September 2014/4

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

Global P&C (re)insurance stocks weakened last week, with our index of 31 publicly listed carriers - The Insider 30 - falling back by 56 basis points to mirror the movement of wider benchmark stock market indices

The Corporation of Lloyd's and London-headquartered broker JLT have been added as advisers to the board of Placing Platform Ltd (PPL), the body tasked with commissioning an electronic placing platform for the London market, The Insurance Insider has learned

ERS (formerly Equity Red Star) Syndicate 218 remains on "red" status at Lloyd's for its Solvency II readiness, meaning there are still major issues to be dealt with before it can be deemed compliant with the capital regime

The Bank of England will not hesitate to refuse approval of internal models required for compliance with the European Union's Solvency II capital regime if they are "inadequate or opaque", governor Mark Carney said last week

Bermuda-based run-off buyer Catalina has agreed to acquire Danielson Indemnity Company, the holding company for a pair of Californian workers' compensation and motor carriers, from Covanta Holdings

Litigators for Maurice "Hank" Greenberg took to the stand in a Washington DC federal court yesterday (29 September) to open a $40bn case brought against the US government over its 2008 bailout of his former company AIG.

Amtrak is suing a number of insurers for failing to fully pay a bill estimated at over $504mn for losses caused by Superstorm Sandy.

The protection and indemnity (P&I) clubs within the International Group (IG) are aiming for an overall pool retention of $100mn on the vast reinsurance treaty they buy, according to a sector report from independent Lloyd's broker Tysers.

Capacity levels in the aviation hull war market stand at 175 percent, global broker Willis said last week (25 September).

Lloyd's last week reported a 21 percent jump in first half pre-tax profits to a five-year high of £1.67bn, as investment returns recovered to more historic levels

Alternative capital could take a 50 percent or greater share of global property cat limit in the future as the insurance-linked securities investor base continues to grow, according to Fermat Capital managing principal Brett Houghton.

Medium-sized insurance intermediaries are increasing seeking to diversify their income streams by venturing into new business areas, including employee benefits consulting, senior broking sources have told The Insurance Insider.

The Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) agency has revealed plans to set up a multi-year platform targeting over $1bn in issuance of African climate change catastrophe bonds over the next 30 years.

DCG Iris shareholders voted unanimously to wind up the closed-ended insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund during an extraordinary general meeting on 24 September.

Final pricing was reached for a new $500mn issuance of municipal bonds that will act as a layer of catastrophe funding for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), sister publication Trading Risk reported last week

Technology giant IBM's UK pension scheme committed $50mn to invest in Nephila Capital's Iron Catastrophe Fund at the start of this year, according to its most recent annual report.

Pre-tax profits fell by 67 percent in the first half of 2014 at Lloyd's Names vehicle Helios, as increased expenses more than wiped out the positive impact of rising revenues.

High-end US sandwich retailer Jimmy Johns last week became the latest company to fall victim to a data breach, highlighting the growing risk of cyber crime.

Former UK cabinet minister Lord Reid has said the scope for consequential losses stemming from a catastrophic cyber-attack require a public-private partnership.

The cyber insurance market has seen a flurry of appointments this month as insurers and brokers seek to expand their capabilities in this area.

As carriers and intermediaries continue to pour resources into building their offerings in the fast-growing cyber insurance market, the industry needs to see a "transformational shift" in the understanding and treatment of the risk.

Allianz's fund management giant Pimco has announced that deputy chief investment officer Daniel Ivascyn will step up to replace Bill Gross following his dramatic resignation on Friday (26 September).

German insurer Allianz was forced to quash speculation that it would offload its fund management arm Pimco over the weekend, following the departure of its founder and chief investment officer (CIO) Bill Gross.