October 2004/4

Swiss Re’s landmark London offices – affectionately known as The (Erotic) Gherkin – has been awarded the UK’s premier architectural award, the Stirling Prize.

Lloyd’s capped a year of success this week with the news that it would make its first ever foray into the international debt markets by raising £500mn of longer term subordinated debt.

$20bn wiped off AIG in one day; other insurers and brokers, as yet formally unrelated to investigation, see price declines as investors tar industry with the same brush Tens of billions of dollars were wiped off insurance stocks last week as investors,

Reinsurance broker Benfield launched a new report devoted to the global D&O and Financial Lines last Wednesday (13 October).

After several weeks of indifferent news, troubled Swiss reinsurer Converium received a welcome boost last Friday (15 October) with the announcement from Standard & Poor’s (S&P) that it was upgrading its insurer financial strength rating from “BBB” to “BBB

The UK regulator Financial Services Authority has hinted that it may take a more robust approach over broker commissions in the light of Eliot Spitzer’s allegations against Marsh last week.

Fresh from Marsh’s announcement on 15 October that it would suspend all its PSA style arrangements, the insurance companies named in Eliot Spitzer’s complaint against the world’s largest broker were also quickly distancing themselves from the practice.

Spitzer is looking at Aon Re’s practices When Daniel J Popeo, chairman of the US think tank Washington Legal Foundation, complained to Eliot Spitzer about the activities of the global brokers on 10 February, the immediate attention was on so-called PSA

UK headquartered broker JLT Risk Solutions has opened an office in Dubai’s International Financial Centre.

Lloyd’s insurer Ascot announced plans last Wednesday (13 October) to set up a Paris operation to tap into continental catastrophe and risk business.

Everest Re’s UK head Mark de Saram is to become the managing director and chief executive of the reinsurer’s Bermudian arm, Everest Bermuda.

UK general insurer Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA) had its Standard & Poor’s (S&P) ratings outlook upgraded from negative to stable last week (12 October) as the agency recognised the company’s continued turnaround progress.