September 2007/3

The continued pressure on rates has dampened Kiln plc’s premium growth with the (re)insurer confirming plans to reduce its participation in the Lloyd’s market.

(Re)insurance conglomerate Zurich Financial Services announced the launch of a Chinese distribution platform, Zurich Insurance Brokers (Beijing) Ltd, which will deliver general and life insurance products across China.

Typhoon Fitow, this year’s ninth named storm in the western Pacific, made landfall in Kanagawa state southwest of Tokyo on 7 September, with maximum sustained winds of 86 mph.

Swiss reinsurer Glacier Re has continued to grow over the first six months of 2007 despite the soft prevailing market conditions.

Bermudian life reinsurer, Scottish Re Group has closed a $555mn Triple-X life securitisation through its subsidiary Clearwater Re.

The legacy of workers’ compensation carve-out reinsurance – epitomised by the Unicover pool which collapsed in 1999 – re-emerged when CNA Financial Corporation agreed to pay John Hancock $250mn to end a dispute relating to the business.

Benfield Group has become the latest reinsurance broker to respond to the growth in insurance linked securities with the creation of a new team to advise on non-traditional risk transfer solutions.

The nascent insurance-linked securities (ILS) marketplace is on track to become “one of the great and exciting stories of financial innovation in the next five to ten years”, according to Michael Spencer, founder and chief executive of the world’s largest

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has proposed a rule change to the collateral requirements made on "alien" reinsurers.

A proposal for a national cat risk pool has met with stiff opposition in the US Senate with some lawmakers refusing to subsidise “a lifestyle of beach living”.

Tim Mahoney, the senior Marsh Inc executive who was heading for rival firm Integro Ltd last week has performed a u-turn over the weekend after receiving a "vastly improved offer" from the broker.

Former American International Group (AIG) supremo Maurice “Hank” Greenberg has been subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of its investigation into alleged accounting irregularities at the firm.