September 2007/3

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.

Despite rates holding up better in the reinsurance than in the primary sector, 1/1 renewal prices are set to drop by around 10 percent in US property, while non-motor casualty and specialty will also see further declines...

Expansion of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) at the beginning of the year has created “new profit opportunities” for reinsurers, according to rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

Munich Re has targeted a potential EUR5bn market with its new unit set up to sell protection against selected enterprise risks.

Electronic trading platform RI3K has launched a new messaging service for the (re)insurance industry.

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.

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”.

QBE European Operations has launched a new reinsurance division in order to bring its Lloyd’s and company business under one roof.

Private equity backed Canopius Group Ltd joined the throng of Lloyd's (re)insurers launching Bermudian platforms while also confirming it had appointed corporate advisers to consider "strategic options".

Although revenue growth impressed at Benfield Group Ltd's Corporate Risk business (BCR), shares in the broker fell as the John Lapsley-headed division reported a trading loss of £4.6mn...

Insurer Brit Holdings plc has reported flat first half profits of £106.8mn following a drop in underwriting profits in the "difficult" UK market.

Indemnity style triggers have become an established feature of insurance-linked securities (ILS) transactions and the trend is likely to continue, predicted Aon's Paul Schultz.