November 2011/3

Investors are sceptical about the prospect of an imminent market turn when one looks at the valuations of the sector

Private equity house CVC is lining up another foray into the insurance sector, this time for run-off life insurer Phoenix Group.

Employees at legacy service provider Helix UK have been put on notice by parent company Axa Liabilities Management (Axa LM), The Insurance Insider has learned.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is developing a London-based opt-out scheme for insolvent Orion Insurance Company and The London and Overseas Insurance Company Ltd.

NAIC advocates status quo; Moody's: One hand gives...the other takes away

Yet another short-term extension of the US National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been greeted with a mix of relief and disappointment by industry bodies.

As the Eurozone financial crisis continues to fester, the continent's (re)insurers could be penalised for their holdings of Euro-denominated sovereign debt under Solvency II rules, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) said last week.

Traditional (re)insurance activities do not pose a threat to the global financial system or real economy, according to a new paper from the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

Two of the largest ILS fund managers are caught up in uncertainty over the news that Credit Suisse is integrating its private bank subsidiary Clariden Leu into the group operations.

Start-up insurance-linked securities (ILS) operation Dunamis Holdings is the latest to back private cat bonds with the launch of a new "one-stop" issuance facility to transform risk into the capital markets.

Chartis subsidiary National Union Fire Insurance Company (NUFI) has more than doubled its Compass Re cat bond from a $275mn target to close at $575mn, The Insurance Insider's sister publication Trading Risk reported last week.

The parlous valuations currently dogging key London market (re)insurers don't do justice to the fact that insurance is one of the highest-yielding dividend sectors, according to RBC analyst Chris Hartwell.