Insurance news

• Moody's upgrades Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

  10-03-2016 23:56
  Ratings house Moody's has upgraded the financial strength
  rating of Swiss Re's primary insurer citing diversification
  benefits and brand recognition as reasons for the one-notch
  increase.
  The upgrade to Aa3 brings the rating of Swiss Re Corporate
  Solutions up to the level of its parent company.
  Moody's said the upgrade reflected the importance of the
  reinsurer's primary subsidiary to the group.
  It noted the "steady improvement" in Swiss Re
  Corporate Solutions' market position and its contributio
  
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• Bolt to spearhead BHSI European operations

  10-03-2016 23:56
  Lloyd's performance director Tom Bolt is leaving the
  Corporation to take up a new role at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty
  Insurance (BHSI).
  The executive will take on the role of president of UK and
  Southern Europe at the Peter Eastwood-headed Berkshire Hathaway
  unit.
  Bolt will be based in London and will start in his new position
  on 1 June.
  Rumours had been circulating for months that the executive might
  return to his former employer, where he was managing director of
  Marlborough...
  
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• Blockchain: a disruptor for the insurance industry?

  10-03-2016 23:56
  In association with Russell GroupThe UK government's chief scientific adviser Mark Walport
  recently published an 80-page document on the new hot topic of the
  moment - the Blockchain.
  InDistributed Ledger Technology: Beyond Blockchain,
  Walport argues that blockchains could be truly
  transformational.
  Why might that be and, for those of you that have so far lived
  in blissful ignorance of the blockchain, what does it actually
  do?
  Let's start with Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a crypto currency. It
  transfers v
  
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• AM Best releases draft BCAR changes

  10-03-2016 23:56
  AM Best has put out a draft of its revised US P&C sector
  BCAR model for comment, with the changes likely to be most heavily
  scrutinized by carriers that have significant property cat risk on
  their books.
  The proposed revisions to Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio
  (BCAR) were released at the same time as an updated version of
  Best's Credit Rating Methodology (BCRM), which applies for the
  agency's ratings across the broader sector.
  The firm said all companies that are rated...
  
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• Tulloch: Aviva’s stance on spurious claims helped 2015 COR

  10-03-2016 18:56
  
  Home book performed the best as a result of the insurer exiting unprofitable deals
  
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• New Aviva UKGI CEO to build on broker relationships

  10-03-2016 18:29 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Colm Holmes says he will spend time getting to know brokers.
  
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• RT Specialty will 'never' be purchased by retailer: client letter

  10-03-2016 18:27
  RT Specialty has reaffirmed its commitment to independence after it
  was last month selected by Aon as its "preferred"
  wholesaler.
  The move led to speculation over what Aon described as its
  "larger, deeper relationship" with RT Specialty, which
  was launched by the broking giant's former chairman and CEO Pat
  Ryan and ex-CRC president Tim Turner in 2010.
  But in a pdf titled "Aon Client Letter" sent to
  clients and partners and seen by Inside
  E&S, the firm said: "RT Specialty...
  
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• Qianhai Re gets green light from CIRC

  10-03-2016 18:27
  The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has granted
  approval for the establishment of Qianhai Re.
  Asia Insurance Review reported this morning (10 March)
  that Qianhai Re's backers had been given the go-ahead a year
  after they first announced their intention to launch the 3bn yuan
  ($460mn) carrier.
  Shenzhen Qianhai Finance Holdings, postal service China Post
  Group and investment firm SZ Capital will be the three largest
  shareholders in the reinsurance venture, each holding 20
  percent.
  Oth
  
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• Private flood cover bill progresses in Congress

  10-03-2016 18:27
  A key committee in the US House of Representatives has passed a
  bill that could see the market for flood risks partly privatized
  and handed over to the excess and surplus lines sector.
  The Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act - which
  was passed by the House Financial Services Committee last week -
  would give consumers the choice between coverage provided by the
  beleaguered National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and insurance
  bought in the private market.
  It would clarify...
  
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• Pen brings in head of crisis management

  10-03-2016 18:27
  Pen Underwriting has appointed Rob Preston to the new role of head
  of crisis management.
  Preston has been given a remit to expand the company's
  offering in terrorism and war; kidnap, ransom and piracy; product
  recall; and malicious product tampering; as well as credit and
  political risk lines.
  He will report to the London-based company's recently
  appointed financial lines managing director Jennifer Martin.
  Preston was previously a captain in the British army, before
  moving into the (re)insurance
  
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• Lexington launches $250mn wholesale-only property line

  10-03-2016 18:27
  Surplus lines giant Lexington has launched a new wholesale-only
  property excess product offering up to $250mn of capacity,
  Inside E&S can reveal.
  According to sources, the AIG subsidiary began offering the
  capacity on 1 March through its Boston-based national branch to
  target a range of commercial properties with large-scale capacity
  needs.
  The carrier will offer up to a $250mn line on layers of property
  placements that exclude natural catastrophe risk.
  On layers that include natural catastr
  
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• Investor settles Moody's ratings lawsuit for $130mn

  10-03-2016 18:27
  Rating agency Moody's will pay the California Public
  Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) a record $130mn to
  settle a long-running lawsuit filed during the midst of the
  financial crisis.
  The $285bn public pension fund sued Moody's and other
  ratings agencies in 2009 after suffering losses from AAA-rated
  investment vehicles.
  The investments were built on assets that turned out to be
  illiquid, including subprime mortgage-backed securities,
  collateralised debt obligations and other asset-backed
  se
  
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• Cyber liability market ill-equipped for property risk

  10-03-2016 18:27
  Cyber liability policies currently available in the market would
  not respond to property damage or bodily injury claims, according
  to speakers at the Reactions Cyber Risk Forum in New York.
  Speaking at the event last week, Garin Pace, AIG's head of
  cyber liability for North America, explained that existing cyber
  policies had grown out of errors and omissions (E&O)
  coverage.
  "They do a great job of responding to financial loss
  because of a data breach," he said.
  "They also cover...
  
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• Charles Taylor to increase tech focus

  10-03-2016 18:27
  The insurance technology arm of diversified services group
  Charles Taylor will become "increasingly significant" as
  it invests further in the business, CEO David Marock has said.
  Speaking to The Insurance Insider
  following the publication of its full-year 2015 results, Marock
  said the InsureTech arm of Charles Taylor is expected to become a
  major contributor of growth, as investment in the division marries
  up with wider recognition of the need for improved tech services in
  the industry.
  "It's a
  
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• BB&T narrows gap with AmWINS on wholesale revenues

  10-03-2016 18:27
  BB&T's proposed acquisition of Swett & Crawford is
  projected to add more than $200mn of annual revenue to its
  wholesale division.
  But although the $500mn deal will significantly bolster the top
  line, the additional revenue may not be sufficient to overtake the
  number one player in the sector by size, AmWINS - at least based on
  2015 figures.
  With the acquisition slated to close in the first half of the
  year, attention has also begun to focus on how BB&a...
  
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• AIG secures US casualty reinsurance cover with Swiss Re

  10-03-2016 18:27
  AIG has entered into a two-year reinsurance deal with Swiss Re
  to cede a share of its new and renewal US casualty book to the
  giant reinsurer.
  The move comes after the ailing carrier stated in its strategic
  update in January that it would make greater use of reinsurance to
  improve the performance of its commercial insurance business as it
  seeks to lift return on equity (ROE) to the level of its peers.
  As previously reported, AIG has been executing...
  
  Read more

• Brokers back Holmes as Aviva UKGI boss

  10-03-2016 18:20
  
  Burhan Khadbai Postonline The "great" appointment of Colm Holmes to head Aviva's UKGI business has not come as a surprise to broking bosses.
  
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• Tulloch's Aviva UK successor to maintain momentum with brokers

  10-03-2016 17:27
  
  Callum BrodiePostonline Incoming Aviva UK general insurance CEO Colm Holmes has vowed not to lose focus “on the fundamentals” and has set his sights on building on relationships with brokers.
  
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• Aviva eyes bolt-on acquisitions as it delivers £9.7bn surplus

  10-03-2016 15:59
  
  Group boss Mark Wilson attributes 20% increase in operating profits to a better strategic focus
  
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• Aviva CEO: Underlying profit trend up despite fall for UKGI

  10-03-2016 14:09 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Mark Wilson says all the metrics pointing in the right direction for the group "after three years of fixing the business".
  
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• Crawford & Co 2015 international operating profit falls

  10-03-2016 13:34
  
  Group financials hit by restructuring charges
  
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• Analysts rate Aviva's top of range SII ratio

  10-03-2016 13:13
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline Analysts have praised Aviva's 2015 full-year results report highlighting the insurer's Solvency II ratio of 180%, which was 20% ahead of some forecasts.
  
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• Brokers welcome Aviva's internal choice for UK GI boss role

  10-03-2016 12:09
  
  Brokers spoken to by Insurance Times said the internal appointment created stability and continuity
  
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• Hiscox to sell DirectAsia Hong Kong division

  10-03-2016 11:47
  International specialty insurer Hiscox is to sell the Hong Kong
  division of its DirectAsia business to local group Well Link Group
  Holdings Ltd, the company announced today (10 March).
  The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval.
  The Hong Kong division of DirectAsia was founded in 2012. The
  company employs 40 people and produced $8mn of gross written
  premiums in 2015.
  Hiscox bought DirectAsia in March 2014 from Whittington Group,
  the Singapore-headquartered insurance services and inve
  
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• Charles Taylor shares up sharply after strong results

  10-03-2016 11:47
  Diversified insurance services provider Charles Taylor reported
  strong results for 2015, with revenue up 17.1 percent to
  £143.4mn ($203.9mn) and adjusted pre-tax profits 24.4 percent
  higher at £14.2mn.
  The market reacted strongly to the news in early trading on the
  London Stock Exchange, with Charles Taylor shares up 8.7 percent to
  251.1 pence as at 9:26 GMT.
  The group's management services business increased turnover
  by 15.5 percent to £50.7mn, while profits rose by 14.3 perce
  
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• Aviva reveals $188mn cost of UK floods

  10-03-2016 11:47
  London-listed carrier Aviva published a solid set of full-year
  results this morning (10 March) that included a stable UK combined
  ratio despite the December floods.
  The share price had risen by 5 percent to 482p by 9:15 GMT.
  The carrier said the floods had cost it £132mn ($188mn) but
  that the UK combined ratio had remained steady at 95.1 percent,
  some 0.3 percentage points worse than the year before.
  The group combined ratio improved by 1.1 percentage points to
  94.6...
  
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• Pen names Preston as new head of crisis management

  10-03-2016 11:24
  
  Former Aon and Novae specialist will develop conflict and crisis coverage lines
  
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• Aviva's UKGI operating profit falls to £368m in 2015

  10-03-2016 11:23 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  The insurer posts stable GWP and COR figures.
  
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• Helvetia Holdings to reduce board size

  10-03-2016 11:04
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline Three board members at Helvetia Holdings will not stand for re-election, following the integration of the (re)insurer with Nationale Suisse and a planned reduction of Helvetia’s board.
  
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• Insurers' results highlight Solvency II differences - Fitch

  10-03-2016 10:44
  
  Ratings agency looks at effects of diversification, investment and risk strategies on Solvency II ratios
  
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• Aviva announces Tulloch successor as UKGI boss

  10-03-2016 10:44 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Colm Holmes, Aviva UK general insurance chief financial officer, will take up the post of CEO Aviva UKGI.
  
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• Aviva posts 20% rise in operating profit to £2.7bn

  10-03-2016 10:36 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  CEO Mark Wilson celebrates “a highly satisfactory set of results” for 2015.
  
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• Profits and revenues up at Charles Taylor in 2015

  10-03-2016 10:31
  
  Callum BrodiePostonline Charles Taylor CEO David Marock has heralded 2015 as a year of “strong growth” after the multi-faceted firm delivered a 31.6% increase in statutory profit before tax to £12.8m for 2015 (2014: £9.7m).
  
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• Fenchurch Law expands construction, technology insurance disputes practice

  10-03-2016 09:54
  
  Insurance law firm hires new partner to focus on professional indemnity
  
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• Aviva UK CFO Holmes steps up to replace Tulloch as CEO

  10-03-2016 09:37
  
  Callum BrodiePostonline Aviva has named UK general insurance chief financial officer Colm Holmes as the successor to Aviva UK GI CEO Maurice Tulloch.
  
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• Charles Taylor 2015 pre-tax profit up 24%

  10-03-2016 09:04
  
  Company says results demonstrate strength of diversified model
  
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• Aviva 2015 UK GI operating profit slips to £368m from £455m

  10-03-2016 08:29
  
  UK GWP rises, but COR slips, hit by cost of floods.
  
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• Aviva benefits from Friends Life acquisition as UK profits slide

  10-03-2016 08:22
  
  Andrew Tjaardstra, Callum BrodiePostonline Aviva recorded a 20% increase in global profits to £2.67bn in 2015 compared with £2.21bn the previous financial year.
  
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• Aviva names new UK GI boss to replace Tulloch

  10-03-2016 08:18
  
  Colm Holmes, currently Aviva UK GI’s chief financial officer, will take on the role on 1 June 2016
  
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• Bruce and GRP deny Bluefin allegations

  10-03-2016 07:55
  
  Ex-Bluefin chief executive Mike Bruce and GRP have filed court documents responding to Bluefin’s allegations
  
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• AIG secures US casualty reinsurance deal with Swiss Re

  10-03-2016 02:16
  AIG has entered into a two-year reinsurance deal with Swiss Re
  to cede a share of its new and renewal US casualty book to the
  giant reinsurer.
  The move comes after the ailing carrier stated in its strategic
  update in January that it would make greater use of reinsurance to
  improve the performance of its commercial insurance business as it
  seeks to lift return on equity (ROE) to the level of its peers.
  As previously reported, AIG has been executing...
  
  Read more

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