November 2007/2

Heritage Underwriting Agency plc, the specialist Lloyd’s insurer, has admitted receiving an "indicative proposal" but says the "the price contained within the proposal significantly undervalues the company".

Hardy Underwriting Group (HUG) plc has confirmed its intentions to become the latest Lloyd’s insurer to redomicile to Bermuda.

John Hurrell has been appointed CEO of the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (AIRMIC) after a prolonged search following the departure of David Gamble this summer.

UK (re)insurer Brit Insurance Holdings plc has invested in Norton Re II, a $118.2mn Bermuda-based sidecar-style vehicle launched to replace the original $107.7mn Norton Re which expires this year.

(Re)insurance broker Lockton has continued the increasingly popular trend for building Fac reinsurance business after launching a property division dedicated to the sector.

Marsh Inc has completed its search for a new chief executive with the appointment of Daniel Glaser.

Specialist broker THB Group plc has entered into talks with PWS Holdings over the acquisition of PWS’ Lloyd’s broking business and overseas interests.

Powerful consolidators are forcing insurers to "fundamentally re-examine their operating models" as they tighten their grip on the commercial SME market, according to the latest research.

Ping An Insurance, China's second largest life insurer, has bought 4.18 percent of Benelux financial services group Fortis, at a cost of EUR1.81bn.

Groupama SA is expected to be the next European insurer to launch a cat bond with its proposed securitisation of EUR200mn of French windstorm risk.

Catlin Group Ltd expects to take a $75mn charge against the value of sub-prime-related securities in its investment portfolio, the (re)insurer revealed in a trading statement this morning (28 November).

UK mega consolidator, Towergate Partnership has agreed a £95mn cash offer for Yorkshire-based Broker Network Group today (27 November).

French reinsurer SCOR SA will add to its Atlas suite of cat bonds with the EUR160mn Atlas IV bond, which is due to close on 27 November.

Montpelier Re has continued to build its US operations with the launch of a new direct property facultative division to write business on behalf of its Lloyd’s Syndicate 5151.

London-based electronic trading platform RI3K is streamlining charges for its services in response to “market criticisms” over the firm’s pricing structure.

Administrators of loss-hit Kamp Re 2005, Zurich Financial Services' (ZFS) catastrophe bond, have extended the original maturity date by a month, to 14 January 2008, pending a final determination of the loss amounts.

As softening continues in the professional indemnity (PI), directors’ and officers’ (D&O) and financial institutions (FI) insurance markets, premium rates could soon head towards levels seen in 1999 and 2000 – the trough of the last soft market – accordin

Brit Insurance Holdings plc’s share price continued to fall this morning despite an encouraging trading statement and the group’s apparent lack of exposure to the sub-prime crisis.

The financial strength rating (FSR) of Swiss Re has been placed under review with negative implications by AM Best following the reinsurance giant’s announced SFr1.2bn ($1.1bn) mark-to-market loss from credit default swap exposures.

Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) has become the latest broker to announce a capital repatriation programme as the group’s share price continues to fall as a result of weak equity markets.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the insurer financial strength ratings of UK insurer Aviva plc’s non-life firms to AA.

Non-life insurers should escape the global credit crunch but not contagion from economic stagnation or recession, according to the latest research from Morgan Stanley.

Syndicate forecasts for Chaucer Holdings plc’s Lloyd’s operation have continued to improve, according to the firm’s latest report.

Gallagher London is optimistic that it will receive an understanding response from insurers and clients as it levies an additional commission for placing business in the London and UK markets.

Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd has been upgraded to A by AM Best, returning the Bermudian (re)insurer’s ratings to their pre-Katrina level.

Former QBE Limit underwriter Mark Harrington is to head a new Lloyd’s composite syndicate with an expected capacity of £75mn for the 2008 year, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Swiss Re shares were trading down this morning after the reinsurer announced a SFr1.2bn (£524mn) hit - SFr981mn after tax - on two credit default swaps linked to mortgage backed securities.

Steve Taylor, business development officer for Gallagher Re, is leaving the reinsurance broker to join one of its clients, WR Berkley Corporation.

Aon Natural Resources London chairman Tim Fillingham and ex-Navigators UK and Europe CEO David Hope are to set up a new insurance company focusing on energy and commercial property lines.

Bermudian reinsurer XL Capital is set to renew a slimmed down version of its Cyrus Re sidecar with $105mn in capital from three tranches of loans.

Growth in its life business was the driving force behind a 25 percent rise in profits at Swiss insurance giant, Zurich Financial Services Group (ZFS), it reported today (15 November).

Lloyd’s managing agent Beazley is to continue the market trend for share buybacks after announcing the repurchase of £30mn, representing around 5 percent of the company’s issued share capital.

SCOR has booked net profits of EUR299mn for the year-to-date, up 93 percent on the prior-year period, along with top line growth boosted by the acquisition of Converium and Revios.

Lloyd's insurer Amlin plc will return £120mn of capital to its shareholders due to its “financially robust position following a number of years of strong financial performance”.

American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG) is to become a significant capital provider to the Lloyd’s insurer Marketform Group Ltd, and its Syndicate 2468 in 2008, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

(Re)insurance specialising law firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert's (BLG) continues to suffer from an exodus of senior lawyers.

Trading activity has started at the cat derivatives trading platform Insurance Futures Exchange Services (IFEX) with cumulative trading volume totalling 1,209 lots, equivalent to over $12mn of (re)insurance limit, at the end of October.

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.

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.

Bermudian (re)insurer XL Capital dismissed rumours of significant sub-prime related losses in its financial and professional lines portfolio last month, stating that the crisis provided "an attractive opportunity" for the class.

A new wave of fear gripped Wall Street this week, symbolised by the sub-prime related exposures of the monoline credit insurers to a new credit crisis, dubbed "Version 2.0" by industry insiders.

Michael Moran, the aviation broker who is at the centre of a controversial poaching dispute between Marsh Ltd and Willis Group Holdings, has resurfaced at HSBC Insurance Brokers.

AJ Gallagher International's (AJGI) new onshore/offshore energy and utility broking subsidiary is set to begin operations in the New Year.

The first steps may have been tentative. But, in the past two months, London market and European insurers have been confronted by a quick fire succession of demands for additional commissions from brokers.

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

Banking interest grows with Goldman Sachs Lloyd's entry; Towergate firm swoops for Erinaceous teams; GA sells down Xchanging stake; Aviva in £350mn UK cost cutting programme; Canopius and Talbot make Lloyd’s Asia move...

Tawa plc, the UK quoted run-off consolidator, has acquired the US firm PXRE Reinsurance Co (PXRE US) from parent Argo Group International Holdings Ltd in a $114mn transaction.

The fees collected by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the administrators of the defunct UK insurer Folksam UK, outweighs the collections made on behalf of creditors by almost £3mn, the latest report to creditors reveals.

The 21-day time limit in which the three former Independent Insurance Group plc (IIG) executives who received a total of 14 years in jail sentences could lodge an appeal will expire on 13 November.

Marsh Ltd will be forced to defend itself on charges of poaching a senior aviation team and confidential business information from United Insurance Brokers (UIB) in a trial scheduled to take place next summer.

A US judge who ruled in favour of Gen Re in its dispute with Arch Capital Group over the poaching of a thirty strong facultative team declared that trade secrets can be stored in one's memory.

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.

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.

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.

The imminent renewal of the flagship Lufthansa account looks set to underline the soft conditions in the airline market with underwriters apparently set to accept greater exposures for effectively a similar rate as last year.

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...

Run-off insurer Highlands Insurance Company (UK) Ltd went into insolvent administration at the High Court on 1 November.

Lloyd's own run-off arm Centrewrite has joined the queue of capacity prepared to offer reinsurance-to-close (RITC) quotes for "open year" syndicates.

London-based law firm Kendall Freeman has been looking for a partner for some time and so seasoned watchers were not surprised by its proposed tie-up with the US firm Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP (EAPD)...