Insurance news

• XL Catlin business down less than 1% post-merger

  08-02-2016 19:24
  XL Catlin has revealed that it lost less than 1 percent of business
  previously written by the two legacy firms in the wake of XL's
  $4.2bn acquisition of Catlin.
  Speaking on the carrier's fourth quarter results call last
  week (4 February), XL Catlin's chief underwriting officer Paul
  Brand said that the market's response to the transaction
  continued to be "very favourable".
  "We have established a robust process to track lost
  business emanating from the deal," he said.
  The executive revealed...
  
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• UK property could be next pilot PPL class

  08-02-2016 19:24
  The service to bring electronic placing to the London market is
  likely to target UK property as the next class of business
  following the terrorism rollout, The Insurance
  Insider understands.The Placing Platform Limited board is establishing the service
  for the terrorism sector first, and said that a structured roll-out
  across other classes would follow.Sources have suggested that UK property could be the next class
  for electronic placing.When contacted by this publication, the London Market Grou
  
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• Reserve releases dry up at Allied World

  08-02-2016 19:24
  Allied World was forced to take a net reserve charge in the
  fourth quarter that fuelled concerns about reserve adequacy and
  drove a sharp fall in the Bermudian carrier's share price.
  The carrier's stock fell 13.3 percent last Thursday (4
  February) and at Friday close was trading at $31.13 per share, equivalent to
  just 0.80x book value.
  After a run of three disappointing quarters, Allied World's
  trading multiple has been eroded sharply from 1.11x last July.
  As recently as last...
  
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• Reinsurers differ on sidecar strategies

  08-02-2016 19:24
  Reinsurers are diverging in their approaches to third-party
  capital platforms, with a mix of expansion and cutbacks occurring
  across companies.
  Everest Re, Hannover Re and AlphaCat posted significant
  increases in sidecar support in their January renewals, while
  RenaissanceRe opted to substantially scale back its retrocession
  business.
  As previously reported by sister publication Trading
  Risk, RenRe expects to post a 10 percent decline in
  its managed gross catastrophe premiums in 2016.
  CFO Jeff K
  
  Read more

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• Reinsurers continue push into insurance

  08-02-2016 19:24
  Rating pressures and concerns over profitability have led
  (re)insurers to write more primary business, as evidenced by top
  line movements during the fourth quarter of last year.
  Among the carriers following this trend are Everest Re, which
  lifted its insurance gross written premiums (GWP) by 17 percent to
  $359.3mn in Q4 2015, compared with just a 1 percent increase to its
  reinsurance top line to $1.07bn.
  Validus' US primary subsidiary Western World has also been
  steadily increasing its book, wit
  
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• Reinsurers can endure 2-3 more soft years: Wallin

  08-02-2016 19:24
  Hannover Re CEO Ulrich Wallin said he believed reinsurers could
  withstand another two to three years of the current soft market
  phase before results would sour.
  Speaking at the Insider London conference last week, he
  suggested carriers have not yet reached the "cheating"
  phase of a market, where reserve releases are used to mask poor
  results.
  Wallin added that the soft market would not change just because
  underwriters knew that rates were too low.
  Change would require pressure on management...
  
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• PPL contract signing delay passes 12-month mark

  08-02-2016 19:24
  The Placing Platform Limited (PPL) board has still not signed a
  contract with Ebix, one year after the insurance software firm was
  selected to develop an electronic placing platform for the London
  market.
  Sources told The Insurance Insider
  that a complete rebuild of the technology for the platform was
  behind the delay and had caused the deadline for a Q4 pilot of the
  service to be missed.
  "The [request for proposals] process stated that the PPL
  board wanted a tried...
  
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• MultiCat Mexico cat bond set for $50mn payout

  08-02-2016 19:24
  The $100mn MultiCat Mexico class C notes look to be in line for
  a $50mn payout as a result of Hurricane Patricia, which struck
  Mexico last October, sister publication Trading
  Risk reported last week.
  The sum of the payout is still to be confirmed by the bond's
  calculation agent AIR Worldwide, but progress towards determining
  the size of the claim was made last week when the US National
  Hurricane Center (NHC) released its official report on
  Patricia.
  The bond uses...
  
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• Marine market waits on potential $1bn legacy loss

  08-02-2016 19:24
  Marine (re)insurers are looking on nervously after a Spanish
  Supreme Court ruling potentially opened the way for a $1bn loss
  that would be the biggest claim to hit the market since Costa
  Concordia.
  The possible loss relates to the break-up of oil tanker The
  Prestige in 2002 off the coast of Galicia, Spain.
  If the claim comes to fruition it will hit the London P&I
  Club, the International Group (IG) of protection and indemnity
  clubs and the IG reinsurers, as...
  
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• LMG lists three priority initiatives for 2016

  08-02-2016 19:24
  The steering board established to deliver the Target Operating
  Model (Tom) has published its priority initiatives for the
  year.
  These are the Placing Platform Limited, the Central Services
  Refresh Programme and Delegated Authorities, plus one enabling
  project focused on data management.
  The London Market Group (LMG)'s Tom steering board met for
  the first time today (8 February).
  It said that creation of the Tom blueprint - which will clarify
  the business case, scope and timelines for the Tom - w
  
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• Industry must be prepared for market disruption

  08-02-2016 19:24
  The (re)insurance industry must be prepared to rethink its
  business model and be prepared to "cut the branch it sits
  on" to remain relevant in the new market normal, panellists
  said at Insider London.
  During the event last week (4 February), Aon CEO Greg Case said all
  members of the (re)insurance value chain must be prepared to change
  the way they do business, before the market finds itself competing
  with external competition.
  "Do you want to be a disruptor or...
  
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• Growth of facilities could stem M&A: Ryan

  08-02-2016 19:24
  The rise of broker facilities "begs the question" as
  to how much more consolidation is needed between (re)insurance
  carriers, according to Pat Ryan.
  Speaking at the Plus D&O Symposium in New York, the Aon
  founder and CEO of Ryan Specialty Group said that such facilities
  generated less premium for "certain" carriers and more
  premium volume for a smaller number of leaders.
  "It's real and broker facilities are going to be around
  and prospering," the executive said.
  "And it might just...
  
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• Grandfathering deadline brings SIMR closer

  08-02-2016 19:24
  The
  deadline for the submission of grandfathering applications has
  passed today (8 February), in another step towards the UK Senior
  Insurance Managers Regime (SIMR) coming into force.The SIMR officially replaced the Approved Persons Regime (APR)
  on 1 January to bring it into line with the new Solvency II
  directive, but the new regulations aren't set to go live until
  7 March.The new regime from UK watchdog the Prudential Regulation
  Authority (PRA) seeks to ensure that senior practitioners running
  
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• Cyber among LMA priorities for 2016

  08-02-2016 19:24
  The Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) is to focus on
  developing a new model proposal form for cyber coverage, according
  to its CEO David Gittings.In a speech to chief executives from the Lloyd's managing
  agency community late last month, Gittings said that the aim was to
  achieve an agreed set of underwriting data for submission by
  brokers.Speaking to The Insurance Insider, LMA underwriting senior
  technical executive Tony Ellwood explained that as the cyber
  product continued to develop underwriter
  
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• Compre makes two senior management hires

  08-02-2016 19:24
  Legacy specialist Compre has named Mark Lawson as group
  actuarial director, it announced today (8 February).
  The company also strengthened its German operations with the
  appointment of Thomas Freudenstein as director of its reinsurance
  subsidiary, Hamburger Internationale Rückversicherung.
  Lawson joins from the actuarial services team at
  PricewaterhouseCoopers, while Freudenstein previously held various
  management positions at Globale Rückversicherungs-AG,
  including chief operating off
  
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• Brit to open Singapore office

  08-02-2016 19:24
  Fairfax Financial-owned carrier Brit is to begin writing Asian
  specialty business out of its new Singapore office from 1 March,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Led by principal officer Charlie Barrett, who is currently class
  underwriter for war and terrorism in London, the business will
  write war, terrorism, political risk and credit lines, and will
  operate out of the Lloyd's Asia office in Capita Green,
  Singapore.
  In addition, Hong Onn Ching, who has worked at Brit's
  Shanghai office for the..
  
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• AM Best predicts challenging period for P&I market

  08-02-2016 19:24
  AM Best has predicted a challenging two years for protection and
  indemnity (P&I) clubs, as they struggle to produce the
  breakeven underwriting results required to maintain high levels of
  free reserves ahead of renewals on 20 February.
  A report by the ratings agency highlighted increased pricing
  pressure, competition, cost-cutting by ship operators and volatile
  equity markets as factors in P&I market pricing pressure.
  Despite record levels of capitalisation, the clubs'
  traditional strateg
  
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• Allied World falls sharply on results

  08-02-2016 19:24
  After reporting a weak set of quarterly results last week (3
  February), shares in Allied World plummeted by 14.73 percent to
  reach $31.13 at market close on Friday (5 February).The Bermudian reported a 70 percent decline in
  operating earnings to $43mn, running up a 97 percent combined
  ratio.Shares in Floridian insurer Universal fell 11.85 percent to
  $16.52, while Generali also continued on its downward trajectory as
  its share price slipped by 10.72 percent to EUR12.24 as the market...
  
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• Aegis London confirms non-exec hires

  08-02-2016 19:24
  Top quartile Lloyd's managing agency Aegis London has today
  (8 February) confirmed the appointment of Jonathan Gray and Tom
  Busher to its board as non-executive directors, as revealed by
  The Insurance Insider last week.
  Gray, a former global head of property at Beazley, retired after
  more than two decades at the London-listed carrier in June last
  year.
  Busher was most recently non-executive chairman of Montpelier at
  Lloyd's. He left the business last year after its parent
  company was acquired by
  
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• CNA records $52mn loss for Q4

  08-02-2016 16:50
  US-listed carrier CNA has reported a net operating loss of $52mn
  for the fourth quarter of 2015, as it was hit by what it called a
  $198mn charge in its long-term care business and a downturn in its
  P&C operating result.
  The $198mn after-tax charge recorded by the insurer's life
  and group non-core segment related to the recognition of a premium
  deficiency and a small reserve deficit in its long-term care
  business.
  Net investment income after tax fell from $365mn...
  
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• PIB reels in Fish Insurance from Capita

  08-02-2016 16:08
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline PIB Insurance Brokers has made its first acquisition since The Carlyle Group’s capital injection, with the group buying specialist Fish Insurance from Capita.
  
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• MGA venture by Cunningham Lindsey gets MGAA backing

  08-02-2016 14:57
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline Cunningham Lindsey will support managing general agents with a new service designed to assist with regulatory requirements and back office functions, a move that has been welcomed by the Managing General Agents’ Association.
  
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• Allianz Commercial unveils proposition for print and publishing

  08-02-2016 13:49
  
  Media proposition will provide cover and services for premiums between £5,000 and £100,000.
  
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• IFB joins SRA and insurer talks over 'consistent' approach to claimant firm fraud

  08-02-2016 13:43
  
  Callum BrodiePostonline High level discussions are taking place between the insurance industry and the Solicitors Regulation Authority towards establishing a consolidated process for submitting evidence of fraud perpetrated by claimant law firms.
  
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• QBE's booming broker extranet unveils three more products

  08-02-2016 13:27
  
  QBE’s fast-growing etrade platform launches three more products 
  
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• QBE adds three products to SME e-trade offering

  08-02-2016 13:27
  
  Move boosts range to seven lines.
  
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• Sompo Canopius reshuffles senior management

  08-02-2016 13:14
  Sompo Canopius has named Mike Duffy group chief underwriting
  officer (CUO) and active underwriter of Syndicate 4444 as part of
  an organisational restructure.
  Duffy was previously executive chairman of Canopius US. In his
  new role he will be responsible for all underwriting operations,
  although individual underwriters will retain oversight of their
  respective product lines.
  He replaces Stephen Gargrave, who retires from the role
  following four decades in the market. He will, however, become a
  non
  
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• Schroders CFO joins Lloyd's Franchise Board

  08-02-2016 13:14
  Richard Keers has been appointed as a new non-executive member of
  the Lloyd's Franchise Board and chair of the Lloyd's Audit
  Committee, the Corporation announced on Friday (5 February).
  He will take Bruce Van Saun's place on the Franchise Board
  at the end of May following the latter's relocation to the
  US.
  Keers will become chair of Lloyd's Audit Committee following
  the retirement of the current chair, Claire Ighodaro, at the end of
  2016 after nine years of service.
  Keers...
  
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• PIB acquires Fish Insurance

  08-02-2016 13:14
  PIB Insurance Brokers has agreed a deal to purchase UK specialist
  insurer Fish Insurance from Capita, the firm's first
  acquisition since it received private equity backing late last
  year.
  Fish Insurance provides insurance to customers with pre-existing
  medical conditions, mobility issues and disabilities.
  The firm offers specialist travel insurance, car insurance,
  mobility scooter insurance, independent living insurance,
  prosthetics insurance and adaptive home insurance.
  The transaction is expec
  
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• Liberty appoints specialty CUO

  08-02-2016 13:14
  Liberty Specialty Markets has promoted Mike Gosselin to CUO for
  specialty business, it announced today (8 February).
  Gosselin will take on the role in addition to his current
  responsibilities as global CUO for oil and gas.
  He has worked at Liberty for the past 14 years, moving from
  Liberty International Underwriters' US operations in 2002 to
  set up Liberty's energy practice in London.
  Gosselin will report to Matthew Moore, group CUO. He will work
  with Peter Smith, active underwriter for...
  
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• IAG names reinsurance general manager

  08-02-2016 13:14
  Australian insurer IAG has appointed Aon Benfield's Scott Grove
  as group general manager for reinsurance.
  Grove will replace Julie Batch, who has been promoted to the
  role of chief customer officer.
  Grove has been managing director at Aon Benfield for the past
  four years, based in Sydney. Prior to this, he worked at Guy
  Carpenter for 18 years, including five years at the firm's head
  office in New York.
  "Scott is very well known in the reinsurance sector and
  will...
  
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• Flood Re will fail to reduce flood risk: LSE

  08-02-2016 13:14
  The London School of Economics has predicted that the UK's
  government-backed reinsurance scheme won't reduce flood risk.
  In a joint research paper published today (8 February), the
  university's ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and
  Policy and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and
  the Environment warned that climate change and a high demand for
  housing would sharply increase in the number of properties at risk
  from surface water flooding.
  The number of London households eli
  
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• CSC wins Xchanging race

  08-02-2016 13:14
  Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) has effectively won the bidding
  war for Xchanging after the deadline for Ebix to submit a formal
  bid lapsed at the weekend.
  Ebix had until 5pm on 6 February to table a formal offer, 53
  days after CSC submitted its firm proposal of 190p a share on 9
  December.
  Under UK takeover rules, once a potential buyer has tabled a
  firm bid any competitors must make their alternative offer by 5pm
  on the 53rd day following...
  
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• Duffy named group CUO as Sompo Canopius reshuffles management

  08-02-2016 13:09
  
  Marcus Alcock Postonline Mike Duffy has been appointed group CUO of Sompo Canopius as part of a wider reshuffle of its executive team.
  
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• Sompo Canopius makes changes to executive team

  08-02-2016 13:02 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Insurer says it is changing its structure to focus on profitability.
  
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• Storms cost Aspen £17.8m in Q4

  08-02-2016 12:58
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline Aspen Insurance Holdings paid out $25.7m (£17.8m) related to UK floods in the quarter ended 31 December 2015 as it reported a combined ratio of 99.6% for the period.
  
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• PIB confirms Fish Insurance buy

  08-02-2016 12:49
  
  First acquisition for Brendan McManus-led business.
  
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• LSM looks within for senior underwriting hire

  08-02-2016 12:46
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline Liberty Specialty Markets has promoted Mike Gosselin to chief underwriting officer for specialty.
  
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• Giles/McManus consolidator buys broker from Capita

  08-02-2016 12:39
  
  The broker has bought Fish Insurance whose specialisms include travel, car and independent living insurance
  
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• When it comes to saving the NHS, insurance needn't be a dirty word | Christopher Smallwood

  08-02-2016 12:11
  
  ‘Free at the point of use’ has had its day. Other European countries use alternative models without the poor suffering, so why can’t we?With no extra money available to resource a “seven-day health service” properly, the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, can only attempt to achieve this reform by stretching existing resources across seven days rather than five. Without more money, this means worsening doctors’ conditions of work. The doctors, whose union Hunt lab
  
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• How paying for your treatment would help save the NHS | Christopher Smallwood

  08-02-2016 12:11
  
  ‘Free at the point of use’ has had its day. Other European countries use health insurance without the poor suffering, so why can’t we?With no extra money available to resource a “seven-day health service” properly, the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, can only attempt to achieve this reform by stretching existing resources across seven days rather than five. Without more money, this means worsening doctors’ conditions of work. The doctors, whose union Hunt label
  
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• Liberty Specialty appoints new chief underwriting officer

  08-02-2016 11:39
  
  Mike Gosselin has worked at Liberty for 14 years
  
  Read more

• UK General leader Karen Beales targeting £500m GWP within three years

  08-02-2016 11:38 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Personal lines boss hails broker reaction to Great Lakes capacity deal.
  
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• Slater and Gordon general law head and former UK boss to retire

  08-02-2016 10:09
  
  Neil Kinsella will be replaced by the firm’s UK head of general law, Siri Siriwardene.
  
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• Fisher focuses on the future at CII

  08-02-2016 10:00
  
  New CII chief says MGAs are on the rise and calls for more brokers to gain chartered status..
  
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• Competition concerns spark UK government's call for Solvency II changes

  08-02-2016 09:57
  
  Callum BrodiePostonline Certain elements of Solvency II could be changed if concerns expressed by the UK government and regulators about the EU regime sparking anticompetitiveness are heeded.
  
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• Ageas drawn into latest row over Age UK commission deals

  08-02-2016 09:55
  
  Ageas policies sold through Age UK generated revenues of £21.9m for the charity’s commercial arm in 2014-15
  
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• #Insagepeople: 8 - 14 February 2016

  08-02-2016 09:50 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Get your fix of the market movers each week in one place with our new way of bringing you the latest recruitment changes.
  
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• Government calls for early review of Solvency II amid competition fears

  08-02-2016 09:09
  
  The Treasury and Bank of England have written to the European Commission - also calling for wider review
  
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• Judge rules tenants are covered by landlord’s policy in NFU legal defeat

  08-02-2016 07:30
  
  NFU Mutual ordered to pay £100,000 costs after lawsuit against tenant fails
  
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