October 2007/6

Leading US congressman Barney Frank has sent two bills to the Senate proposing the extension of the Terrorism Risk Act and the flood insurance programme in anticipation of the upper house’s stalling on the legislation.

HSBC Insurance has launched a Dublin-based reinsurer to accept risks from the parent company's banking customers.

Lloyd's broker Oxygen has announced the formation of a new specialist team in partnership with CRS Yachts Ltd, an insurance broking team servicing the superyacht industry.

Insurance specialists Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP (EAPD) and London-based Kendall Freeman are understood to be considering a merger, Insider Week understands.

The money collected by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the administrators of the defunct UK insurer Folksam UK, outweighs the collections made on behalf of creditors by almost £2.5mn, the latest report to creditors reveals.

An Australian court has been told of the culture of "bravado and extravagance" at failed Australian insurance company HIH.

Amlin Bermuda (ABL) has been upgraded to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) by ratings agency AM Best after "conservative implementation" of its business plan and a strong performance from the group's Lloyd's syndicate.

Rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has revised its outlook on Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (FFH) and its subsidiaries to stable from negative citing the Canadian group’s improving enterprise risk management.

German giant Hannover Re has established a new life reinsurance subsidiary in Bermuda, the firm announced last week.

Advent, the quoted EC3 reinsurer, has said it is exposed to a potential small loss from Lloyd's decision to invest in Mainsail II, the stricken structured investment vehicle (SIV).

Ark Syndicate Management, the private equity backed Lloyd's insurer formed in March from a team of senior underwriters who resigned from Aspen Insurance Holdings last year...

Despite a drop in gross written premiums for the third quarter of 2007, US commercial lines insurer WR Berkley reported net income of $180mn or 93 cents per share, buoyed by a...