September 2005/4

Embattled UK quoted reinsurer Alea Group Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd has cancelled a rescue fund raising plan following AM Best’s decision on 23 September to downgrade the firm’s financial strength rating from A- to B++.

Three Japanese insurers will receive large cash settlements from Deloitte & Touche LLP because of the company’s auditing role in the collapse of controversial US aviation reinsurance company Fortress Re.

The world's largest insurer AIG yesterday (20 September) released its estimated catastrophe losses for the third-quarter, primarily due to Hurricane Katrina, of around $1.1bn post-tax.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has downgraded its rating on Lloyd’s reinsurer Advent Underwriting following news that its losses from Hurricane Katrina are equivalent to 40 percent of its total capacity.

First hints of Katrina litigation and political pressure on insurers The first evidence of the likely upcoming political pressure against insurers to pay claims in the wake of Hurricane Katrina became evident last week when Democrat Mississippi...

Industry legend Maurice “Hank” Greenberg gave his strongest hint yet that he plans to return following his ousting from insurance giant American International Group Inc in March. In an interview with Reuters last week, the 80-year old said...

But hurricane season far from over... Hurricane Ophelia will create insured losses of no larger than $800mn, according to the latest estimates from catastrophe modelling firm AIR.

Morgan Stanley analyst William Wilt has advised investors to remain selective as new capital opportunities arise with (re)insurers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In a research note released on 13 September Wilt warned that “trading on reinsurers...

Recent estimates from the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) have revealed the continuing impact of Hurricane Katrina on oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Stephen Way, CEO of HCC Insurance Holdings, has hit out at (re)insurers for publishing inaccurate loss estimates in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Speaking to Insider Week, Way said it was a “cop out” for certain companies to report their market...

As the reinsurance industry converged on Monte Carlo for the annual reinsurance Rendez-Vous last week, conversations seldom strayed far from Hurricane Katrina. But amidst the champagne and conjecture, there was a general consensus that rates would...

New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer has formally charged eight former Marsh & McLennan executives after an investigation into bid rigging and price fixing. William Gilman-executive marketing director and enforcer of Marsh’s placement service...