October 2014/3

The trend for large insurance companies to restructure their reinsurance spend by managing it centrally is a permanent industry feature that reinsurers must swiftly adapt to, delegates at the Guy Carpenter Baden-Baden symposium heard yesterday (19 October).

Starr cyber expansion; Hamilton Re Ace hire; Summers Sequel; Partner solar investment; Marsh buys Torrent; White Mountains transacts deal; Towergate's Hodges leaves; XL hires Dougherty; Allstate hires Mayerfield; JLT hacks into Aon; Ironshore Canada names chair; AJG appoints Deakin

Australia-domiciled QBE's reinsurance arm has received permission from the Bermuda Monetary Authority to open an office on the island, the firm revealed in an investor presentation on 14 October

Mapfre Global Risks will start offering specialty lines of business in aviation, energy, marine, construction and engineering from its London offices in 2015

The proposed reinsurance joint venture between Ace and fund manager BlackRock heralds a secular change that could affect the fate of $18bn in US reinsurance premiums, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Kai Pan

Nasdaq-listed insurer Global Indemnity has agreed to acquire US carrier American Reliable from Assurant in a deal worth approximately $394mn - deploying a significant chunk of excess capital that has long hindered its return on equity.

Bermuda and its (re)insurance hub seem to have emerged relatively unscathed from Hurricane Gonzalo despite sustaining a direct hit from the Category 3 storm over the weekend.

The majority of any loss from a major fire at the Didcot B power plant in Oxfordshire last night (19 October) will be borne by the German insurance market, according to sources.

The rapid downward march of airline rates was halted in September, with carriers forced to pay more for their cover, according to JLT's monthly Plane Talking report

QBE European Operations is set to announce a raft of hires, promotions and reorganisations as it continues major restructuring under CEO Richard Pryce, The Insurance Insider revealed earlier today (20 October).

Major US insurer CNA is considering returning to the reinsurance market to seek protection for its professional lines book after running the book net for a number of years, The Insurance Insider has learned

Divestment has overtaken acquisition as the top type of M&A activity expected over the next three years, prompting a shift from a sellers' to a buyers' market