September 2003/1

Hurricane Isabel, which hit the US eastern seaboard with heavy wind and rain on 18 September, is estimated to have caused $1billion of insured property damage - significantly less than early forecasts.

The $10mn fine handed to AIG this month (11 September) was a further sign that US regulators are scrutinising the industry's penchant for complicated financial instruments. The world's most valuable insurance company agreed to settle an investigation b

Crédit Lyonnais has announced that it has reached agreement with the United States Attorney's Office to settle a long running investigation into the French bank's 1991 acquisition of Los Angeles-based Executive Life Insurance Company. In a statement po

Against the backdrop of US tort reform, some US insurers are lobbying to increase Equitas' burden of asbestos claims, warned Equitas’ new chief executive Scott Moser this month. Speaking at Equitas' annual meeting on 12 September, Moser applauded the

Lloyd’s specialist insurer Hardy Underwriting Group announced on Monday 22 September that it will begin underwriting financial institutions for the 2004 year of account. The account, which will be accommodated within the 2004 stamp capacity of £115mn,

XL Capital’s ELU transfers prime treaty account to rival Benfield Reinsurance brokers RK Carvill is in dispute with a division of XL Capital after the Bermudian insurance giant transferred its prime directors and officers reinsurance treaty to rival in

AIG backed ruling finds INA liable for Brandywine exposures, ACE to appeal The spectre of asbestos legacy issues hangs over Bermudian-based giant ACE Ltd, with the (re)insurer’s defeat in a landmark case involving Brandywine and ACE INA, inherited with

Under-reserved, GoshawK’s Syndicate 102’s future is on a knife-edge... Embattled Lloyd's insurer GoshawK saw its share price tumble for the second time in three months as the company admitted it was under-reserved by an undisclosed amount. Following

Belgo-Dutch insurer Fortis is set to spin-off its US insurance business in a 2004 New York Stock Exchange IPO that could value the business at around Eur4.2bn.

Capital providers at Lloyd's will see their fees reduced next year after the Society restructured the levies charged on each underwriting member. As predicted in the August edition of The Insider, Lloyd's will end the current 2 percent premium levy at

UK insurers are being warned that increases in US reserves against asbestos-related claims could be a taster of things to come for the London market. The warning comes after news that US underwriters have bolstered their reserves for asbestos-related c

Laptop looks at Lloyd’s and ILV pension deficits and questions the increasing actuarial control... Actuaries Lane, Clark and Peacock estimate that, out of the 90 companies in the FTSE-100 index, only 13 showed a surplus of assets over liabilities in th