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March 2010
Don Kramer has stood down as CEO of Ariel Holdings.
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The merger of Bermudian firms Max Capital Group and Harbor Point has been termed a merger of equals. Reactions spoke to the CEO’s of the two companies and an analyst to get the perspective from all sides on what the future holds for the combined company Alterra Capital Holdings.
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Endurance's new CEO will be looking to continue the work done under eight years of Ken LeStrange's leadership but won't be afraid to make big changes if necessary, he tells Reactions in an exclusive interview.
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Navigators Management has expanded its professional liability division by appointing a new architects and engineers team.
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Zurich, along with Sonoma Risk Insurance Agency, is looking to start an attorneys’ fees insurance programme in the US.
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US insurance broker Marsh has announced the appointment of Jonathan Zaffino as US global risk management (GRM) casualty practice leader.
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US composite rate down 5% for February. But coastal property rates in certain locations are firming, leading to rumours of new entrants to the market to take advantage of higher pricing.
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Consolidation rumoured on Bermuda.
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Bermudian firms Max Capital Group and Harbor Point have announced they have agreed to a merger.
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Favourable reserve development meant medical malpractice insurance writers achieved better operating results in 2008 and the first nine months of 2009 than S&P had predicted two years ago.
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February 2010
US insurer American International Group (AIG) has reported a fourth-quarter loss of $8.9bn and warned that it may need more support from the US government.
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Fairfax's acquisition of Californian workers' compensation insurer Zenith National Insurance in a $1.4bn deal is a long-term play and the firm does not expect great results in the short term, Prem Watsa, chairman and CEO of Fairfax, told Reactions in an exclusive interview.
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The UK government has upheld a 2007 ruling in the House of Lords that pleural plaques does not constitute actionable or compensatable damage.
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Spanish insurers will continue to suffer from the consequences of the recession and the restructuring of the domestic banking market in 2010, according to a special comment from rating agency Moody's.
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Reactions speaks to brokerage veteran Pat Ryan, who built Aon into a global powerhouse, about his plans for new firm Ryan Specialty Group.
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Medical malpractice insurance has been excluded from a bill introduced in the US House of Representatives that would eliminate portions of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, which exempts the insurance industry from certain anti-trust laws.
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With Aon, Marsh and Willis now able to accept contingent commissions again, the market is abuzz with questions about which of them will accept the controversial payments, how much business this could bring and what buyers’ reaction will be.
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The unsettled economy is having a big effect on claim operations in the US, according to a survey conducted by global professional services company Towers Watson.
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Bermudian insurance and reinsurance firm Endurance Specialty Holdings today announced that, effective March 1 2010, David Cash will become its chief executive officer.
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Swiss Re has raised its dividend for 2009, in a sign that the world’s second-largest reinsurer is now in a position to repay a expensive convertible loan from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
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Reactions will be recognising the best companies, teams and individuals in the London market with our Reactions London Awards 2010 programme, and we need your help. Have your say now!
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Bermuda has long been viewed as the so-called better mousetrap, the best and most efficient place for new insurance capital. That is now changing, but the island’s leaders say observers should not underestimate Bermuda’s importance.
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The Spitzer-era ban on contingent commissions for the world’s biggest insurance brokers, Aon, Marsh and Willis, has been lifted. An equity analyst believes Aon and Marsh could now receive as much as $200m a year in contingent commissions.
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The Risk and Insurance Management Society today announced its dismay at a decision by the New York insurance department and attorney general to allow the big three brokers to resume taking contingent commissions.
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Lloyd’s of London’s decision to broaden its product range as part of its strategic plan will not harm the market’s position in its core lines, Sean McGovern, Lloyd’s general council, has told Reactions.
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PartnerRe's acquisition of Paris Re, along with involvement in initiatives such as the Global Reinsurance Forum trade group, confirms Patrick Thiele's position as one of the most influential reinsurance executives around.
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Japan car maker Toyota’s recall of many of its cars because of braking problems exposes commercial lines carriers to personal injury and products liability lawsuits, Moody’s has said in its weekly credit outlook.
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John McNally has been hired by Beazley to head a new team. He will be based in London and report to the head of Beazley’s global management liability team, Neal Wilkinson.
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Japan car maker Toyota’s embarrassing recall of many of its cars because of braking problems will cause headaches for people who have bought its cars, but is unlikely to cause a big problem for insurers.
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Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer Holdings has established a new international liability division within Chaucer Syndicate 1084.
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The soft market for US directors’ and officers’ liability (D&O) insurance continues as competition and surplus business puts pressure on rates.
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Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe today announced organisational changes, following the acquisition of Paris Re. These include Paris Re’s chief executive officer leaving the company at the end of June.
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Reinsurance pricing softened at the January 1 2010 renewals. Reactions asks what this will mean for pricing for the rest of the year.
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Rating agency Fitch has downgraded the issuer debt rating of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to AA- from AA+ and the insurance financial strength ratings of its insurance subsidiaries National Indemnity Company, General Re and Geico to AA- from AAA.
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A review into UK civil litigation costs has sparked controversy.
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A Scottish ruling leaves insurers on hook for billions.
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Aspen Insurance Holdings today reported net income of $126.3m in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with net income of $21.8m for the fourth quarter last year.
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Bermudian insurance and reinsurance group Max Capital Group today reported net income of $62.6m for the quarter, compared with a net loss of $94.1m for the same quarter in 2008.
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Bermuda reinsurer RenaissanceRe Holdings has reported net income of $211.8m in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with a net loss of $55.2m in the fourth quarter of 2008.
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Bermudian insurer and reinsurer XL Capital today reported a net loss for the fourth quarter of 2009 of $40.3m, compared with a net loss of $1.4bn in the fourth quarter of 2008.
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Marsh has appointed Eleni Petros as a senior vice-president in its financial and professional (Finpro) practice.
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Labour MP Andrew Dismore on Friday reintroduced a Bill in the UK House of Commons to reverse a 2007 House of Lords ruling that ended rights of pleural plaques sufferers from claiming compensation.
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A coalition of 13 US insurance groups have voiced support for US president Barack Obama’s proposal to cut what it sees as offshore tax avoidance. The coalition has urged legislation to be passed quickly.
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The Lloyd’s market had a strong year and is presently experiencing a period of unprecedented profitability reports Guy Carpenter in its review of the UK based syndicate.
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The US property/casualty rates were down 4% on average in January 2010.
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This year firms face a stark choice over how to deploy their capital, says Kenneth LeStrange, chairman, president and CEO of Bermudian insurer and reinsurer Endurance Specialty Holdings.
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Rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) today lowered its long-term counterparty credit rating on Berkshire Hathaway to AA+ from AAA.
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Fitch ratings has delivered a downbeat outlook for the US broking industry.
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US insurer Liberty Mutual has filed a lawsuit against rivals and former executives and Aspen Insurance, reports Reuters.
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A wholly-owned subsidiary of United Insurance Holdings is applying to write property/casualty insurance in seven more states.
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Global reinsurers face the daunting prospect of eroding profitability margins over the next two to three years, S&P has warned in a new report.
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January 2010
XL plans to redomicile to Ireland and the remaining Lloyd’s players headquartered in the UK are also considering leaving. We ask why firms are looking to move and to where.
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The new director of underwriting performance at Lloyd’s has a big challenge to fill the shoes of his predecessor, Rolf Tolle.
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A unit of Liberty Mutual has reorganised its US specialty casualty business.
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A federal judge has ordered Lloyd’s of London to pay for the criminal defence costs for Allen Stanford, the founder and chairman of Stanford Financial Group, and two officers in his company accused for their part in a $7bn Ponzi scheme.
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AM Best has upgraded the financial strength rating of Paris Re to A from A- and the issuer credit ratings a+ from a-. The ratings have been assigned a positive outlook.
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Low demand continued to put pressure on US rates as carriers competed for new business, according to The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers’ quarterly Commercial P/C Market Index Survey.
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The introduction of a compulsory deductible for directors and officers is causing uncertainty in the German D&O market, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has warned.
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Economic turmoil drove a surge in securities lawsuit filings in 2009, according to a new report from Advisen.
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Insurers exposed to the UK property/casualty market could face elevated claims costs from asbestos should four insurers fail in their bid to appeal a legal ruling which gives victims of an asbestos-related illness the right to claim damages.
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Small insurers retain a decent market share of the overall US property-casualty market and have strong positions within certain niches, according to a new study by Conning Research & Consulting.
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Insurance and reinsurance company Ace Group has announced the appointment of John Lupica to chief operating officer, insurance for North America.
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A recent lawsuit against 14 insurance companies could be the start of a trend in Chinese drywall legal action.
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Read a selection of stories from the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Reactions.
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Insurers have lost a legal battle to invalidate a Scottish legislation, which gives victims of an asbestos-related condition the right to claim damages, Financial Times reports.
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The mixed reinsurance rating environment is a disappointment against last years’ expectations says Bermudian reinsurer Aspen Re.
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Markel’s approach to investments cost the firm millions in 2008. Reactions asked its vice-chairman Tony Markel whether this has heralded a change at the firm.
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Thompson Heath & Bond, THB’s Lloyd’s broking arm, has enhanced its international treaty platform by hiring three senior brokers specialising in the Latin American, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and Asia/Pacific territories.
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The Bermuda firms tracked by reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter experienced strong recovery in their balance sheets as net income improved to $7.28bn in the first nine months of 2009, from a $440m loss in the first nine months of 2008.
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A division of AIG is required to pay more than $517m of reinsurance to five workers’ compensation insurers in liquidation.
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After the announcement that US Risk Insurance Group has expanded into the specialty reinsurance brokerage marketplace, Reactions quizzed Randall Goss, chairman and chief executive officer of US Risk Insurance Group about his intentions for 2010.
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Members of the Guy Carpenter Global Reinsurance Composite saw their total net income more than double to almost $10bn in the first nine months of 2009, according to a Guy Carpenter briefing.
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XL Insurance, the global insurance unit of XL Capital, has signed an underwriting agreement with Dentists National Insurance of Coral Springs, Florida.
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Last year finished with a pattern of US rate decreases not dissimmilar to that for most of the year, with the property/casualty composite rate index for December down 4%, according to online exchange MarketScout.
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XL Insurance, the global insurance operations of XL Capital, has appointed two financial institutions underwriters to its London-based professional lines team.