September 2004/4

Despite recent suggestions from the likes of Swiss Re that capital markets will increasingly bear the burden of large-scale risk, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) believes the securitisation market is serving as a complementary form of risk transfer, and not a sub

Rating agency Fitch has assigned Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) ratings to six Japanese life insurance companies.

AXA Re Property and Casualty Company (AXA Re P&C) became the first ratings casualty of the trio of storms hitting the South Eastern corner of the United States as AM Best revealed today (20 September) its decision to downgrade the reinsurer’s financial st

Evidence of continuing hard market conditions came with last week's interims from Lloyd's specialist insurer Hiscox which revealed record operating profits of £61.7mn, an increase of 134 percent.

Chaucer Underwriting became the latest Lloyd’s insurer to celebrate the recent, strong underwriting conditions by posting a 32 percent increase in pre-tax profits to £18.8mn for the first half of the year.

“Continuing positive market conditions” have helped Catlin Group almost double its net income from $50.7mn to $95.8mn in its first ever interims as a public company.

US property/casualty insurers prospered in the first half of 2004, posting underwriting profit of almost $9bn, substantially up on the same period of 2003, according to a report published today (20 September) by ratings agency AM Best.

Political posturing over proposals for a compensation fund for asbestos victims stepped up last week as reprised negotiations between Senators Tom Daschle and Bill Frist renewed hopes that a solution may be in the pipeline.

The independent Lloyd’s broker Cooper Gay has recruited Nick Newman and Judy Benson to run its new US domestic treaty business.

Ratings agency AM Best has affirmed its syndicate rating of "A" (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+” on Hardy Syndicate 382, both ratings issued with a stable outlook.

Following on from last month’s 25 percent share price fall on news of deterioration from its run-off US legacy exposures, Lloyd’s insurer SVB released mixed results in its latest interims.

The embattled Swiss based reinsurer Converium revealed last week that Berkshire Hathaway unit National Indemnity Company and Munich Re will providing fronting insurance for its 27.25 percent share of the Global Aerospace aviation pool.