October 2008/2

A UK commercial court judge continued to weigh up issues of fraud definition and jurisdiction as both sides in the long-running dispute between Randall and Quilter (R&Q) affiliate Cavell USA and private equity-owned Seaton Insurance Co and Stonewall Insur

The global stock market crash has caused Yamato Life insurance, Japan's nearly century old insurer, to file for bankruptcy last week with Yen 269.5bn ($2.7bn) of liabilities.

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.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has downgraded four cat bonds guaranteed by failed investment bank Lehman Brothers, signalling further contagion of the financial sector crisis in the insurance linked securities (ILS) market.

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.

WR Berkley has hired an American International Group (AIG) financial institutions duo, The Insurance Insider understands.

Embattled US insurer American International Group (AIG) has borrowed $70.3bn on loans from the US government in the three weeks since its initial $85bn bail-out, according to reports.

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.

Troubled Australian insurer Insurance Australia Group (IAG) is continuing to seek potential buyers for its Singapore-focussed Lloyd's operation Alba, with AMTrust and Asia Capital Reinsurance Group (ACR) thought to have expressed an interest in the platfo