Insurance news

• Watford launches specialty insurance platform

  29-03-2016 19:46
  Bermudian hedge fund reinsurer Watford Re has launched a new US
  specialty insurance platform with an A- AM Best rating.
  The New Jersey-based Watford Specialty Insurance Company (WSIC)
  will underwrite in partnership with Arch subsidiary Arch
  Underwriters Inc, replicating the reinsurance relationship that
  began when the start-up was launched as a joint venture with JP
  Morgan's Highbridge.
  In an announcement released yesterday (28 March) AM Best said
  that its A- rating was based on WSIC's strong ri
  
  Read more

• Victoria bushfire losses push past A$550mn

  29-03-2016 19:46
  A sharp rise in the value of insured losses from the Great Ocean
  Road bushfires has pushed the insurance bill from last
  December's four declared catastrophes beyond A$550mn
  ($414.5mn), according to The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).
  This is the second update this year from the ICA, which had
  previously pegged the summer bushfire losses at A$515mn.
  CEO Rob Whelan explained that insurers could only begin
  rebuilding in affected areas once they were cleared of debris,
  including asbestos mater
  
  Read more

• Vibe announces two underwriting hires

  29-03-2016 19:46
  Lloyd's syndicate Vibe has hired two senior underwriters for
  its live platform to help expand its North American business, the
  company announced on 17 March.
  Matt Waghorn has been appointed to strengthen the legacy-to-live
  syndicate's professional indemnity product, focusing on North
  American Binder business, while Joe Sweeting has joined the company
  as a class underwriter for casualty treaty.
  Waghorn was previously an underwriter at Beazley and has more
  than 14 years of experience in the indust
  
  Read more

• Trust Re achieves top and bottom line growth

  29-03-2016 19:46
  Bahrain-headquartered Trust Re has announced that group profits
  doubled to $30.8mn in full-year 2015 from $15.4mn in 2014.
  The carrier said the growth was primarily due to very strong
  non-technical income, in particular a one-off realised gain on the
  sale of shares during the first half of the year.
  Net underwriting profits were up 49.6 percent to $17.5mn,
  largely as a result of a more favourable loss experience compared
  to the previous year.
  Gross written premiums also rose by 5.1...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• R&Q acquires Rank Insurance

  29-03-2016 19:46
  Randall & Quilter (R&Q) has acquired Guernsey-based captive
  Rank Insurance Limited, the company announced today (29 March).
  The captive, which is in run-off, will be amalgamated into
  Capstan Insurance Company Limited, R&Q's consolidation
  vehicle in Guernsey, subject to the necessary approvals.
  Ken Randall, chairman and CEO of R&Q, said: "This is
  one of a number of current transactions we have been assessing and
  we remain excited about our legacy acquisition pipeline."
  The deal is
  
  Read more

• Perils discloses final Mike-Niklas estimate

  29-03-2016 19:46
  Industry loss compilation agency Perils has published its final
  estimate for the Mike-Niklas windstorm that hit Europe in March
  2015, with the insured loss coming in at EUR816mn ($912mn).
  This is slightly lower than the previous estimate of EUR826mn,
  which was issued on 29 September.
  It also falls some way below the $1bn figure that Aon
  Benfield's Impact Forecasting unit predicted last April.
  In addition, it is considerably less than the estimates from
  modelling firm AIR Worldwide, which said th
  
  Read more

• Catalina acquires £185mn Allianz UK EL book

  29-03-2016 19:46
  Run-off carrier Catalina has struck a deal to acquire
  Allianz's UK employers' liability (EL) book holding
  £185mn ($266mn) of gross liabilities, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  AGF Insurance Limited, part of Allianz subsidiary AGF Holdings,
  went into run-off in 1999.
  It predominately wrote direct EL business in the UK. As of 31
  December 2015 it had total assets of £270mn, undiscounted
  gross reserves of £185mn and pro-forma shareholder equity of
  £79mn.
  The deal considerat
  
  Read more

• Beazley non-exec O'Connor steps down

  29-03-2016 19:46
  Padraic O'Connor has stepped down as non-executive director of
  Beazley with effect from 24 March.
  O'Connor had been on the board of the Lloyd's carrier
  since March 2009, and has also resigned as a non-executive chairman
  of the Dublin-domiciled group's Beazley Re subsidiary.
  Commenting on the departure, Beazley chairman Dennis Holt said:
  "My colleagues and I are immensely grateful for the
  contribution that Padraic O'Connor has made as a non-executive
  director throughout his tenure chairing both t
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Amwins' MGA gets Berkshire backing

  29-03-2016 19:46
  US wholesale broker Amwins's has secured financial backing
  from Berkshire Hathaway for its London-based managing general agent
  (MGA) Unicorn Underwriting, the company announced today (29 March).The MGA has an anticipated income of £15mn in its first 12
  months of trading, and will initially focus on writing specialist
  motor fleet business, including passenger and road transport
  industries based in the UK, in addition to its existing property
  owners' facility.Trading with a small and selecte
  
  Read more

• AIG Europe posts flat profits for 2015

  29-03-2016 19:46
  American International Group Europe (AEL) has revealed that its
  profits were broadly flat at £408.5mn ($581mn) for the
  full-year 2015, while net premiums written rose 2 percent to
  £3.6bn.
  The carrier's underwriting result improved by £2.3mn to
  £61.9mn, while the combined ratio improved by 0.2 percentage
  points to 98.2 percent.
  Operating expenses decreased by 3 percent to £1.3bn through
  targeted cost savings, and AEL benefited from low levels of
  catastrophe losses, a
  
  Read more

• Jonathan Davey and Max Carruthers team up for new broker portal

  29-03-2016 18:04
  
  Hughub aims to boost broker loyalty by providing better customer service
  
  Read more

• Solvency II drives increase in Lloyd's legacy portfolio sales

  29-03-2016 17:24
  
  An increasing number of firms are looking to dispose of their legacy portfolios as Solvency II puts pressure on capital requirements.
  
  Read more

• Seventeen Group expands Scottish presence with latest purchase

  29-03-2016 17:09
  
  The broker has acquired Annandale Insurance Brokers
  
  Read more

• Jonathan Davey and Max Carruthers team up on HugHub

  29-03-2016 15:19 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  New offering “has the potential to be a game changer for brokers” says Carruthers.
  
  Read more

• Allianz sells UK employers’ liability run-off book

  29-03-2016 13:17
  
  Deal is first significant UK employers’ liability acquisition for run-off buyer Catalina
  
  Read more

• Seventeen Group buys Annandale Insurance Brokers

  29-03-2016 13:09 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Annandale will retain its name and staff.
  
  Read more

• AIG Europe reports growth in net premiums, slight COR improvement

  29-03-2016 13:08
  
  AIG's European arm posted stable results for the year ended 30 November 2015, including a slightly stronger combined ratio of 98.2% (2014: 98.4%) and 2% growth in net premiums.
  
  Read more

• Berkshire Hathaway backs London MGA’s motor fleet foray

  29-03-2016 13:00
  
  Unicorn MGA set up by US broking group AmWINS
  
  Read more

• Aviva detects one crash for cash claim every 3 hours

  29-03-2016 12:56
  
  Induced accidents remain close to record levels, but Aviva finds staged accidents sharply lower
  
  Read more

• Insurers profits to fall due to low returns, rising costs

  29-03-2016 12:50
  
  The profits of general insurers are expected to fall over the next three months due largely to a rise in costs and low returns on investment, according to the latest PWC and CBI financial services survey released today (29 March).
  
  Read more

• Amwins Group member Unicorn Underwriting gets backing to write motor fleet

  29-03-2016 12:46
  
  US-based insurance distributor Amwins Group will partner with Berkshire International Insurance to enter the motor fleet business, via Amwins’ London-based managing general agent Unicorn Underwriting.
  
  Read more

• AIG Europe reports flat 2015 profit in tough market

  29-03-2016 12:34
  
  Insurer cuts back in personal accident amid “challenging conditions”
  
  Read more

• Pet insurers pay out £657m in claims

  29-03-2016 12:14
  
  The more unusual pet insurance claims included a python who needed treatment for anorexia at a cost of £200
  
  Read more

• AIG Europe posts net premium rise for 2015

  29-03-2016 11:42 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  COR and pre-tax profit both improve.
  
  Read more

• Post Office’s CMO Pete Markey joins Aviva

  29-03-2016 10:49
  
  Aviva has added the Post Office's former chief marketing officer Pete Markey as UK director of brand communications and marketing.
  
  Read more

• Broker sentiment turns negative, survey finds

  29-03-2016 10:49 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Research states that business volumes grew “at a solid pace” in the quarter to March.
  
  Read more

• Bermuda officially Solvency II equivalent

  29-03-2016 10:31
  Equivalence for Solvency II has officially taken effect in Bermuda,
  retroactive to 1 January, the Association of Bermuda Insurers and
  Reinsurers (ABIR) announced yesterday (28 March).
  Bermuda is equivalent for all three measures under Solvency II -
  group capital, group supervision and reinsurance regulation.
  Bermuda and Switzerland are the only two jurisdictions that have
  been found to be fully equivalent by the European Union.
  "This will benefit ABIR members in Bermuda - the red tape
  has been e
  
  Read more

• Political Lobbying: Don't mention the ‘L' word

  29-03-2016 10:30
  
  Smoke and mirrors perpetuates the lobbying mystique but there is no need to bring in outsiders if there is someone with know-how and who can put together a well presented case
  
  Read more

• C-Suite Insurer: Esure's Stuart Vann - Fraud and what more the industry can do

  29-03-2016 10:30
  
  Although there has been significant progress, there is more for insurers to do in reducing levels of opportunistic fraud
  
  Read more

• R&Q ramps up acquisitions with Rank Insurance deal

  29-03-2016 10:14
  
  Randall & Quilter has acquired Rank Insurance Limited, a Guernsey captive firm in run-off, from Rank Overseas Holding Limited.
  
  Read more

• #Insagepeople: 28 March to 3 April 2016

  29-03-2016 09:53 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.
  
  Read more

• Brit unveils new Lloyd's box

  29-03-2016 09:18
  
  Insurer says new box is welcoming for brokers
  
  Read more

• Marketform completes underwriting review

  29-03-2016 09:10
  
  Lloyd’s underwriter says broader strategic review is continuing
  
  Read more

• Randall & Quilter buys Rank run-off company

  29-03-2016 08:58
  
  R&Q will amalgamate acquisition into its Capstan consolidation vehicle in Guernsey
  
  Read more

• Businesses pay off cyber ransoms, rather than call the police

  29-03-2016 08:40
  
  Ransomware attacks on the rise, but cases reported to the police fall
  
  Read more

• Businesses pay cyber ransoms, rather than call the police

  29-03-2016 08:40
  
  Ransomware attacks on the rise, but cases reported to the police fall
  
  Read more

• Insurers expect profits to slip over next three months

  29-03-2016 08:30
  
  CBI-PwC survey sees profits under pressure from rising costs, low investment returns
  
  Read more

Follow @Insurance_UKnws on Twitter!