September 2012/4

2012 M&A transactions

Valuations for (re)insurers in The Insurance Insider's P&C universe

Weekly share price movements and key data on The Insurance Insider's universe of P&C (re)insurers and brokers

Tawa's majority shareowner, French billionaire Francois Pinault, is behind the push for a full sale of the company, The Insurance Insider understands.

Argo is continuing to consider a variety of capital management strategies to support its underwriting at Lloyd's for the 2013 year of account, including a loss portfolio transfer (LPT) of prior-year exposures

The establishment of a specialist dispute resolution scheme in Qatar for high-value insurance and reinsurance claims has been proposed by law firm Pinsent Masons and the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC).

Ace has sued US insurance group OneBeacon for allegedly conspiring with eight former Ace employees in order to steal trade secrets from the firm before their "coordinated resignations".

Lloyd's CEO Richard Ward has said that smaller syndicates struggling under the burden of membership costs required by the Corporation must "get with the programme".

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has adopted legislation outlining the Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) for US insurers, a key element in modernising regulation in the US.

Montpelier Re and Validus could end up with the greatest proportion of excess capital among the Bermudian reinsurers if the 2012 hurricane season finishes as benignly as it began, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) analyst Cliff Gallant.

(Re)insurance M&A has fallen to its lowest level for the past three years in the first half of 2012, according to a report by Clyde & Co.

RMS is working on a new software platform for launch in 2014 that it says will enable much quicker risk updates than the current system, which normally takes 5-6 years to complete a major scientific revision.

The success of capital markets players in making themselves a fixture in the reinsurance sector will aid the companies that can partner up with them and hurt those that don't, JMP Securities analyst Matthew Carletti told investors last week following a visit to the Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous.

Guy Carpenter is opening a new office in Dubai that will be headed by Bilal El Hoss, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

It is understood that Dennis Mahoney, chairman of the specialty managing general agency and analytics firm Sciemus, has parted ways with the London-based company.

A number of senior staff have left Aon Benfield's Greek operations including CEO Gerald Turner, who gave his name to the business, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Canopius has indicated it intends to de-empt the capacity of what was Omega Syndicate 958 from £280mn to £220mn.

UK broker aggregator Giles' start-up EC3 Brokers will not be merged with its existing London wholesaler FSJ, The Insurance Insider understands.

After completing the recent £164mn Omega acquisition, Canopius is planning a significant expansion of its property direct and facultative (D&F) book under global property chief executive Mike Duffy, sister title Inside FAC revealed last week.

UK motor insurer Admiral is facing increasing earnings pressure from softer UK insurance pricing, regulatory change and its decision to reduce volume growth, according to Espirito Santo analyst Joy Ferneyhough.

Direct Line, the UK personal lines insurer that is planning to list on the London Stock Exchange this autumn, should take heed of the ill-fated Talanx IPO and price realistically.

Although a range of likely names were bandied around in the hours after Validus made public its agreed bid for Flagstone, there is no longer an expectation that one of them will seek to upset the deal, according to a range of market sources.

Tower Hill looks set to become the latest Florida homeowners' insurer to take on a raft of policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, as the state-backed insurer continues its drive to de-risk.

Swiss Re expects to see capital relief transactions represent up to a third of its European, Middle East and African (EMEA) reinsurance portfolio within three to five years.

Aon Benfield and Willis Re have benefited after Australian giant QBE switched brokers on two key components of its outwards reinsurance programme ahead of the 1 January 2013 renewal, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

WR Berkley upgrade; Brown & Brown; Buffett upbeat; Fitch negative; Beazley closes; QBE exit; Hastings expands; Transparency call; Isaac $1bn-$2bn; Stanford three years; AIG returns; Bacon departs

Third Point Re has attracted enough funding to launch its property cat venture for the 1 January renewals, The Insurance Insider understands.

When a single young man discovers that a close friend is going out with a beautiful young lady, the next logical and indeed inevitable question he will ask of said friend is always "does she have a sister?"

Steve Hearn, the Willis executive who has enjoyed a meteoric rise since joining the global broker four years ago, is now the frontrunner to succeed Joe Plumeri next year as CEO, The Insurance Insider can reveal