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.

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.

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”.

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.

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.

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.

Just under 200 investors, advisors and sponsors gathered in New York for Trading Risk's annual executive briefing last month to discuss market issues.

Industry loss warranty (ILW) volumes in Q4 have been boosted by livecat trading during October's Typhoon Melor and the purchase of Europe-exposed and US quake peril contracts.

The auction for German state-owned run-off group BF Rückversicherung has moved forward with the joint bid from German firm GLOBAL Rück and Randall & Quilter (R&Q) in pole position.

The industry loss warranty (ILW) market was finally able to settle contracts impacted by the 2008 US hurricane season after PCS finalised its industry onshore loss estimate...

As the Q3 financial reporting season draws towards its close, there is growing evidence that (re)insurers’ boards are under pressure to focus on capital management.

As investors wallowed in financial markets despair at the start of 2009, few would have predicted the speed and size of the bounce in equities that began in mid-March.

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.

Moody's and Standard & Poor's (S&P) must respond to fraud charges accusing them of masking the risks of the collapsed Cheyne Structured Investment Vehicle (SIV).

The Lloyd's insurers of the directors' and officers' (D&O) policy held by the disgraced Allen Stanford have been compelled to acknowledge coverage.

Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH) has described the shareholder class action suit filed against it over the acquisition of outstanding minority interests in OdysseyRe as a "nuisance suit".

Bermudian (re)insurer Mariner's proposed solvent scheme was sanctioned by the Bermudian Supreme Court, the first approval since the Scottish Lion decision.

After just three years of underwriting, Bank of America is placing its Lloyd's syndicate in run-off, despite increasing capacity from £33.5mn in 2007 to £70mn for the...

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

While parent AIG reported a moderate $455mn third quarter net profit - compared to the giant $24.5bn net loss of Q3 2008 - Chartis disappointed on its core underwriting.

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

The broking giant and AIG were served with a lawsuit by US commodity producer and distributor Seaboard Corp at the end of October.

Bermuda-headquartered Armour Reinsurance Group has lured senior Pro Group executive Steve Ryland, despite being trumped in the race to acquire Pro by Tawa plc.