November 2007/1

Cullum Capital Ventures (CCV), part of the Towergate group, recruited two teams from troubled property services group Erinaceous last month.

Integro has taken on two international property brokers John Millar and Andrzej Danyluk from reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter.

Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter is developing five different trading indices with the first European index looking to go live as early as six months time.

Run-off insurer Highlands Insurance Company (UK) Ltd became the first UK insurance firm to become insolvent in three years after it went into insolvent administration at the High Court on 1 November.

London market reinsurers led by Allianz have had their appeal dismissed against the striking out of significant parts of their defence in the controversial EUR44.3mn dispute with the North Korean national insurer.

Fast-expanding (re)insurer MAPFRE SA announced its boldest move yet when confirming last week its $2.2bn acquisition of the Massachusetts-based non-life personal lines insurer The COMMERCE Insurance Company.

China Reinsurance Group, the country's largest reinsurer, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) after inviting "strategic" investors to buy stakes, according to a statement from the company last week.

US insurer Liberty Mutual Group has boosted its asbestos reserves by $67mn post-tax following the completion of a "comprehensive ground-up study", it revealed in its third quarter results.

Canadian conglomerate Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd bounced back to a third quarter profit of $253.2mn from a loss of $359.2mn in the prior-year period.

Bermudian-headquartered (re)insurer, AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd, reported a 19 percent increase in operating income for the third quarter of 2007, capping eight straight quarters of "record profitability", according to its president and CEO, John Charman.