Insurance news

• Bluefin adds former commercial boss to GRP/Bruce court battle

  13-05-2016 20:05
  
  A judge has given Bluefin the go-ahead to take legal action against Neil Thornton the former head of its commercial division.
  
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• Legal action against Neil Thornton "necessary" to protect business - Bluefin

  13-05-2016 20:04
  
  Bluefin said its legal action against former commercial director Neil Thornton was necessary, to protect its business, clients and people from individuals it suspects have acted in breach of their obligations to Bluefin.
  
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• Neil Thorton added to Bluefin vs GRP, Bruce and others case

  13-05-2016 19:41
  
  Former head of commercial division becomes fifth defendant in ‘team move’ court case and trial will now be on 27 June.
  
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• Neil Thornton added to Bluefin vs GRP, Bruce and others case

  13-05-2016 19:41
  
  Former head of commercial division becomes fifth defendant in ‘team move’ court case and trial will now be on 27 June.
  
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• Lark buys marine broker Euromarine

  13-05-2016 17:40
  
  Broking group Lark has bought Kent-based marine broker and underwriting agency Euromarine Insurance Services for an undisclosed sum.
  
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• Aircraft engineer jailed for £240k fake lost baggage claims

  13-05-2016 17:09
  
  An aircraft engineer who made £240,000 in fake claims for lost baggage has been jailed for two years.
  
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• Biba and results in the news; focus on computers and sports

  13-05-2016 16:03
  The main insurance news and the Post exclusives this week, in case you missed it.
  
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• XL Catlin announces $1bn share buyback

  13-05-2016 16:02
  XL Catlin has authorised a share buyback programme that allows it
  to repurchase up to $1bn of outstanding ordinary shares, the
  company announced today (13 May).
  A previous share buyback programme that had a further $204.1mn
  remaining has been cancelled.
  The carrier also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per
  ordinary share payable on its ordinary shares from 30 June.
  The major signal on capital management came as the firm looks to
  get back on the front foot after falling...
  
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• State of the Risk Management Nation: Part One: Relationships

  13-05-2016 15:20
  
  For Post’s second research project of 2016, Michèle Bacchus asks 15 senior and junior risk managers for their views on insurers, brokers, regulation and what they would like the future of the sector to look like
  
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• Research: State of the Risk Management Nation: Part One: Relationships

  13-05-2016 15:20
  
  For Post’s second research project of 2016, Michèle Bacchus asks 15 senior and junior risk managers for their views on insurers, brokers, regulation and what they would like the future of the sector to look like
  
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• Video: David Ross, Adrian Colosso, Jamie Swindle and more at Biba 2016

  13-05-2016 15:00
  
  Insurance Times’s Martin Kornacki and Ben Dyson catch up with key industry figures in a set of exclusive video interviews from Biba 2016.
  
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• Video: David Ross, Adrian Colosso, Jaime Swindle and more at Biba 2016

  13-05-2016 15:00
  
  Insurance Times’s Martin Kornacki and Ben Dyson catch up with key industry figures in a set of exclusive video interviews from Biba 2016.
  
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• XL Group gets approval to buy back up to $1bn ordinary shares

  13-05-2016 14:44
  
  The board of XL Group has approved a share buyback programme, allowing the company to purchase up to $1bn (£695m) of its ordinary shares.
  
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• Generali sees adverse market conditions impact results but COR improves

  13-05-2016 14:13
  
  Market conditions hit Generali’s bottom line via its investments for the first quarter, with net profit down 13.8% (or €588m), but combined operating ratio improved to 92% from the previous quarter.
  
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• Marine insurer Skuld reports 95% COR but flat bottom line for 2015

  13-05-2016 13:28
  
  Oslo-based Skuld has seen an improvement in its combined operating ratio to 95% (2014: 99%) but reported a flat bottom line result of $13m for 2015 (2014: $13.5m or £9.3m).
  
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• Validus COO to lead US MGU

  13-05-2016 12:59
  Validus chief operating officer Jonathan Ritz will step down
  from the role to head up the company's new US-based managing
  general underwriter (MGU) Validus Specialty.
  The MGU will underwrite on behalf of Talbot and Western World in
  the US, the firm said in an 8-K filing yesterday (12 May).
  Effective immediately, chief accounting officer Michael Moore
  will vacate his position to replace Ritz as COO of Validus.
  Patrick Boisvert, managing director and CFO of Validus
  Reinsurance (Switzerland), has b
  
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• Skuld profits steady on improved technical result

  13-05-2016 12:59
  Skuld posted its best combined ratio for five years in 2015 at
  95 percent, the Norwegian protection and indemnity (P&I) club
  announced today (13 May).
  The result was a 4.8 percentage point improvement on 2014.
  The club attributed the improvement to its focus on upholding
  premium rates despite the wider soft market and retaining high
  quality risks in a challenging market environment.
  The result allowed Skuld to release a 28 percent premium credit
  for its members totalling $5mn, which was...
  
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• MPL profitability wanes on income drop

  13-05-2016 12:59
  Profitability in medical professional liability (MPL) lines is
  beginning to fade, as net income fell almost 36.6 percent to around
  $1.1bn in 2015, according to AM Best.
  In a report titled "Strong But Declining Profitability in
  2015 for Medical Professional Liability Sector", published
  earlier this week (10 May), the rating agency said the
  segment's results had been dampened by declines in underwriting
  and investment income and a reduction in realised capital
  gains.
  It added that despite the fall
  
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• Intact notifies C$450mn-C$800mn wildfire loss

  13-05-2016 12:59
  Canadian insurer Intact has notified its reinsurers that it
  expects ground-up losses of C$450mn-C$800mn ($350mn-$623mn) from
  the wildfires that have swept through Alberta, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Sources told this publication that Intact had guided reinsurers
  to expect a loss towards the bottom end of the range.
  Intact has a 20 percent market share in Alberta, implying an
  industry loss range of C$2.25bn-C$4bn.
  Based on Intact's 2015 catastrophe reinsurance programme,
  which is believed
  
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• Foreign exchange causes dip in Talanx bottom line

  13-05-2016 12:59
  Operating profit at German carrier Talanx fell 10.9 percent to
  EUR573mn ($650.6mn) in the first quarter of the year, with foreign
  exchange movements accounting for most of the change, as it beat
  the analyst consensus.
  Exchange rate gains fell to EUR32mn, down from EUR83mn in the
  prior year period.
  Group net income fell by 11.6 percent to EUR222mn in Q1 2016,
  impacted by a one-off EUR19mn special item which benefitted
  Hannover Re in Q1 2015. Excluding this, the net income...
  
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• Chaucer makes political risk hire

  13-05-2016 12:59
  Chaucer has hired Jonathan Bint from XL Catlin as a political risk
  underwriter and analyst, as the Lloyd's carrier looks to expand
  its political risk and trade credit team.
  Bint will work alongside Deborah Wyatt, head of emerged markets,
  who joined Chaucer in March to spearhead the development of the
  team.
  Most recently, Bint was a credit analyst in the credit and
  political risk underwriting team at XL Catlin, and has more than
  two decades of financial markets experience.
  Nick...
  
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• Geo-blocking changes in Europe could have ‘substantial impact’ on insurers

  13-05-2016 12:57
  
  The Actuarial Association of Europe has called on the European Commission to consider the definition of justifiable geo-blocking, especially in the context of insurance.
  
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• Quiz of the week – 13 May

  13-05-2016 12:05
  
  Test your knowledge of the week's insurance news, and Biba 2016, with the Post insurance quiz of the week.
  
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• Hiscox expects ‘manageable loss’ from Alberta wildfires

  13-05-2016 11:41
  
  Hiscox expects a manageable loss as a result of claims arising from the Alberta wildfires, according to the insurer's interim management statement for the three months ending 31 March 2016.
  
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• NFP buys Linkfield Corporate Solutions

  13-05-2016 10:50
  
  Broker's founders to stay with the firm.
  
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• Lark buys Euromarine

  13-05-2016 10:40
  
  Broker to keep office and staff in Kent.
  
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• TalkTalk profit halves after cyber attack

  13-05-2016 10:02
  
  TalkTalk’s full year profit halved as a result of last year’s cyber attack on the mobile phone company.
  
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• Blog: Confidence and opportunity

  13-05-2016 10:00
  
  As the dust settles on Biba 2016 new managing director, general insurance, Steve Treloar reflects on the impact of this year’s event.
  
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• Results show Zurich ‘is not broken’ – analyst

  13-05-2016 09:59
  
  Zurich’s first quarter results show that the Swiss insurance group “is not broken”, according to a research note by Macquarie analyst Andy Hughes.
  
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• InsurTech Futures: Meet the techies

  13-05-2016 09:55
  
  Red Crake's Ed Pugh tells us why brokers should not be worried about tech disruption.
  
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• Property Insurance Initiatives Underwriting Agency launches Flood Excess

  13-05-2016 09:30
  
  New cover available for commercial and residential property owners.
  
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• 'Serious risks' of more mis-selling in financial services market

  13-05-2016 01:01
  
  Pension freedoms introduced last year could be a potential trigger for PPI-style mis-selling on a mass scale, say MPsThere are “serious risks” of further mis-selling scandals erupting in the financial services industry and stronger action is needed to tackle problems with the culture of firms, MPs have warned.Related: Consumer watchdog warns against 2018 deadline for PPI claimsRelated: FCA unable to estimate future PPI cost to banksContinue reading...
  
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• PPI scandal: 'serious risks' of more mis-selling in financial services market

  13-05-2016 01:01
  
  Pension freedoms introduced last year could be a potential trigger for PPI-style mis-selling on a mass scale, say MPsThere are “serious risks” of further mis-selling scandals erupting in the financial services industry and stronger action is needed to tackle problems with the culture of firms, MPs have warned.Related: Consumer watchdog warns against 2018 deadline for PPI claimsRelated: FCA unable to estimate future PPI cost to banksContinue reading...
  
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