October 2008/3

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.

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.

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.

XL Capital preannounced an estimated third quarter net loss of $1.65bn to $1.67bn that confirmed a $1.4bn charge in relation to its August transaction to close the majority of liabilities to former bond insurer affiliate Security Capital Assurance (SCA).

ACE Ltd has continued its efforts to grow in markets traditionally dominated by American International Group (AIG) by boosting its commercial D&O capability with a move to write the business at Lloyd’s.

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

Under fire US insurer American International Group (AIG) has been pressed to provide more detail on how it has used the money drawn down on its combined $123bn taxpayer bail-out funding so far.

Arch Capital Group Ltd is close to launching a new Dublin-based reinsurer that will act as a hub for its European reinsurance operations, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

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.

Swiss (re)insurer Glacier Group has appointed Richard Etridge as CEO of its Leichtenstein headquartered insurance subsidiary.