September 2006/4

Giant reinsurer Swiss Re revealed last Friday (15 September) that it is looking for potential buyers for its iconic London office building the Swiss Re Tower - better known as the Gherkin.

CV Starr, the managing agency ultimately controlled by former American International Group (AIG) chief executive Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, revealed on 12 September that it is forming a new Lloyd’s syndicate.

Scientists have identified the return of the Pacific weather phenomenon known as El Nino as one of the reasons for the benign hurricane season so far this year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) announced on 15 September its second major restructuring in less than two years with news that it plans to shed 750 jobs as part of cost-cutting measures that it says will produce savings of $350mn a year.

Up to $500mn of retrocessional capacity will be withdrawn from the market following the completion of Swiss Re’s acquisition of GE Insurance Solutions earlier this year.

Omega Underwriting Holdings Plc has become the second Lloyd’s (re)insurer in a week to confirm plans to redomicile to Bermuda and the first to confirm it has received clearance from the UK authorities.

With the 2006 Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous offering relatively benign conditions for networking and negotiations after the travails of 2004 and 2005, discourse last week focussed on the underlying issues facing the industry in a two-paced market.

Bob Clements, the man who has launched a host of (re)insurers throughout a long career in the insurance industry, is looking to raise up to $1bn for Ironshore Ltd, a newly capitalised Bermudian-domiciled (re)insurance company that will specialise in provi