October 2009/1

Lloyd’s insurer Beazley has hired a team from rival Mitsui Sumitomo to bolster its marine liability offering.

Allianz's Q3 group operating profits were up 23 percent, as resurgent life and health financial services performance offset lower contributions from property and casualty (P&C) insurance.

The industry's potential exposure to political risk/trade credit losses emanating from the global economic downturn in 2008-09 was hinted at by Beazley today.

Global insurance giant Axa has unveiled a EUR2bn rights issue to enable it to "seize future acquisition opportunities, primarily in high growth markets".

Just days after announcing its largest ever acquisition, Berkshire Hathaway has unveiled third quarter net profits that almost trebled from $1.1bn to $3.2bn on the back of rebounding stock index derivative contracts.

AIG reported a moderate $455mn third quarter net profit - compared to the giant $24.5bn net loss of the same period last year - as net realised capital losses stabilised.

Eamon Brown, a key member of the Lloyd's Franchise performance team that oversaw Lloyd's underwriting standards, is to leave the Society at year-end.

Hannover Re has upped its top and bottom line targets for the full year after a strong quarter driven by the benign claims environment, resurgent investment income and continued growth in its life and health business.

A bumper $302.9mn gain booked on acquiring IPC Holdings helped push Validus Holdings to a $499.2mn net profit for the third quarter, compared to a $126.3mn net loss in the prior-year period.

Munich Re is on course for a full-year profit of EUR2.2-2.5bn after a significant improvement in its investment result pushed third quarter consolidated profit to EUR651mn, compared to just EUR2mn in the prior-year period.

After bumper Q3 results, Bermuda-headquartered Lancashire is to give back capital to shareholders through a $263mn special dividend and an additional $150mn share buyback facility.

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.

MMC, the holding company for the resurgent Marsh and Guy Carpenter global (re)insurance broking operations, has reported Q3 consolidated revenue of $2.5bn – down 11 percent from the third quarter of 2008.

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

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.

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.

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.

After booking second quarter net profits, XL Capital has slipped into the red once again as its bottom line was hit by realised investment losses in Q3 and its top line showed further evidence of the franchise damage inflicted in 2008.

Transatlantic Holdings and Aspen Insurance Holdings reported record third quarter profits with Everest Re also booking a dramatic swing in fortunes against the prior-year period as the theme of bumper returns from benign underwriting conditions and recove

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.

Glacier Group founding CEO Robbie Klaus has resigned from the (re)insurer with immediate effect.

The current environment of falling economic growth and less demand for (re)insurance products makes it "more or less impossible to increase prices," according to Lloyd's franchise performance director Rolf Tolle.

RenaissanceRe generated a combined ratio of just 43.3 percent in the third quarter, as it benefitted from the unseasonably benign catastrophe loss climate.

Bank of America is shutting down its loss-making Lloyd's syndicate at the end of the year, with the vehicle to be placed into run-off, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Maurice "Hank" Greenberg’s CV Starr & Co has denied aggressively poaching dissatisfied American International Group (AIG) employees.

Private equity-backed insurer Torus is experiencing rapid growth in its casualty profile and is expected to post a modest pre-tax profit for 2009.

Willis is in exclusive talks with private equity firm Astorg Partners to sell down its stake in the French broker Gras Savoye and avoid the potential obligation to buy out minority shareholders next year for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Three former Marsh excess casualty executives were cleared yesterday (26 October) of bid-rigging.

Lloyd’s (re)insurer Brit has posted an upbeat Q3 management outlook as its reinsurance and UK markets business units achieved strong premium growth to offset declines at its global markets division.

Willis CFO and COO Patrick Regan has announced plans to leave the insurance broker to join the world’s fifth largest insurance group, Aviva, as CFO.