October 2009/1

Following the Scottish Lion scheme dismissal the first signs of activity have emerged in that sector of the legacy market...

WR Berkley has named William Berkley Junior (Robert) as president and COO of the US insurer, paving the way for an eventual move into his father’s chief executive role.

Shares in Swiss Re climbed this morning after analyst-beating third quarter net profits helped further boost its capital base and it continues on the recovery path to paying back its Berkshire Hathaway capital injection.

Swiss Re CFO George Quinn has underlined the reinsurer's priorities: first secure a return to the Standard & Poor's (S&P) AA rating level it lost in February and then strive to redeem the Berkshire Hathaway investment.

Berkshire Hathaway will take 100 percent ownership of US freight railway operator the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF) in a cash and share deal worth $44bn - the largest transaction in the firm's history.

Morgan Stanley and UBS are joint advisors for the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)'s restructuring plan, which includes the shedding of its European P&C insurance operations, RBS Insurance (RBSI).

The president and COO of US-based independent retail insurance brokerage Frank Crystal & Company has left the firm, The Insurance Insider has learned.

The torturous £5bn+ sale auction process for RBSI - the Royal Bank of Scotland's European P&C insurance operations - will be revisited after the UK government decided to place the business up for sale.

There were few surprises from Aon's third quarter results, as Chicago's tight grip on margins and restructuring savings enabled the firm to weather the recessionary headwinds.

Improved underwriting profit drove a 20 percent increase in third quarter net earnings to $562.4mn for Canadian investment conglomerate Fairfax Financial Holdings, compared to $467.6mn during the same period in 2008.

Shares in Omega Insurance Holdings have dropped nearly 10 percent this morning after the (re)insurer announced the sudden departure of John Robinson, who has stepped down from his position as chief underwriting officer (CUO) with immediate effect.

Outgoing Chaucer Holdings CEO Ewen Gilmour is joining Hampden Agencies Limited as non-executive chairman at the start of next year, replacing Nigel Hanbury in the position.