October 2013/4

Weekly share price movements and key data on The Insurance Insider's universe of P&C (re)insurers and brokers

CNA Financial Corporation reported operating income that climbed by a quarter year on year as improving underlying margins in its P&C business helped offset higher catastrophe losses and another loss from its life insurance segment.The insurer reported net operating income of $269mn or $1 per diluted share, compared to $0.80 a share in Q3 2012.

UK insurers have responded cautiously to draft guidelines from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) setting out how the regulator expects them to act as they comply with Europe's new Solvency II capital regime.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) drew one step closer to gaining new powers to regulate competition laws in the UK financial services sector after an amendment to an existing bill passed the House of Lords committee stage.

Scor CEO Denis Kessler has lashed out at France's state carrier Caisse Centrale de Reassurance (CCR) ahead of filing a complaint with the European Commission, as he bids to break down what he called its "quasi-monopoly".

The authority that runs the Washington DC metro has reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with Aon over a 2009 metro crash that killed nine people.

Bank of America subsidiary Countrywide Financial has been found guilty of defrauding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a prosecution which could see the bank hit with a fine of up to $848mn.

Validus's reinsurance fund manager AlphaCat Managers made an underwriting profit of $11.9mn in the third quarter despite taking a $15.6mn catastrophe-related hit.

Intense competition for limited property catastrophe risk has started to deter fresh alternative capital from entering the reinsurance sector, Validus CEO Ed Noonan told The Insurance Insider.

Everest Re president Dominic Addesso said the company is on track to meet its $250mn target for its Mt Logan Re sidecar by year-end, after the vehicle began writing premiums in the third quarter.

UK-listed (re)insurer Catlin is set to close its Galileo Re cat bond 70 percent above its initial target at $300mn, as pricing on the deal settled below initial forecasts.

US-listed insurers are digesting proposed new accounting rules expected to come into force by 2018, which critics say could make the industry less profitable and its financial statements harder to understand.

The onslaught from the capital markets on the property cat sector has reopened the debate about the future for reinsurers with a heavy focus on this line of business.

As US property reinsurance executives recover from the rigours of the pre-1 January industry gatherings, the attention shifts to executing on renewals that promise to see underwriters scrambling for position and brokers pushing the boundaries of a buyer's market.

Reinsurers fighting the double squeeze of capital markets competition in the property cat space and reduced demand in casualty reinsurance markets are responding by offering broader coverage on looser terms and conditions, according to market sources.

US commercial insurers have reported expanding underwriting margins in their third quarter results as improved rates and a benign quarter for catastrophe losses have had a broadly positive impact on earnings

Early data points from the third quarter reporting season suggest that commercial insurance price rises remained stable, despite some signs of the start of a moderation. The Insurance Insider compares all the early reporters...

International (re)insurers are once again hunting for acquisitions, with seven out of 10 firms planning a deal over the next three years, according to a survey by consultancy firm Towers Watson.

Shares in RSA spiked last week amid press reports that the UK's top commercial insurer is the subject of takeover interest from leading continental European rivals.

The auction of Lloyd's insurer Antares is about to heat up, with Evercore officially appointed to handle the sale and the investor memorandum due out shortly

Seasoned P&C insurance investor Lightyear Capital is continuing to reduce its exposure to the sector by mulling the sale of its majority stake in Houston International Insurance Group

Insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) has announced plans to restructure its highly regarded Peruvian business shortly after fending off an attempt by rival AJ Gallagher to poach some of its local employees.

A bigger-than-expected claim from the loss of the Perro Negro oil rig may weigh on London-listed (re)insurer Lancashire's third quarter results next week

Willis 360 Global already exists in three separate guises to meet the needs of its three capacity providers, and other forms could be developed to bring more carriers in, The Insurance Insider understands.

Scor CEO Denis Kessler has predicted that the forthcoming reinsurance renewals will confirm a permanent structural change in the market, where the "top tier" of reinsurers receive the lion's share of cedants' business in exchange for preferred treatment.

Scor CEO Denis Kessler has confirmed that he intends to remain at the helm of the French reinsurer until at least 2017, when he will be 65-years-old.

Hyperion, the private equity-backed owner of the international underwriting agency business Dual, has made a significant move into the US by acquiring the Florida-headquartered managing general agency (MGA) PGI Commercial.

The Axis-backed Florida take-out insurer headed by Bob Ricker is gearing up to participate in the latest depopulation drive by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation after receiving regulatory approval earlier this month.

The Insurance Insider examines Allianz's wide-ranging optimisation exercise and its implications for the global reinsurance market

The industry's exposure to the distressed Spanish property market may be highlighted this week after an adverse Spanish Supreme court decision that some fear could cost $1bn+ in industry-wide losses. We have the details...

Willis is implementing a significant restructure of its operations as new CEO Dominic Casserley looks to stamp his authority on the company.

UK pensions insurer Rothesay Life announced last week that its parent, Goldman Sachs, has agreed to sell stakes in the company to a trio of buyers including Blackstone and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, confirming a report published by The Insurance Insider on 5 September.

Aon Benfield profit up; AIG hires EMEA head; Langley returns; Australia blaze; Southport Re appoints; Ecclesiastical affirmed; UK crash; Axa lag; BP Marsh invests; Compre acquires; Broker borrowing; ABI shrinks; Best down; German life; Admin Re ‘progressing'

The strained relationship between JLT and AJ Gallagher looks set to deteriorate even further, with a senior team of market-leading construction producers who recently resigned from JLT widely expected to re-emerge eventually at the London broker's rival

Endurance CEO John Charman has extended his recent hiring spree by luring former Axis colleague Richard Housley across from Ontario Teachers'-backed insurer ANV…

As both our lead article and analysis pages demonstrate, reinsurance buyers are increasingly repackaging their reinsurance spend into take-it-or-leave it ready packaged bundles of diversified risk. How can reinsurers' respond?

Europe's largest insurer, Allianz, is preparing to take more than 900 locally bought third-party reinsurance treaties in-house, depriving the global reinsurance market of hundreds of millions of dollars of premium in 2014 and beyond, The Insurance Insider can exclusively reveal

US (re)insurer White Mountains today (28 October) said its third quarter net profit rose threefold, as the company bounced back from a loss-making disposal a year ago