November 2007/2

Kamp Re 2005, Zurich Financial Services’ (ZFS) catastrophe bond, hit by losses from Hurricane Katrina soon after its launch, is due to be tested within the next month, after the bond’s administrators finally filed a proof of claim notice on 30 October.

QBE Limit and Markel International's UK High Court showdown with broker Surety Guarantee Consultants Ltd (SGC) and other defendants over construction bond fraud allegations has been postponed until next year.

Lehman Bros has been given the green light by the Financial Services Authority to begin trading at its subsidiary Libero Ventures Ltd, which aims to transfer "vanilla" exposures by employing securitisation...

European giants Swiss Re and Munich Re outstripped analysts' earnings forecasts for the third quarter, with both companies on course to surpass expectations for full-year profits.

Bank of Ireland Life has securitised EUR400mn of value-in-force (VIF) life insurance policies in the first rated European VIF transaction for almost three years.

Catastrophe bond issuance has resumed after a hiatus during the traditionally quiet summer period for insurance-linked securities (ILS) - overshadowed by the post sub-prime credit crisis - as the market awaits...

Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter is developing a product to allow (re)insurers to hedge the risk of under-reserving on long-tail casualty lines of business.

Sub-prime woes continued at American International Group (AIG), as it reported third quarter operating results below analysts' expectations, compounded by a $352mn pre-tax charge on credit default swaps...

Investors reacted positively to the latest restructuring by Aon that will lead to the loss of 2,700 jobs, the equivalent of 6 percent of its global workforce.

It was a familiar tale as Bermuda's (re)insurance community booked third quarter figures that set strong profits from two years of benign underwriting conditions against a backdrop of falling rates and a less positive outlook for the sector.

Our monthly column keeping a check on US and EU legal and regulatory developments, in association with Sidley Austin LLP

Harbor Point secures A rating for $500mn US platform; Bermuda facing December General Election; Expansive MAPFRE in $2.2bn US push; Ironshore gains admitted status; New York drives collateral relief for non-US reinsurers...