October 2008/3

The financial community is awaiting with some trepidation tomorrow’s (21 October) key settlement date for the $361bn of credit default swaps (CDS) in default after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last month.

Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Ltd has become the eighth Bermudian to secure a Lloyd’s platform since the start of 2007 with an agreement to buy Marlborough Underwriting Agency Ltd from Berkshire Hathaway.

AM Best has downgraded Bermuda-based insurer XL Life reinsurance’s financial strength rating from A to A-, citing declining premium and capitalisation pressure as its parent, XL Capital Ltd winds down its business profile within life reinsurance.

WR Berkley confirmed the hire of a financial institutions (FI) team from American International Group (AIG), as previously revealed by The Insurance Insider.

Lloyd’s insurer RJ Kiln & Co Ltd has confirmed Lloyd Tunnicliffe as active underwriter on its Syndicate 807.

Broking giant Aon Corporation has agreed a $154.7mn deal to sell off its auto unit AIS Management Group to Mercury Insurance Group, California’s third-largest personal automobile insurer.

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) agreed to adopt six supervisory papers on the key issue of solvency assessment at its annual conference 2008 in Budapest last week.

The Insurance Insider London 100 (www.london-100.com ) meeting of 16 October heard an uncommonly positive outlook on the potential severity of the financial crisis from guest speaker Howard Wheeldon, London-based senior strategist of interdealer broker BG

Ascot Underwriting founder Martin Reith has stepped down as its CEO just months after agreeing a deal with American International Group (AIG) for the Lloyd’s insurer to become a wholly owned subsidiary of the troubled US giant.

Swiss Re and private equity firm CVC are in “advanced talks” to buy a majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland’s up-for-sale insurance operations, according to reports.

Troubled global insurer AIG is facing a tough squeeze on its aviation and US directors’ and officers’ liability (D&O) books of business, according to senior market sources.

London managing general agency (MGA) Synergy Insurance Services has entered the high net worth (HNW) market with a product it says could cut premium layout for clients by up to 40 percent.