October 2009/4

Bermudian Max Capital Group has appointed Adam Mullan as CEO of Max at Lloyd's - the managing agent for Syndicates 1400, 2525 and 2526 - as it looks to build out its Lime Street platform.

The World Bank is launching a catastrophe bond issuance platform to give governments and other public entities access to international capital markets for natural catastrophe insurance.

The convergence market's uneasy relationship with US liability perils should be rethought, as the prospect of a new era of tort expansion will create opportunities for the sector.

Lloyd's (re)insurer Brit posted an upbeat Q3 management outlook Friday (23 October), as its reinsurance and UK markets business units achieved strong premium growth to offset declines at its global markets division.

Amlin-backed dedicated ILS investor Leadenhall Capital Partners has launched two $50mn Irish-based funds.

A global coalition of insurers has called on developed countries to agree to a 40 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 at the UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December.

Hartford Financial Services Group will pay $1.3mn to resolve a lawsuit from Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal alleging that a former reinsurance business engaged in illegal price-fixing.

Channel Re - the failed financial guarantee reinsurer formed in 2004 by RenaissanceRe, Koch Financial Corporation, Partner Re and MBIA - has begun a tender offer to purchase outstanding shares.

In the latest chapter of the bid-rigging saga that has haunted Marsh since 2004, the broking giant and American International Group (AIG) have been served with a lawsuit by US commodity producer and distributor Seaboard Corp.

Mirroring the 2009 bounce-back within the global (re)insurance industry, Lloyd's pro forma capital base increased by 13 percent to £16bn in the first half of 2009 and 30 percent year-on-year.

American International Group (AIG), which received $182.5bn from the federal government's $700bn Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), has missed three dividend payments to the Treasury.

Swiss Re said it is "very well positioned" to enter January 2010 renewal discussions, but will focus on quality instead of quantity as it faces up to the pricing problems in key European markets.