October 2007/1

A class action bid-rigging suit against a number of commercial insurers and brokers has failed to show the industry players were guilty of fraud under federal racketeering statutes or that they violated federal anti-trust laws...

Consistent profitability and predicted favourable returns have prompted rating agency Moody's to upgrade QBE's non-marine liability Limit Syndicate 386 from A- (good) to A (very good).

Lloyd's interim results reflected the strong performance of insurers underwriting in the marketplace as well as warnings of widely softening market conditions.

Lloyd's has continued its recruitment drive to push process reform with the hiring of Anne Rannie from UK (re)insurer Hiscox Ltd.

The proposed Schemes for the 14 WFUM Pools Scheme Companies was sanctioned by the UK High Court on 17 September.

Run-off insurer Alea Group Holdings has received a one-time payment of $203.6mn to "fully and finally" commute all exposures with its Bermudian neighbour Max Capital.

The recent credit crunch is unlikely to dampen insurance linked securities (ILS) investor appetite, according to Standard & Poor's (S&P), as it highlighted increased trading in the secondary market for cat bonds.

The European Commission (EC) may call for an end to the practice of contingent commissions in its long-awaited final report into business insurance.

The trial of three former Independent Insurance executives is drawing to a close in London with the jury expected to start considering its verdict by 21 October, according to the Serious Fraud Office.

Failed (re)insurer Goshawk Insurance Holdings PLC has announced post-tax profits for the first half of 2007 of $1.7mn up from the $2.6mn loss it reported for the same period last year.

XL Capital has continued the market trend for returning capital to shareholders after announcing its second share buyback programme this year.

The first set of results since its initial public offering (IPO) on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) are “on track”, Tawa plc has revealed.

Catlin Group Ltd has welcomed AM Best's upgrade of the outlook on the London-listed (re)insurer's A rating from negative to stable.

Benfield Group's share price continued to climb today (1 October) with news that another US hedge fund has built its stake in the independent reinsurance specialist.

Talbot Underwriting Ltd, the Lloyd’s insurer that was acquired by Bermudian (re)insurer Validus Holdings Ltd in July, has appointed Michael Carpenter as chairman and Rupert Atkin as CEO.

Colemont Global Group, the international arm of US wholesaler Colemont Corporation, announced the acquisition of a majority share in a leading Brazilian aviation broker last week.

Former HIH director Dominic Fodera, who is serving a two-year jail term for issuing misleading financial statements, has pleaded guilty to a further criminal charge relating to the collapse of the failed (re)insurer.

The bitter dispute between the former heads of Guy Carpenter's facultative (Fac) business and the company they worked for has reached an out of court settlement at the eleventh hour allowing them to join rival broker Integro Ltd.

The debate last week over whether to end the "unfair advantage" enjoyed by Bermudians using US affiliates over American-domiciled rivals ended in a "stalemate", according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.

Marsh and McLennan Cos (MMC) effectively ruled out the immediate elevation of executive Phil Moyles as the next leader of its broking business, Marsh Inc, with a reshuffle of its senior executives last week.

Markel International, part of the stream of Lloyd's insurers opening a Singapore platform, has confirmed former Marsh Asia executive Peter Phillips will head its new office.

Bermuda-headquartered Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox Ltd has begun a share buyback scheme after purchasing 839,699 ordinary shares.

Lloyd's CEO Richard Ward has warned the industry that it faces a "severe skills shortage" and announced that the Society was launching a new graduate programme to attract talent.