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.

The status of France's prized AAA debt rating could be threatened by the current Eurozone turmoil, with rating agency Moody's warning that it may face a downgrade.

The escalating Eurozone debt crisis is not just piling pressure on the continent's banking sector, as (re)insurers in pressurised nations continue to feel the financial squeeze amid a continent-wide panic.

Insurance brokers in New Zealand are looking into forming captive insurers for their clients as reinsurance rates climb after the Christchurch earthquakes, according to AM Best.

The New Zealand Earthquake Commission (EQC) has reported a NZ$7.1bn deficit for the year to 30 June 2011 after taking $11.4bn in claims over the period that included the three major Christchurch earthquakes, according to its annual report.

Floods in southern France during November are expected to cost insurers between EUR600mn and EUR800mn, according to first estimates from the FFSA, the French insurance federation.

Japanese insurer MS&AD has forecast net losses of 130bn yen ($1.7bn) from the Thai floods, while Tokio Marine is expecting to retain losses of 100bn yen ($1.3bn).

Stuart Beatty, who left his position as executive managing director of Aon Benfield Fac's Asia-Pacific (APAC) operations at the start of September, has resurfaced at JLT Reinsurance Brokers (JLT Re), sister title Inside FAC has revealed.

The purchase of London and international wholesaler THB by AmWINS is all about developing the combined group's international growth strategy and not about controlling the flow of business into London, according to THB's group CEO Frank Murphy.

Broking giant Marsh has continued to build out its national agency platform with the acquisition of Seitlin Insurance, a South Florida-based firm that generates around $24mn in annual revenues.

Insurers for Deepwater Horizon owner Transocean have won a key legal victory against BP after a New Orleans judge ruled last week that they owe no duty to pay claims or defence costs to the energy giant.

Bermudian energy mutual OIL Insurance Ltd will increase its policy limit for non-windstorm events from a maximum of $250mn per member to $300mn per member from 1 January 2012.

Primary energy underwriters will be under pressure to retain more risk themselves as the market heads towards 1 January, when around 75 percent of energy reinsurance contracts renew.

Lloyd's must modernise, internationalise and diversify its talent pool if it is to succeed in the next decade and beyond, its new chairman John Nelson told senior London market executives last week.

A number of Lloyd's syndicates have pared back profit predictions from the past two years of underwriting as low investment rates pull down results.

Further evidence is emerging that Lloyd's capacity may increase slightly next year to a new record size, as a number of syndicates are unveiling new quota share arrangements to increase their potential stamp.

The major Lloyd's (re)insurers have endured another volatile quarter, as last week's cluster of third quarter operating updates demonstrated, but inevitably the focus has largely turned to 2012 and potential pricing improvements.

Lancashire has written $50mn of premiums through its 2011 Accordion sidecar, the company revealed in a third-quarter earnings presentation last week.

China Re to launch Catlin Lloyd's QS syndicate in 2012

French state reinsurer CCR has confirmed that it is facing substantial losses from the Thai flooding, but has refused to comment on speculation that it is poised to withdraw from the country.

The ambitious managing general underwriter (MGU) and insurance start-up ANV has added to its roster of industry heavy-hitters by appointing former Guy Carpenter COO Charlie Fry to its London office, The Insurance Insider can reveal

Recent improvements in UK motor insurance results will be short-lived and the underwriting cycle may even have already passed its peak, according to Standard & Poor's (S&P).

An aspiring state-owned catastrophe reinsurance facility for south-eastern Europe is currently being established by the governments of Albania, the former Yugoslav republic (FYR) of Macedonia and Serbia, and is tendering for a firm to manage it.

A subsidiary of CV Starr, the insurance group run by former AIG chief executive Hank Greenberg, is suing the US government, alleging that its bailout of the insurer during the financial crisis was unconstitutional.

The Insurance Insider analyses what the combined group will look like if the $3.4bn takeover completes next year...