October 2011/5

Parametric insurance will make it easier for public organisations to buy insurance against catastrophes, according to Cooper Gay's Latin America CEO Steve Jackson.

Lloyd's did its job adequately in assessing the plans of loss-making UK motor syndicates, according to director of performance management Tom Bolt

Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe suffered a bruising $1.35bn of catastrophe losses in 2011, resulting in a net loss of $502.6mn for the first nine months of the year.

The Insurance Insider met former Aon Global chairman and Aon Ltd CEO and chairman Dennis Mahoney earlier in the month and found the retired executive buzzing with enthusiasm from a keynote speech he had just made in London.

Mark Errington has become the latest partner to defect from London-headquartered law firm Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) on the eve of its effective takeover by Clyde & Co.

A UK court has ruled that insureds are not restricted to using an insurer's panel solicitor and are entitled to be covered for all "reasonable" legal costs endured, even if they exceed the rate stated in their policy.

US trade bodies have urged the two groups of states that have initiated separate schemes on sharing premium taxes for surplus lines policies to compromise.

Bermuda's regulatory scheme for managing larger (re)insurers is broadly equivalent to Europe's forthcoming Solvency II regime, according to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa).

Traditional reinsurers are failing to offer capacity efficiently and the trend for them to outsource peak risk to capital market providers is likely to continue, Nephila Capital co-founder Frank Majors said at the Baden Baden conference last week.

A US subsidiary of Prudential Financial has closed a $2bn letter of credit deal with a number of banks in the largest life securitisation since the 2008 financial crisis.

Swiss Re is seeking to raise $50mn from a new rated Successor cat bond issue covering US hurricane and European wind risk, as well as from an unrated tranche of notes exposed only to US hurricane perils.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors do not expect the earthquake that struck eastern Turkey on 23 October to threaten the EUR50mn Ianus Capital bond.

With a flurry of proposed reinsurance start-ups looking to launch in 2012 with hedge fund and private equity backing, General Re's CEO has warned cedants about the long-term commitment of some investors in the sector.

Cat modelling agencies AIR Worldwide and Eqecat estimate that insured losses from last week's earthquake in Turkey will come to between $55mn and $200mn, meaning that reinsurers will be spared yet another significant international earthquake loss.

With Thailand's industrial heartlands still swamped and Bangkok fighting peak tides on the Chao Phraya river, the Thai Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) has increased its insured loss estimates from the country's worst flooding in 50 years.

Stockmarket optimism proved short-lived last week after Eurozone leaders finally announced its long-awaited financial restructuring plan on Thursday (27 October).

Insurers' slow adoption of the RMS Version 11 (V11) wind model on both sides of the Atlantic is influencing reinsurance demand and supply in the lead-up to the 1 January renewals.

A number of US regional insurers with reinsurance programmes that renew on 1 January bought increased limits at mid-year to hedge concerns over tighter capacity and higher rates for new cover.

The heavy tornado and hail catastrophe losses in 2011 have woken US insurers up to a "new peak risk" that will change attitudes to severe weather, according to industry experts.

US insurers looking to aggregate covers as a solution to the spate of frequency losses that have decimated earnings this year may find it difficult to secure affordable capacity, The Insurance Insider understands.

Persistently low interest rates and the spectre of inflation are prompting casualty (re)insurers to push for underwriting profitability - a goal that may necessitate rate increases of up to 25 percent across the class, according to industry experts.

Reinsurers at the PCI annual meeting in New Orleans were optimistic that reinsurance rates - at least for property cat business - would maintain their upward trajectory at the key 1 January renewals and into 2012.

Jardine Matheson's move to build up its cornerstone stake in JLT will remove the share price prop provided by the potential for a big three takeover offer, Panmure Gordon analyst Barrie Cornes has said.

Aon Corporation and Arthur J Gallagher reversed their fortunes of a year ago to post stronger organic growth than Willis Group in the third quarter.