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

Back in September during Monte Carlo, talk of a Willis-Miller deal had been a prime candidate for the crazy rumour of the month. But the rumours refused to go away

Willis and Miller confirmed that they are in exclusive takeover talks that have reached an advanced stage following a story from this publication yesterday

The blurred boundaries between the traditional roles of carriers, reinsurers and brokers should be embraced as an opportunity by reinsurers rather than being seen as a threat, according to Brian Duperreault

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

The Insider 30 dropped by 0.10 percent last week, as the industry staved off a decline as steep as that recorded on key benchmark indices for the second week running

M&A valuations for (re)insurance businesses are likely to come under pressure next year as the pendulum swings from more of a buyers' market to a sellers' one

US-listed P&C carriers are widely expected to beat consensus earnings forecasts for the third quarter, driven by an inactive wind season and a relatively quiet period for major catastrophe losses

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuance in 2014 is still likely to break the record despite a quiet third quarter, Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA) said in its latest report on the market

The soft reinsurance market is promoting a "risk-on mentality" among Florida domestic insurers (FDIs), according to Heritage Insurance chairman and CEO Bruce Lucas

A panel of reinsurance buyers at the Trading Risk New York Rendez-Vous said that despite increasing talk of a two-tier market, they were keen to maintain a broad base of counterparties on their placements

Aon Benfield Securities CEO Paul Schultz has predicted an acceleration of alternative capital flowing directly to insureds, following the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's shift towards collateralised protection and the launch of the MetroCat bond

European reinsurers are positioned to perform in line with expectations despite the tough rating environment, according to AM Best