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++.

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.

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.

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.

Arab Insurance Group (ARIG) announced the formation of Islamic reinsurer Takaful Re today (19 September) with $125mn of paid up capital and up to $500mn of authorised capital. Based in the Dubai International Financial Centre, Takaful Re will be the...

Chaucer announced record interim results today (19 September) with pre-tax profits up 79 percent to £35.8mn for the six months ending on 30 June 2005. The results were well ahead of forecasts and largely due to excellent performance in the motor...

Berkshire Hathaway looks set to acquire Sompo Japan Insurance Inc’s run-off portfolio, Insider Week can reveal. According to sources, Berkshire Hathaway has trumped UK run-off acquisition specialists Ruxley Ventures who had tabled an alternative...

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...

Bermudian reinsurer Montpelier Re acted swiftly to restore its Hurricane Katrina battered balance sheet by raising some $600mn from selling its stock at $24 per share. The “class of 2001” reinsurer saw its share price plummet 17 percent...

Following a mandated 12 September deadline to provide loss estimates, Lloyd's vehicles have continued paint a picture of the scale of the claims they are facing. Meanwhile other (re)insurers, led by those based in Bermuda, have begun to release...

AM Best has become the latest ratings agency to reassess its stance on (re)insurers affected by Hurricane Katrina. Its most significant move was to downgrade the financial strength of Olympus Re to B+ (Very Good) from A- (Excellent), while...

Margins up at Equitas On 12 September, Insider Week stated that Equitas’ insolvency margin had increased. This was incorrect. The opening paragraph of the story should have read: Equitas announced its annual results for the year ended 31 March 2005...