Insurance news

• Confie acquires agencies in NY, Texas and Missouri

  21-06-2017 22:35
  California broker Confie Seguros added to its geographic reach
  by buying agencies in New York, Missouri and Arizona, giving it
  more than 750 offices in at least 18 states.
  Confie has acquired Tremont Spirit Insurance in New York City
  and the Louis P. Ferrari Agency in upstate Rochester, the company
  said today. Terms were not disclosed.
  In Missouri, Confie bought the Rodney D. Young Insurance group
  operations from Loya Insurance Group, adding offices in St. Louis,
  Kansas City and Springfield....
  
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• Grenfell survivors to get social homes in Kensington luxury development

  21-06-2017 19:43 via ft.com
  City of London buys 68 flats for fire victims on select Kensington High St
  
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• Vitruvian completes CFC buy-in

  21-06-2017 19:02
  Private equity house Vitruvian has completed its 40 percent buy-in
  with CFC, The Insurance Insider
  understands.
  This publicationreported in March that the private equity firm had bought into
  the specialist managing agent in a deal that valued the business at
  £230mn ($292mn) - equivalent to a multiple of just over 15x
  forward Ebitda.Vitruvian acquired its stake by buying out investors Richard
  Corfield, chairman of CFC; Mike Rees, co-founder of Benfield; and
  Hugh Willis, co-founder of BlueBa
  
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• Kaikoura quake claims double

  21-06-2017 19:02
  Insurance claims from the Kaikōura earthquake that struck New
  Zealand last November have doubled to NZ$1.84bn ($1.33bn),
  according to the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ).
  These losses were for the period to the end of May, up from an
  NZ$900mn estimate released in February.
  The magnitude 7.8 tremor struck near Kaikoura, a town of 3,000
  people on New Zealand's South Island.
  However, the vast majority of the total loss, NZ$1.36bn
  ($980mn), has been attributed to commercial losses which
  
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• Queen's Speech raises Ogden reform hopes

  21-06-2017 17:00
  Hopes of a reprieve for (re)insurers battered
  by the Ogden rate cut rose today as the UK government flagged
  pending efforts to reduce motor insurance premiums.
  News of a revival of previously shelved
  whiplash reforms in the Queen's Speech, and accompanying
  briefing notes that left room for wider personal injury
  compensation changes, came after weeks of intense industry lobbying
  for an overhaul of the Ogden rate.
  A shock 3.25 percentage point cut to the rate
  earlier this year has already...
  
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• Generali appoints new strategy director

  21-06-2017 17:00
  Italian carrier Generali has appointed the CEO of its Europ
  Assistance medical assistance business to the position of group
  strategy and business accelerator director.
  Bruno Scaroni will take up his new role on 1 July, while
  continuing to lead Europ Assistance until a replacement is
  found.
  Outgoing strategy and business accelerator director Gian Paolo
  Meloncelli "will leave the group at the end of June to pursue
  new professional opportunities", Generali said.
  Scaroni joined Goldman Sachs Interna
  
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• Chaucer gets Irish licence for EU base

  21-06-2017 17:00
  Chaucer has received clearance to establish a Dublin-based
  subsidiary to write international specialty (re)insurance business
  as it safeguards its access to the EU after Brexit.
  In a statement released today the company said it had received
  approval for the entity, Chaucer Dublin, from the Central Bank of
  Ireland.
  The platform will write a "broad range" of
  international specialty risks and will help "support
  Chaucer's international development".
  This publication reported in January that The Hano
  
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• Axis Insurance names Hartman COO

  21-06-2017 17:00
  Rob Hartman has been promoted to chief operating officer (COO)
  of Axis Capital's insurance arm, the company has said.
  The executive fills a position vacated by the recent promotion
  of former Axis Insurance COO Pete Voght to deputy CFO of the parent
  company.
  Hartman was most recently senior vice president of business
  development for Axis Insurance, and is a former McKinsey executive
  and naval officer.
  In his new position he will report directly to Axis Insurance
  CEO Peter Wilson.
  Wilson...
  
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• Tech venture Bridger picks up auto MGA

  21-06-2017 14:56
  Newly established tech venture Bridger has bought a
  California-based MGA that will serve as the platform for its new
  blockchain smart contract, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  SCJ Insurance writes around $15mn of non-standard auto business
  in California.
  Under its new ownership the MGA is expected to expand into Texas
  and Arizona, where it also holds licences.
  Bridger CEO Kimo Winterbottom told this publication: "We
  think it's an excellent operational platform to basically take
  our technology
  
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• Queen's Speech: Insurers welcome new whiplash legislation move

  21-06-2017 14:54 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Industry looks towards meaningful delivery of the reform.
  
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• Queen's Speech: Insurers welcome new whiplash legislation

  21-06-2017 14:54
  
  Industry looks towards meaningful delivery of the reform.
  
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• Queen's Speech: Whiplash reform is chance to tackle regulatory gaps

  21-06-2017 14:24
  
  The government confirmed today it is taking another run at whiplash reform, with a new Civil Liabilities Bill to tackle compensation culture around car insurance
  
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• RSA joins pet claims database

  21-06-2017 13:43
  
  RSA has signed up to a pet claims database in order to better tackle fraud.
  
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• Meet the techies: Paul Williams

  21-06-2017 13:36
  
  Paul Williams, executive chairman of the JRW Group, warns brokers that fresh thinking is needed to survive in a changing world.
  
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• Vibe creates MGA incubator

  21-06-2017 12:53
  Vibe has launched an independent MGA incubator for insurance
  entrepreneurs under the label Vibe MGA Management (Vibe MM).
  The incubator's team will be led by CEO Danny Maleary, who
  previously served as insurance business development director at
  Capita Insurance Services.
  Vibe MM is a member of the Vibe group of companies and is the
  third operating pillar of Syndicate Holding Corp, alongside Vibe
  Syndicate Management, a Lloyd's managing agent managing live
  Syndicate 5678; and run-off specialist I
  
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• Storm Cindy heads towards southern US coast

  21-06-2017 12:53
  The third storm of the 2017 hurricane season, Cindy, is expected to
  cross the US coastline later today, as the National Hurricane
  Center (NHC) warned that rainfall could produce flash flooding in
  the affected areas.
  The NHC has issued a tropical storm warning covering the
  coastline from San Luis Pass in Texas, across Louisiana up to the
  Alabama-Florida border, which indicates that tropical storm
  conditions are expected in the zone within the next 12 to 24
  hours.
  The warning also...
  
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• QBE shares hit by profit warning

  21-06-2017 12:53
  Shares in QBE plunged over 10 percent today after the Australian
  carrier said high claims activity in its emerging markets business
  would inflate combined ratios.
  In a stock exchange announcement the carrier attributed the
  claims tally to "a combination of increased frequency of
  medium sized risk claims in Asia, weather related claims in Latin
  America and adverse experience in legacy portfolios in Latin
  America".
  QBE said this would inflate the group's first-half and
  full-year combined operating
  
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• Opinion: The agency model

  21-06-2017 12:53
  Lloyd's carriers are finding it increasingly challenging to
  make money underwriting for their own account as rates are eroded
  year-on-year and acquisition costs run out of control.
  They are getting little help from the asset side of the balance
  sheet and that is pushing managing agents to look hard at other
  ways to deliver a return to their shareholders.
  Yesterday The Insurance Insider
  revealed that Barbicanis working with Toa Re to establish a special purpose
  arrangement (SPA) for 2018....
  
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• Irdai puts GIC Re refusal rights under review: report

  21-06-2017 12:53
  The Indian insurance regulator is reportedly set to review the rule
  that grants state-owned Indian reinsurer GIC Re the right of first
  refusal on all treaty business in the country.
  According to website reinsurancene.ws, the Insurance Regulatory
  and Development Authority of India (Irdai) will review the rule
  this year, in a move that boosts recently admitted global
  reinsurers' hopes of challenging GIC Re's hegemony.
  A number of large players including Gen Re, Swiss Re, Munich Re,
  XL Catlin, Hann
  
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• IGI hires from Brit for legal expenses push

  21-06-2017 12:53
  International General Insurance Holdings Limited (IGI) has
  introduced legal expenses as a new line of business to its
  portfolio with the hire of Terry Mason from Brit.
  Mason joins with more than 25 years of experience in the sector.
  Most recently he was class underwriter for legal expenses at Brit
  Global Specialty. He has also held roles at Markel
  International.
  He will report to Andreas Loucaides, CEO of IGI UK.
  The new product offers both before-the-event and after-the-event
  legal expenses...
  
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• Epsilon hires former Pen execs for senior roles

  21-06-2017 12:53
  Australia-based coverholder Epsilon Underwriting Agency has added a
  chairman to its team as one of two senior hires.
  Paul Lynam takes the chairman role, effective 1 July. He will
  work alongside CEO Morgan Long.
  Lynam was until last December CEO of AJ Gallagher-owned Pen
  Underwriting, having previously held that same role at Pen
  predecessor entity SRS Underwriting Agency.
  He is joined by former Pen and SRS chief underwriting officer
  Paul O'Leary, who takes the same role at Epsilon.
  In a...
  
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• Belisle to stay on as Markel Catco CEO

  21-06-2017 12:53
  Markel Catco Investment Management CEO Tony Belisle has extended
  his contract with the parent of the company he founded for another
  two years.
  The executive will remain at the helm until 31 December 2020,
  according to a London Stock Exchange announcement.
  Belisle's original contract was due to end on 31 December
  2018.
  After 2020, his contract will continue indefinitely on a rolling
  annual basis.
  The news defies expectations he would leave at some point after
  Catco was acquired by Markel...
  
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• Live: Industry reacts to Queen's Speech

  21-06-2017 12:46
  
  Latest commentary from the industry regarding the Queen's Speech.
  
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• CMCs to be brought under the heel of the FCA

  21-06-2017 12:45
  
  Claims management companies will see fees capped and the sector regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, under plans to tackle “widespread malpractice”.
  
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• CMCs to be brought under heel of the FCA to tackle ‘widespread malpractice’

  21-06-2017 12:45
  
  Claims management companies will see fees capped and the sector regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, under plans to tackle “widespread malpractice”.
  
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• Queen's Speech: New whiplash crackdown announced

  21-06-2017 12:43
  
  New whiplash crackdown was announced by the government at the State Opening of Parliament
  
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• Government resurrects whiplash reform

  21-06-2017 12:40
  
  The government has put whiplash reform back on the agenda with a promise to tackle “rampant compensation culture” in the Queen’s Speech.
  
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• Aviation insurers launch model Brexit clause for multi-year policies

  21-06-2017 12:17
  
  Aviation insurers have launched a model contract continuation clause to keep multi-year policies in place after Britain leaves the European Union, the International Underwriting Association said.
  
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• Maurice Tulloch appointed to executive board position at Aviva

  21-06-2017 12:13
  
  Aviva’s CEO of international insurance, Maurice Tulloch, has been appointed as an executive director of the company.
  
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• European captives showing strong capital positions in Solvency II disclosures: AM Best

  21-06-2017 12:13
  
  European captives are showing “very strong” capital reserves in through reported Solvency II ratios, according AM Best.
  
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• IGI targets regional brokers with new legal expenses insurance product

  21-06-2017 11:21 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Insurer expands offering into new class of business.
  
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• Soros-backed investors launch MGA incubator

  21-06-2017 10:47 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Vibe targeting start-ups and developing firms.
  
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• Queen's Speech: New whiplash legislation promised

  21-06-2017 10:38
  
  The government will introduce new whiplash legislation in today’s Queen’s Speech.
  
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• High Net Worth Society: Meet-up two

  21-06-2017 10:21
  
  Read the key points from the second meeting of the exclusive High Net Worth Society.
  
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• Faraday to get new CEO as management revamped

  21-06-2017 09:20
  Faraday CEO Steve Michael will hand over to CFO Andrew
  D'Arcy in October as part of a broader set of management
  changes at Berkshire Hathaway's Lloyd's platform,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Chris Thorne and Tom Shelley are also set to take over from Mark
  Rayner as joint active underwriters following the
  latter's departure for Lloyd's insurer Apollo last
  month.Faraday staff were told last week that Michael would relinquish
  the CEO role this year and retain an executive position...
  
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