October 2008/2

A US congressional committee criticised former AIG executives last week during a hearing to examine the regulatory mistakes and financial excesses that led to the $85bn September bailout of the insurance giant.

Speakers at the Isle of Man Captive Conference last week (10 October) expressed cautious optimism about the future of captives in the face of the current financial turmoil.

Shares in Swiss Re and XL Capital rebounded today after a week when the legacy of expansion out of traditional (re)insurance into areas worst impacted by the credit crisis decimated shareholdings in the companies.

A financial report from Atlas partners LLP has alluded to factors that point to the end of the soft market.

The latest reported Hurricane Ike loss estimates have revealed continued industry pessimism about the eventual bill to be paid from the September storms.

As the (re)insurance industry gears up to report Q3 financials, earnings are expected to be dominated by deteriorating investment performance and continued catastrophe losses, this time from US hurricanes.

Global stock indices rebounded from their spiralling falls last week on news of a central bank co-ordinated rescue plan to provide emergency funding to countries hit by the credit crunch.

London and international broker HSBC Insurance Brokers Ltd. has opened a branch office and received regulatory approval from the QFC Authority to provide insurance broking services to corporate customers within Qatar.

A survey of senior level members of insurance brokerage firms carried out by market data provider Advisen suggests that most brokers are "very confident" or "somewhat confident" in AIG after the $85mn federal bail-out, and only a small percent are advisin

Janet Edey and Mathew Carr, two underwriters with 35 years experience in D&O between them, have been appointed as joint leaders of Novae's Syndicate 2007 management liability unit.

Expansive Lloyd's insurer Hardy Underwriting Bermuda Ltd has hired a five-strong team from HSBC that will bring renewal rights to a portfolio of high net worth property business.

The notional value of the global weather derivatives market has tripled in three years to $32bn for 2007-8 and is expected to see 30 percent annual growth "for the next several years", according to a report from the World Economic Forum (WEF).