November 2006/5

Lloyd’s insurer Kiln appointed Keith Land as CEO of its newly formed Kiln Asia operation on 23 November.

St Paul Travelers has announced that Steve Eccles has been appointed active underwriter for its Lloyd’s Syndicate 5000.

Run-off services provider CMGL has announced the appointment of Robert Bisson as general manager of its French operations.

UK motor insurers were propped up by reserve releases and investment returns after experiencing a £200mn underwriting loss last year, according to analysis from Deloitte & Touche.

Insurers Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group (R&SA) and Zurich Financial Services (ZFS) both unveiled strategies for expanding into Eastern Europe this week.

Despite losing three of its four underwriting heads this summer, Bermuda-domiciled Aspen Insurance Holdings (AIH) has seen its Bermudian and UK operating subsidiaries’ ratings affirmed by AM Best.

Bermudian-headquartered (re)insurer Lancashire Holdings Ltd said it is looking forward to a “healthy” 2007 in a trading statement released on 21 November.

Lloyd’s insurer Kiln plc increased the forecasts on the bulk of its syndicates when it updated the 2004-5 years in a trading statement on 24 November.

Resurgent French (re)insurer SCOR has been upgraded back to "A" territory again, this time by Fitch Ratings on 20 November, a day ahead of the closure of its acquisition of life reinsurer Revios.

US insurer The Hartford Financial Services Group has issued a $247.5mn cat bond, Foundation II, to protect the company in the event of certain US natural catastrophe losses.

The Lloyd’s Corporation has brought in David Harris - a senior representative of the G6 group of London market insurers – on secondment, as the three-hundred-year-old Society agrees a number of changes to improve the service it provides.

XL Capital, which announced the first of the post-Katrina sidecars Cyrus Re in November last year, has launched a new Cayman Islands special purpose reinsurance vehicle, Stoneheath Re.