benfield is to lose its role in helping place the world’s largest reinsurance contract because of its decision to expand into the primary insurance markets. Last week the broker was replaced by marine/energy specialists Agnew Higgins Pickering & Co...

But bigger is not necessarily better as competitors look to move in… In a press conference last Friday (18 November), Swiss Re’s incoming CEO Jacques Aigrain highlighted the “remarkable fit” between his company and the (re)insurance operations of GE.

If Swiss Re successfully completes its acquisition of GE’s (re)insurance operations next year, it seems likely it will come at a price, after the four leading rating agencies announced they may downgrade the reinsurance giant.

The burden from this year’s US storms will push quoted Lloyd’s insurer Wellington Underwriting plc into an underwriting loss for the year, the company revealed last week. According to the insurer – which underwrites through Lloyd’s Syndicate 2020...

The Association of Run-Off Companies (ARC) will hold their 7th Annual Congress themed “Whose market is it anyway?” on 7-8 March 2006. The conference will be held in London and aims to bring together professionals from all fields that are involved in...

Gross premiums fell by 15 percent in the London market during 2004, reversing five years of rises. A report into insurance by International Financial Services London recorded gross premiums of £21.7bn for last year with Lloyd’s producing 54 percent...

US broker Aon has announced that it will be exploring alternatives for its property and casualty underwriting business Combined Insurance Co as it continues to restructure. Aon, and rival brokers Marsh and Willis, have been forced to look at means...

HCC Insurance Holdings became the latest insurer to raise capital in the post-storms environment when it announced last week that it had agreed to sell 4,687,500 of common stock shares to Citigroup. The Houston headquartered insurance group also...

Elizabeth Monrad, the former chief financial officer of General Re, has as resigned her role as CFO at New York-based financial services organisation TIAA-CREF. After receiving a Wells Notice on May 10 Monrad took a leave of absence in May “to...

American International Group (AIG) reported a 36.1 percent drop in income when it announced its restated third quarter results on 14 November. Net income was down to $1.71bn, or $0.65 per diluted share, during the quarter from $2.68bn, or $1.02 per...

Lloyd’s insurer Amlin plc revealed it expects a $52mn bill from Hurricane Wilma but cheered shareholders with an increased profit forecast on its 2003 trading year. In a trading statement to the London Stock Exchange this morning (21 November), the...