September 2005/4

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Broker Glencairn has today opened a new South African office in Johannesburg and launched a new company providing a broking service to Southern African clients. The move follows Glencairn’s 2003 management buy-out from Glenrand MIB group, since...

London headquartered reinsurance specialist BMS Group has appointed Andrew Harrris as the new chief executive of its Singapore based operation, BMS Asia Intermediaries Pte Ltd.

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...

The former GoshawK chief executive Chris Fagan is set to acquire the run-off Bermudian reinsurer Overseas Partners Re Ltd (OP Re) with backing from Japanese private equity house Nikko Principal Investments Ltd.

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.