November 2009/2

Rating agency Fitch said its concerns over reinsurers' ability to tap capital markets following a significant catastrophe have "sufficiently eased" after revising its outlook on the global reinsurance sector from negative to stable.

Marketform, the Lloyd’s insurer majority owned by the US firm Great American Insurance Group, is undertaking a significant reshuffle of its executive operations to improve its “corporate governance”.

Spanish competition authority the Comisión Nacional de la Competencia (CNC) has fined local insurers Asefa, Mapfre and Caser as well as leading global reinsurers, Munich Re, Swiss Re and Scor a total of EUR120mn for operating a cartel.

So-called ‘mega-claims’ are now a common occurence in the power (re)insurance market, with almost half of the $9.85bn total loss recorded over the last ten years the result of just 16 claims.

UK insurer Brit has laid out the timetable for its redomicile to the Netherlands in a reorganisation that it is expected will see a new holding company listed on the London Stock Exchange on 21 December.

The UK High Court has sanctioned schemes of arrangement for the 48 solvent and insolvent companies that make up the Trimark 1968 and prior years pools schemes, after creditors voted "overwhelmingly" in favour at a 9 October meeting.

The share price of UK-quoted Randall and Quilter (R&Q) had fallen by 15.02 percent to 107.5p at the time of writing in the wake of today’s crucial LMX-related High Court judgment against the run-off management firm.

Lloyd's lead (re)insurance stocks down; Valuations falter; Gap narrows further between Lloyd's and Bermuda.

(Re)insurers are not banks, says Geneva Association; Axa on M&A trail with EUR2bn rights issue; Hedge fund takes Glacier reins; IPC gains boost Validus and Max profits...

Mitsui Sumitomo hires senior franchise exec; Wildnet investors sell stakes; Corfield leaves Liberty; AEGIS London enters A&H; Brit parts company with PI execs...

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

As the major brokers reported their Q3 results Aon was left defending the effect that its $1.4bn purchase of independent reinsurance broker Benfield in Q3 2008 had...