United States of America (USA)
Reinsurance rates decline at June Florida renewals
According to a report by reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter, Florida renewal rates have declined by 10-12% at renewal.
BMS revenues rise 10% in 2009
Reinsurance broker BMS has reported an underlying profit of £9.2m in 2009.
US government predicts up to 23 Atlantic storms
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts “one of the most active [hurricane] seasons on record.”
QBE opens Canada Lloyd’s office
QBE has opened an office in Toronto to service its Lloyd’s business for the Canadian commercial insurance market.
Liberty Mutual and General Re settle dispute
Liberty Mutual has resolved a dispute in which it accused the General Re, the reinsurance unit of Berkshire Hathaway of fraud, according to a court filing.
SFO drops AIG case
The Serious Fraud Office has dropped an investigation into the UK operations of AIG Financial Products.
Lloyd's: Deepwater and Chilean earthquake bill could top $2bn
Lloyd’s announced today that it estimates its net claims before tax from the earthquake in Chile to be in the order of US$1.4bn.
CEA welcomes EU/US Japan Post Insurance talks
The European insurance and reinsurance federation, CEA, has welcomed joint EU and US effort to address the Japanese government’s preferential treatment of Japan Post Insurance.
Reinsurers should prepare for active 2010 hurricane season – TSR
Tropical Storm Risk (TSR), which provides real-time mapping and prediction of tropical cyclone windfields worldwide, anticipates Atlantic basin and US landfalling hurricane activity being 55% above the long-term (1950-2009) norm this summer.
US financial reform bill passes
The US Senate approved a sweeping Wall Street reform bill on Thursday night, capping months of wrangling over the biggest overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s.
Munich Re issues $80m cat bond
Munich Re has obtained cover for US hurricane and European windstorm risks amounting to $80m from Irish SPV EOS Wind, which placed a catastrophe bond in the market.
CCIR praises EU for blasting US reinsurance tax proposals
The Coalition for Competitive Insurance Rates (CCIR) has commended the European Union for "speaking out against a controversial tax proposal” on affiliated reinsurance included in President Obama's 2011 budget proposal.
US financial reform delayed
In a setback for the Obama administration, Senate Democrats failed to muster enough votes on Wednesday to end debate on the overhaul of financial regulation, delaying a vote on passage.
Performance - Shareholder returns: Cut to the core
Jonathan Hughes examines the findings of recent analysis of insurer shareholder returns and finds that big is not necessarily better.
Omega sees Q1 GWP growth
(Re)insurer Omega Insurance Holdings has reported an 18% growth in GWP for the first quarter of 2010 to $124.5m (2009: $105.5m.)
Survey - Insurance buyers: Making decisions
Elizabeth Duffy reveals the results of recent research into what corporate risk managers look for when selecting a broker partner — and what frustrates them.
US investors ready to back second bond push
Towergate believes that there is a healthy appetite among US investors if it goes ahead with a bond issue in the near future. The consolidator postponed its original £665m placing last week, and will bide its time until the beginning of July to see if…
Risk presentation key, claims international broker survey
According to new research commissioned by Bowring Marsh, the quality of the presentation of risk information is crucial to insureds obtaining the most competitive terms from insurers.
Risk presentation key, claims international broker survey
According to new research commissioned by Bowring Marsh, the quality of the presentation of risk information is crucial to insureds obtaining the most competitive terms from insurers.
European GI CEO Annette Court out in Zurich reshuffle
Zurich Financial Services today announced a streamlined management structure and related senior management appointments. The changes come into effect on 1 July.
Towergate postpones bond issue for 4-6 weeks
Towergate has postponed its £665m bond issue and will bide its time over the next month and a half to see if the markets improve.
Allied World appoints new US claims head
Allied World US has announced that Mark Rosen, executive vice president & chief claims officer will retire in June. Julianne Splain, VP of professional and management liability claims has been promoted to senior VP and will assume responsibility for the…
Towers Watson results hit by heavy merger costs
Net income falls $32m from the third quarter of 2009 due to transaction and integration costs from the merger.
Pru and AIG in talks on restructuring AIA sale
AIG and Prudential are in advanced talks to restructure the $35.5bn sale of AIA, the AIG’s Asian unit, in a move that would cut the cash consideration by about $2bn but could answer UK regulators’ last-minute objections to the deal according to the…