Insurance news

• Zenkyoren adds $375mn top-layer cat bond cover

  15-12-2014 19:40
  Zenkyoren is set to add $375mn of cat bond cover to its
  reinsurance programme after it increased the size of its latest
  deal from $200mn, sister publication Trading
  Risk reported last week.
  The Japanese mutual insurer's second bond for 2014 is split
  across two tranches and provides protection on an indemnity
  basis.
  The riskier second tranche, which provides aggregate cover,
  doubled in size to $200mn.
  It will pay investors 287.5 basis points (bps) above the
  benchmark rate, having settled in..
  
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• Towergate sell-off eases Q1 liquidity pressure

  15-12-2014 19:40
  The sale of an aviation broking subsidiary last week to rival
  JLT Group should enable Towergate to make the £31mn in Q1
  coupon payments that are due to bondholders of its £1bn debt
  mountain.
  The embattled UK broker aggregator sold Hayward Aviation last
  week for £27mn. Combined with the group's dwindling cash
  reserves, this should be sufficient to cover the £31mn in
  coupon payments due in January and February on its three layers of
  traded debt.
  Following a major debt...
  
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• Tax on court judgments expected to see 39% reserve hike

  15-12-2014 19:40
  Professional lines insurers may be forced to bolster reserves by
  up to 39 percent after a stealth tax change that could see UK
  Commercial Court awards and settlements subject to duty.
  For years there has been a discretionary concession in place
  preventing Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) from taxing
  damages and settlements, but that could be set to change.
  In January, HMRC changed the wording of tax forms giving it the
  "discretionary" power to tax settlements and damages
  aw
  
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• Reinsurers warned over cyber gold rush: Rhoads

  15-12-2014 19:40
  Reinsurers looking to emerging risks such as cyber in order to
  grow and diversify books of business in the face of soft market
  pressures should be wary of underwriting perils they do not
  understand, according to Jed Rhoads, president and chief
  underwriting officer of Markel Re.
  Speaking at the 2014 EY Global (Re)Insurance Outlook event in
  Bermuda last Thursday (11 December), Rhoads said he was not sure
  that cyber risk would find its way "quickly or
  profitably" into the reinsurance...
  
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• Property cat retro down 30% as soft market grips

  15-12-2014 19:40
  Property cat retro rates are plunging by 30 percent on average
  at the 1 January renewal as alternative capital drives multiples of
  expected loss (EL) in the business down to those already being
  experienced in the soft reinsurance market, according to Markel Re
  president and CUO Jed Rhoads.
  
  And reinsurance underwriters are also suffering another grim
  renewal as rates slid in US and international cat, with further
  softening in casualty and specialty too.
  Contrary to expectations, the rate of redu
  
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• Pricing uncertainty over Gator Re cat bond

  15-12-2014 19:40
  Prices on American Strategic's Gator Re cat bond dropped by
  roughly 10 percent in early December after the sponsor updated
  investors on its annual losses.
  Gator Re was still marked at a midpoint of around 102.5 cents
  towards the end of the Thanksgiving week of November, when
  Trading Risk reported that American
  Strategic's losses for the year to end of October had eroded 75
  percent of the bond's aggregate deductible.
  By the following week, most insurance-linked securities traders
  had
  
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• Montpelier Re gains on sales talk

  15-12-2014 19:40
  The Insider 30 tumbled by 2.16 percent last week as P&C
  (re)insurance shares traded down.
  
  
  But shares in Montpelier Re gained by 3.26 percent as
  The Insurance Insider broke the news that
  the Bermudian property cat specialist had been put up for sale by
  its board (see lead story).
  
  
  Meanwhile, the wider sector downturn was driven primarily by our
  composite of global reinsurers. The peer group traded down by an
  average of 2.93 percent, led by French reinsurer Scor and...
  
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• JLT Re: New BCAR to challenge volatile earners

  15-12-2014 19:40
  Changes to the way AM Best calculates its Best's Capital
  Adequacy Ratio (BCAR) model, which are set to hit the market in
  2015, could negatively affect carriers with higher exposure to
  volatile and acute cat loss scenarios, according to reinsurance
  broker JLT Re.
  In early 2013 AM Best unveiled plans to enhance its analytical
  methodology by incorporating stochastically generated risk factors
  into the BCAR, which are expected to become part of the
  agency's company rating process some time i
  
  Read more

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• Insurers rethink investment strategies in time for Solvency II

  15-12-2014 19:40
  Insurers are working to ensure their investment strategies are
  sufficiently transparent before the European Union's Solvency
  II capital regime is implemented on 1 January 2016.
  Speaking to The Insurance Insider, Bob
  Campion, head of institutional business at Charles Stanley Pan
  Asset Capital Management, explained that Solvency II was forcing
  insurers to gain access to much more detailed portfolio
  information.
  "What some [insurers] are finding when they look through
  clever bond funds is
  
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• Insurance capital standards bill reaches final stage

  15-12-2014 19:40
  The US House of Representatives has unanimously passed
  legislation designed to end confusion around the federal
  requirements imposed on systemically important insurers that fall
  under the supervision of the Federal Reserve.
  The bill, which was approved by the House on 11 December, will
  now pass to President Barack Obama for final approval.
  The Insurance Capital Standards Clarification Act ensures that
  the Federal Reserve can apply insurance-based capital standards to
  the insurance operations of
  
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• Flood Re lines up MGA and retro broker

  15-12-2014 19:40
  UK state-backed flood reinsurer Flood Re has lined up a managing
  agent and retrocession broker, following separate tenders launched
  earlier this year.
  Although the winning firms have been chosen, they will not be
  announced until Flood Re finalises its agreement with the
  government, sources disclosed.
  The broker award was scheduled for early December, while the
  managing agent was slated to be announced at the end of
  October.
  According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the
  broker tende
  
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• Diversification rather than size driving reinsurance change

  15-12-2014 19:40
  The need for diversification rather than scale is driving much
  of the strategic evolution in the reinsurance sector, according to
  Bob Deutsch, the industry figure now spearheading the roll-out of
  Hamilton Insurance Group.
  
  
  On the same day (11 December) that The Insurance
  Insider revealed that another Bermudian cat
  specialist - class of 2001 market Montpelier Re - is considering a
  sale process, Deutsche and other industry experts agreed that more
  M&A is likely in 2015 as the reinsurance mark
  
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• Davis review prompts FCA bonus cull

  15-12-2014 19:40
  Martin Wheatley, CEO of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority
  (FCA), will forgo his £115,000 annual bonus after a bungled
  media briefing led to millions being wiped off the value of UK life
  insurers in March 2014.
  A £2mn independent investigation into the event by Simon
  Davis of law firm Clifford Chance found that the decision to
  provide a newspaper with an advance briefing from director of
  supervision Clive Adamson was well intentioned.
  However, the strategy and manner in which it.
  
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• Brisbane hailstorm losses top A$800mn

  15-12-2014 19:40
  Insured losses from the hailstorm that battered parts of
  Brisbane and Queensland towards the end of November have risen to
  A$804mn, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has
  estimated.
  In an 11 December update, the trade body said that the 27
  November hailstorm - the worst to hit Brisbane in over 30 years -
  had so far triggered 86,800 claims.
  Two thirds or 58,000 of these related to domestic motor vehicle
  damage. A further 22,000 claims were lodged on house...
  
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• Bibb leaves CatCo

  15-12-2014 19:40
  CatCo Investment Management's chief operating officer and
  chief financial officer Jason Bibb has resigned with immediate
  effect, the London-listed firm announced on 12 December.
  Bibb, who is relocating to the UK, will remain at the firm as a
  consultant, while Michael Toyer has been named as the likely future
  chief financial officer.
  Toyer was previously head of investment operations at the
  Bermudian fund manager and has more than 11 years' experience
  in accounting with a focus on the rei
  
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• AmTrust's med mal broker withholding premiums totalling EUR54mn

  15-12-2014 19:40
  AmTrust's former Italian medical malpractice broker Trust
  Risk Group was withholding more than EUR54mn in premiums following
  the acrimonious breakdown of the exclusive distribution agreement
  between the two firms.
  Last week (10 December), UK judge Mr Justice Blair ruled that
  the broker, owned and run by Antonio Somma, must return EUR32mn in
  client funds, which AmTrust claimed had been misappropriated.
  The judgment, seen by The Insurance
  Insider, will force Somma to transfer the EUR32mn
  back
  
  Read more

• Expansive Floridian United to buy Family Security

  15-12-2014 18:19
  Fast-growing Florida-based insurer United Insurance Holdings Corp
  (UIH) has agreed a deal to buy Family Security Holdings, the
  start-up launched early last year to write business in Louisiana
  and Hawaii.
  In a statement today (15 December), UIH said it will acquire
  subsidiary Family Security Insurance Company and managing general
  agency Family Security Underwriters as part of the deal for a total
  of $9.0mn of its own shares.
  In addition to the all share up front consideration, UIH will
  pay contin
  
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• Ryan Direct Group joins AA panel

  15-12-2014 18:04
  
  Callum Brodie Postonline
  
  
  Broker AA Insurance Services has signed a home affinity deal with Ryan Direct Group that will see the Doncaster-based firm join the AA’s panel with immediate effect.
  
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• Allianz targets metalworking and precision engineering sector

  15-12-2014 17:37
  Insurer’s third mid-coporate sector-specific proposition
  
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• JLT named broker for Swansea Tidal Lagoon

  15-12-2014 17:33
  
  Francesca Nyman Postonline
  
  
  Jardine Lloyd Thompson has been named as the broker for the Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay, the world’s first man-made energy generating lagoon.
  
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• JLT hired as broker for £1bn tidal lagoon

  15-12-2014 16:20
  Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay to generate renewable electricity for 155,000 homes
  
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• Factsheet: Travel insurance

  15-12-2014 16:01
  
  Cover varies hugely so it pays to shop around, read the small print and remember that the cheapest is not always the bestTravel insurance is designed to protect you against the cost of any unforeseen events when you are on holiday, or before if they force you to cancel your break. It’s up to you if you buy a policy. Cover varies hugely between deals, so reading the small print before you buy is vital. Continue reading...
  
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• James River floats below share price expectations

  15-12-2014 15:48
  Bermuda-domiciled (re)insurer James River completed its IPO on
  Friday (12 December), with the share price settling below
  forecasts.
  The excess and surplus lines insurer anticipated an initial
  price of $22 to $24 per share, but floated on the Nasdaq Global
  Select Market at $21.
  The company sold 11 million common shares in the offering and
  raised $231mn of capital, falling short its $242mn-$264mn
  forecast.
  The (re)insurer has been approved to list its common shares on
  the Nasdaq index under the...
  
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• Fitch goes negative on London market

  15-12-2014 15:48
  Fitch has lowered its 2015 fundamental sector outlook on the London
  market from stable to negative, the ratings agency announced today
  (15 December).
  The change was driven by the expectation that "an important
  proportion of London market business would experience further
  significant pricing pressures in 2015".
  It added that reinsurance in particular was expected to see a
  decline in pricing adequacy, which mirrors Fitch's current
  negative outlook on the reinsurance sector due to int
  
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• Andrew Torrance to leave Fireman's Fund

  15-12-2014 15:41
  Art Moossmann will replace the former Allianz UK chief executive
  
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• Household pressure to offset improved motor climate in 2015, says Fitch

  15-12-2014 15:15
  
  Francesca Nyman Postonline
  
  
  A halt in motor premium declines and improved commercial performance is expected to see the UK non-life market stabilise in 2015 but this could be offset by increased pressure in the household space, according to Fitch Ratings.
  
  Read more

• Torrance leaves Fireman's Fund in AGCS shake-up

  15-12-2014 14:14
  Fireman's Fund CEO Andrew Torrance will step down from the
  Allianz subsidiary as part of a restructure of the recently
  combined Fireman's Fund and Allianz Global Corporate &
  Specialty (AGCS) North American business.
  Torrance first joined Allianz as director and general manager,
  broker division before becoming UK CEO in 2003. He will remain
  available to support the ongoing review of options for the
  Fireman's Fund personal insurance business.
  Art Moossmann will take on dual respons
  
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• AXA's Richard Davies to chair IFB technical board

  15-12-2014 13:28
  Seven new members joining board next year
  
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• Generali suffers S&P downgrade

  15-12-2014 12:40
  Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has downgraded
  four Italian insurers, including Generali, after lowering
  Italy's long-term sovereign credit ratings earlier this month.
  S&P said it had lowered its long-term counterparty credit
  and insurer financial strength ratings by one notch for Generali
  and its core subsidiaries.
  Allianz, UnipolSai and Società Cattolica di Assicurazione
  also had their ratings lowered by one place.
  Generali's rating was lowered from A- to BB
  
  Read more

• ABI holding off Flood Re contracts as government talks continue

  15-12-2014 12:31
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline
  
  
  The Association of British Insurers is holding off contracting with a managing agent and a reinsurance broker for the Flood Re scheme due to ongoing discussions with government around the initiative's secondary legislation.
  
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• New look IFB technical board to be chaired by Axa fraud boss Davies

  15-12-2014 12:13
  
  Callum Brodie Postonline
  
  
  Axa global chief fraud control officer Richard Davies has been appointed as chairman of the Insurance Fraud Bureau’s technical board as part of a shake-up that will result in an influx of new board members.
  
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• Blog: Provate prosecutions - select wisely

  15-12-2014 12:00
  
  Mark Stanger Postonline
  
  
  Has the time come for insurers to use prosecution in the criminal courts in order to win the fight against claims fraud?
  
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• Blog: Private prosecutions - select wisely

  15-12-2014 12:00
  
  Mark Stanger Postonline
  
  
  Has the time come for insurers to use prosecution in the criminal courts in order to win the fight against claims fraud?
  
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• Lyons: client policies are “absolutely not” at risk

  15-12-2014 11:41
  Part two of an exclusive Q&A with the consolidator’s interim executive chairman.
  
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• Moossmann to lead combined Fireman's Fund, AGCS team

  15-12-2014 11:37
  Art Moossmann will lead the recently combined Fireman's Fund
  and Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) North American
  business, AGCS revealed in a statement.
  Moossmann will take on dual responsibility for Fireman's
  Fund and AGCS North America as president and CEO of both
  organisations.
  AGCS announced last week (12 December) that current president
  and CEO of Fireman's Fund Andrew Torrance would step down.
  Torrance will remain available to support the ongoing review of
  option
  
  Read more

• Moody's downgrades Towergate and predicts restructure

  15-12-2014 11:37
  Moody's has downgraded Towergate's corporate family and
  probability of default ratings by two notches in another blow for
  the struggling broker.
  In addition, Towergate's senior instruments and senior
  unsecured paper were downgraded by one notch, while the senior
  secured notes were downgraded by three notches.
  Moody's added that all of the ratings could be subject to
  further downgrades, and that the broker was "increasingly
  constrained" in relation to its longer-term liq
  
  Read more

• Towergate boss tackles: the sale progress so far, bidders, creditors and rivals’ reactions

  15-12-2014 11:29
  An exclusive Q&A with Alastair Lyons, interim executive chairman at the consolidator.
  
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• Motor premiums climb 15% to hit two year high - MoneySuperMarket

  15-12-2014 11:24
  And the average premium could be set to hit the £500 mark in 2015
  
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• QuestGates introduces new minimum standard for motor investigators

  15-12-2014 11:19
  Loss adjuster announces move in anticipation of proposed changes to the private investigator regulation
  
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• Be Wiser chief executive predicts more consolidation in 2015

  15-12-2014 11:05
  CEO and chairman Mark Bower-Dyke talks to Insurance Age about how he sees the market developing next year.
  
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• Canopius strengthens UK Specialty with senior hires

  15-12-2014 11:04
  Tony Southern and John Eldridge join business
  
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• Moody’s downgrades Towergate again

  15-12-2014 11:02
  Second downgrade in a month takes Towergate deeper into ‘junk bond’ territory.
  
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• Blagrove Underwriting hires Martin Cleary

  15-12-2014 11:00 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Cleary joins the insurer from Ageas.
  
  Read more

• Equistone sells A-Plan stake to HgCapital

  15-12-2014 10:56
  Broker chief says it is "business as usual" for the firm.
  
  Read more

• Quindell hunts for new stock market sponsor

  15-12-2014 10:50
  Shares in the claims management company closed at 41.5p on Friday
  
  Read more

• Barbican bolsters cyber underwriting team

  15-12-2014 10:48
  
  Callum Brodie Postonline
  
  
  Barbican Insurance Group has appointed Ace USA’s Matthew Waller as cyber, technology and media underwriter.
  
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• Barbican Insurance Group hires Matthew Waller

  15-12-2014 10:00
  Waller becomes cyber, technology and media underwriter.
  
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• Equistone sells stake in A-Plan

  15-12-2014 09:05
  The broker’s majority shareholder confirms sale to fellow private equity firm HgCapital
  
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• Barbican grows cyber underwriting team

  15-12-2014 08:46
  Matthew Waller joins as cyber, technology and media underwriter
  
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• Flood Re managing agent and broker contract awards delayed

  15-12-2014 07:00
  Industry and government wrangling over secondary legislation for flood insurance scheme
  
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