September 2009/3

Lloyd's insurer Amlin is set to become a partner to the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup...

Ratings agency Fitch has changed its outlook on Novae Group's UK FSA-authorised insurance subsidiary, Novae Insurance Company Ltd (NICL), from stable to negative.

The latest version of changes proposed by US insurance regulators' club the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) are set to be voted upon at the association's fall meeting this week [24 September].

UK regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has highlighted a trend of "significant weaknesses" in due diligence and monitoring of third-party relationships and payments across the commercial insurance broker industry.

Warren Buffett passed on the chance to buy a "very large" property and casualty (P&C) operation valued at some $25bn from American International Group (AIG), just as the financial crisis was breaking this time last year.

After Lloyd's (re)insurers submitted their 2010 business plans to the franchise department last week, the 300 year-old market will begin next year at its largest ever size in terms of capacity.

French (re)insurer Scor is seeking to reduce its 97-98 percent near-term combined ratio by saving on its retrocession purchase, according to a recent analyst report.

The IPC property catastrophe book is to be re-underwritten, but its new owner Validus Holdings wants to take on the "vast majority" of the business it has acquired, according to Conan Ward, CEO of Validus Re.

Lord Peter Levene, chairman of Lloyd's, has lambasted those who question whether the competitiveness of the City should take precedence in the UK, insisting it is "an absolute priority".

As US regulatory authorities confirm discussions to "level the playing field" over contingent commissions, it has been estimated that MMC could earn more than $250mn a year if the controversial arrangements are allowed to return.

Liberty Syndicates is one of the insurers exposed to the Willis errors and omissions (E&O) insurance relating to multi-million dollar settlements for the infamous London PA reinsurance spiral of the mid-to-late 1990s, The Insurance Insider has learned.

The industry is effectively two-thirds of the way though the worst of the North Atlantic hurricane season, provoking a leading (re)insurance analyst to suggest the prospect of better-than-expected earnings this year.