November 2012/3

Acquisitive Lloyd's insurer Canopius has strengthened the reserves of Omega's Syndicate 958 by £27.8mn as it seeks to close the book on losses belonging to the old regime.

Philip Wray, founding active underwriter of Kiln Syndicate 1880, has left the company, sister title Inside FAC revealed last week.

Hiscox has hired directors' and officers' (D&O) underwriter Chris Warrior from its Lloyd's rival Beazley to become head of D&O at Hiscox Syndicate 33.

Argo's Syndicate 1200 has cut back its premium income targets for a number of lines for 2013 and will not enter the bloodstock market as previously planned, according to pre-auction disclosures.

The three Lloyd's members' agents are divided over whether to support a planned pre-emption by Ryan Specialty Group (RSG)-managed Jubilee Syndicate 5820, highlighting divisions within the traditional Names community over the support of syndicates that, like Jubilee, welcome their capital.

The US government-backed National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is on course for another bail-out, with the deluge of claims from Superstorm Sandy expected to burn through its $900mn cash reserves and remaining $2.9bn borrowing authority by the end of the month.

With P&C stocks trading down as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the ultimate impact of Superstorm Sandy, strong fundamentals and post-event pricing potential are drawing renewed interest from investors looking to capitalise on a return to upward movement in the sector.

Few companies released a public estimate of their potential Sandy losses during the recent earnings season as the wide range of industry loss estimates from modellers illustrated the complexity of the task.

Guggenheim Life, which has the backing of private equity firm Apollo, is in exclusive talks to acquire Aviva USA, it has been reported.

The sale process of UK-listed run-off acquirer and (re)insurance service provider Tawa has been complicated by bid structures that have large contingent elements, according to well-placed sources.

The largest Hong Kong IPO of 2012 is earmarked for 7 December as fundraising began in earnest this week for the listing of giant Chinese insurance group PICC.

Jeffrey Greenberg-led private equity firm Aquiline is currently the favourite to come out on top in the auction for UK motor insurer Equity Redstar, but all of the bidders are struggling to get to grips with the target's pension predicament, The Insurance Insider can reveal.