September 2013/6

France-based insurer Axa is marketing a new European windstorm bond after a two-year hiatus from the cat bond market, our sister publication Trading Risk understands.

Swiss Re is marketing its second subordinated contingent write-off security for 2013, following on from a similar issuance back in March.

Is AmTrust Financial's use of Luxembourg captives to absorb insurance losses clever financial engineering or a breach of US GAAP accounting and the principality's financial regulations?

The London company market wrote almost £18bn in gross premium last year, while a further £6.2bn was under the control and management of London operations, according to a report published by the International Underwriting Association (IUA) last week.

Lloyd's of London last week (26 September) reported a 10 percent dip in its interim profits as the 325-year-old insurance market succumbed to a sharp drop in the value of its bond investments, mirroring the half-year results of the wider (re)insurance industry.

Lloyd's is set to see its busiest day of start-up activity in five years after it granted in-principle approval for three new syndicates to begin underwriting from 1 January.

Broking legend Pat Ryan has said the role of wholesale brokers is "changing dramatically" as clients and retailers expect more expertise and partnership rather than merely being given access to markets.

P&C insurers are unlikely to be able to sustain the level of reserve releases seen in recent periods for much longer, which may have a positive impact on pricing in the excess and surplus (E&S) lines market, according to AM Best.

The Lloyd's insurance market remains the largest player in the US excess and surplus lines (E&S) sector but is set to face increased competition in the near future.

London-headquartered brokers Cooper Gay and Price Forbes both proclaimed 2012 as good years, even though a superficial glance at the trading numbers might give two different impressions.

The industry's largest reinsurance broker unveiled a major management restructure last week that includes a new CEO and a closer alignment with its bigger corporate risks sibling, Aon Risk Solutions (ARS).

The recent terrorist attack on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi could inflict the largest loss on the terrorism market since the Bangkok riots in 2010, according to sources.