Insurance news

• Zurich beats expectations for now

  15-08-2016 20:56
  Zurich's Q2 disclosures provided glimmers of a turnaround,
  but questions remain over the ability of the carrier to continue
  these improvements beyond 2016.
  Last week (11 August), the Switzerland-based insurance giant
  reported a 17 percent increase in Q2 profits to $1.1bn, as an
  improved underwriting performance helped deliver a result that was
  ahead of analysts' expectations.
  The general insurance segment - which contains the
  troubled global corporate business - saw its operating profit
  increase
  
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• Renewco specialist exits Ascot

  15-08-2016 20:56
  Warren Diogo has left Ascot Underwriting after more than nine
  years at the Lloyd's carrier, The Insurance
  Insider understands.
  Prior his departure in April, Diogo was class underwriter for
  Renewco, a renewable energy specialist underwriting business within
  Ascot.
  He is now understood to be considering a move to Minova
  Insurance's managing general agency Pioneer Underwriting.
  Diogo joined Renewco in the run up to its launch in 2007, having
  previously worked for Marsh as a climate change specialis
  
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• Piracy ransoms barb insurers despite drop in activity

  15-08-2016 20:56
  International piracy activity has fallen to a 21-year low, as
  pirates increasingly seek ransoms from the kidnapping of crews
  instead of looting cargo, according to the International Maritime
  Bureau (IMB).
  Data from the IMB's report, published at the end of July,
  revealed there were 98 piracy incidents in the first half of 2016,
  compared with 134 in the same period last year.
  In the first half of 2016, IMB recorded 72 vessels boarded, five
  hijackings and a further 12 attempted...
  
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• PartnerRe Wholesale placed into run-off

  15-08-2016 20:56
  PartnerRe has decided to discontinue the insurance unit that
  supported most of its managing general agency (MGA) relationships,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  It is understood that the Exor subsidiary has told the roughly
  15 staff at the Amsterdam- and London-based PartnerRe Wholesale
  that their roles will be made redundant.
  A number of the team, including general manager Marc van der
  Veer, are set to resurface at Matt Fairfield's start-up Exin.Sources said that PartnerRe had decided it wante
  
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• PartnerRe D&F chief Tobey exits

  15-08-2016 20:56
  PartnerRe's head of direct and facultative (D&F) Dom Tobey
  is set to leave the company following a broader management
  restructure, sister title Inside FAC
  revealed earlier today.Tobey, who is based in Zurich, had been with PartnerRe for 15
  years.Sources said that following the recent restructure of the
  business, PartnerRe would no longer run its D&F book out of a
  central unit.Instead, the book - which is roughly evenly split between direct
  and fac business - will sit...
  
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• Italian regulator suspends China Taiping agent from underwriting

  15-08-2016 20:56
  The Italian insurance regulator IVASS has suspended China
  Taiping UK's agent in the country, Tempo Underwriting, from
  writing new business after a number of its policies were found to
  be "counterfeit".
  In a statement released last month, the regulator said it had
  temporarily frozen Tempo's right to underwrite new business on
  behalf of the Chinese carrier following an audit of its books.
  In a separate statement in April, IVASS said it had held
  discussions with China Taiping as a result...
  
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• Fairfield synthesises industry trends in Exin

  15-08-2016 20:56
  Matt Fairfield's forthcoming (re)insurance start-up Exin is at
  the nexus of a range of different industry developments witnessed
  in recent times.
  The $1bn+ international insurance group will bring together a
  balance sheet reinsurer based in Zurich, a capitalised insurance
  entity and a managing general agent (MGA) component. The ambition
  is to create a group that is more than the sum of its parts,
  originating risk through a variety of strategies and pairing it
  with appropriate sources of capital.
  
  Read more

• European (re)insurers please the market

  15-08-2016 20:56
  The global reinsurer composite recorded the largest
  weekly share price growth last week, increasing by 1.8 percent on
  average, while The Insider 30 traded flat.In our expanded coverage universe, continental (re)insurers also
  experienced positive stock movements.The biggest winner was Zurich, which saw its share price climb
  by 4.4 percent on Thursday (11 August) after reporting pleasing
  second quarter results.As a result, the Swiss carrier closed the week at CHF252.8, up
  6.6 percent.Munich Re als
  
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• Dublin promotes itself as alternative EU jurisdiction

  15-08-2016 20:56
  Ireland is calling attention to itself as an attractive alternative
  jurisdiction for insurance companies wanting to passport into the
  European Union (EU) following the UK's vote to leave the bloc.
  Speaking to The Insurance Insider,
  Denis Curran, international financial services manager at
  investment agency IDA Ireland, said that the organisation had
  talked to companies "all the time" prior to the Brexit
  vote.
  "But we have seen companies that we're talking to
  post-Brexit carrying out an evaluatio
  
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• Contracting out to 'be exception rather than the rule'

  15-08-2016 20:56
  Most carriers are unlikely to contract out of parts or all of
  the Insurance Act that came into force in the UK on Friday (12
  August), according to Richard Breavington, partner at law firm RPC.Speaking to The Insurance Insider, Breavington said that
  companies in general would not contract out due to the soft market,
  but that particular lines of business, such as trade credit, might
  do so."Political risk is another one where you might have a level
  of...
  
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• Contingency will not cover Rio Olympics blunders

  15-08-2016 20:56
  Contingency policies purchased by the organisers of the Olympic
  Games in Rio de Janeiro will not cover losses that are found to
  have been caused by internal errors.
  Such policies generally provide coverage for events outside of
  the control of organisers.
  However, several contingency underwriters told this publication
  the nature of the cancellations and delays suffered in Rio would
  not be indemnified as they would likely be deemed to have been a
  result of blunders within the control of organisers
  
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• ArgoGlobal looks set to exit aviation

  15-08-2016 20:56
  Lloyd's insurer ArgoGlobal is likely to discontinue its
  aviation book following the departure of head of aerospace Richard
  Bayman.
  Bayman is understood to be moving to Chubb after six years at
  Argo. He had previously worked at legacy Ace specialising in
  general aviation and hull war risks.
  Sources told The Insurance Insider
  that Bayman's exit had accelerated a review of Argo's
  participation in the aviation market, which has endured a tough few
  years following a number of medium-sized losses and.
  
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• Arch to take a portion of $660mn Sempra loss

  15-08-2016 20:56
  Bermudian carrier Arch is expected to take a portion of a $660mn
  energy casualty claim from Sempra Energy following a historic
  natural gas leak.
  The revelation came during Arch's Q2 results conference call
  on 28 July.
  Executive vice president and CFO Mark Lyons said the policy was
  written through Arch's Bermuda operation and that the carrier
  was on two layers.
  "The lowest of [these] is excess of $265mn, and then we are
  on a piece of another layer above it,&...
  
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• Arch to buy AIG mortgage unit for $3.4bn: reports

  15-08-2016 20:56
  AIG is close to reaching a deal to sell its mortgage insurance
  arm United Guaranty Corporation (UGC) to Arch Capital, according to
  reports.
  The Wall Street Journal today reported that the companies
  were looking at about a $3.4bn deal for the sale, which would be in
  line with UGC's shareholder equity of $3.42bn at year-end
  2015.
  The paper said that a deal could be sealed as soon as early this
  week.
  Early hopes for a deal valuation of $4bn-$4.5bn had...
  
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• LV= furthers digital push with hire from rival

  15-08-2016 17:49
  
  Insurer looks to digital future with newly-created role
  
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• Zurich UK takes further steps to improve SME e-trading

  15-08-2016 13:55
  
  Zurich unveils updates to ZTrade SME e-trading platform
  
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• Zurich revamps ZTrade

  15-08-2016 13:30
  
  Insurer launches five new products on its SME platform and refreshes the background system in response to broker feedback.
  
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• Abbey Insurance Brokers to open branch in Enniskillen

  15-08-2016 13:30
  
  Move is part of broker's expansion across Northern Ireland.
  
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• Bermudian insurance giant behind largest UK insurtech start-up investment

  15-08-2016 13:23
  
  Insurtech start-up Buzzmove has closed a £6m super-seed round led by Bermuda-based White Mountains Insurance Group.
  
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• Bermudian insurance giant behind largest UK insurtech investment

  15-08-2016 13:23
  
  Insurtech start-up Buzzmove has closed a £6m super-seed round led by Bermuda-based White Mountains Insurance Group.
  
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• Canterbury claims hit $13bn: ICNZ

  15-08-2016 13:02
  Private insurers have now paid out more than NZ$18bn ($13bn) to
  settle claims from the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011,
  according to the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ).
  The ICNZ said 94 percent of commercial claims, worth some
  NZ$9.75bn, have been fully settled, along with 93 percent of all
  residential property claims, valued at NZ$8.6bn.
  ICNZ chief executive Tim Grafton said private insurers could
  expect to have the vast majority of claims settled by the end of
  the...
  
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• ArgoGlobal buys Asian marine hull book

  15-08-2016 13:02
  Lloyd's insurer ArgoGlobal has acquired the renewal rights
  for Allied World's marine hull business in Asia.
  The business is part of the Singapore and Hong Kong book Allied
  World bought from RSA for $193mn in April this year.
  The transaction completed on 5 August.
  Michael Garrison, head of insurance at Allied World Asia
  Pacific, said an extensive evaluation of the overall Asia Pacific
  portfolio had identified the marine hull book as non-core to the
  carrier's strategic vision for the region....
  
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• ERS underscores specialist focus with new product launch

  15-08-2016 13:01
  
  Motor-only Lloyd’s insurer ERS introduces new specialist policy
  
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• ERS launches professional sports and entertainment product

  15-08-2016 12:54
  
  The product will be available via specialist brokers.
  
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• Infographic: FCA study into the sale of add-ons

  15-08-2016 11:52
  
  This infographic illustrates the main details of the FCA’s study into the sale of general insurance add-ons and what the four remedies mean for add-on buyers and sellers.
  
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• Maher to lead Markel International cyber push into US

  15-08-2016 11:50
  Andrew Maher, cyber underwriter at Beazley, is leaving the firm
  to lead Markel International's push into the US market,
  The Insurance Insider understands.
  Sources indicated that Maher, who has been at Beazley since
  2010, will write US cyber policies out of Markel
  International's London office as the carrier looks to expand
  its cyber division.
  Beazley has been a fertile hunting ground for carriers seeking
  cyber and technology underwriting expertise.
  In April, Jo Chadha left her position as an und
  
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• Channel Syndicate hires binders head

  15-08-2016 11:50
  Scor-owned Channel Syndicate 2015 has appointed John Taylor as
  head of international binders, it announced today.
  Before taking up the newly created position at Channel, Taylor
  was class underwriter for XL Catlin's UK and international
  binding authorities book. He had been at Catlin since 2007.
  Tom Corfield, active underwriter at Channel, said: "Binding
  authority business is a key part of Channel's development and
  we see significant opportunities in this area of the
  market."
  Channel's offering t
  
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• Government proposes apprenticeship levy

  15-08-2016 11:31 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Employers with a £3m plus wage bill could be liable to pay a 0.5% levy.
  
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• Appointed representatives - A rose by any other name

  15-08-2016 11:23
  
  James Sharp argues that insurance broker ARs should get a new name following the FCA review.
  
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• Severe flooding hits Louisiana

  15-08-2016 10:50
  At least five people have died and more than 20,000 people have
  been evacuated after severe flooding hit the US state of Louisiana
  over the weekend.
  The widespread flooding was caused by torrential rain, which
  battered the state capital Baton Rouge, and is now expected to move
  west.
  The neighbouring states of Alabama and Mississippi also
  experienced severe weather.
  According to CNN, Baton Rouge received twice the amount of rain
  in one 24-hour period than it normally receives in the...
  
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• Liberty ups stake in Indian venture

  15-08-2016 10:50
  Global carrier Liberty Mutual has increased its stake in Indian
  non-life joint venture Liberty Videocon General Insurance to the
  permitted maximum of 49 percent.
  Liberty Videocon was established in 2013 and provides personal
  lines motor, health, home and personal accident coverage.
  The carrier is a joint venture between Liberty Mutual and Indian
  conglomerate Videocon, which primarily manufactures consumer
  electronics and home appliances.
  The move followsa change in the law in February that raise
  
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• #Insagepeople: 15 - 21 August 2016

  15-08-2016 10:41
  
  Keep abreast of the movers and shakers in the insurance world this week.
  
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• Zurich on track to deliver GI targets

  15-08-2016 09:09
  
  Analyst assesses Zurich’s outlook after first half results
  
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• Blog: Action Fraud helpline not enough against cyber crime

  15-08-2016 08:00
  
  The police alone cannot tackle cyber crime and the revamped fraud reporting centre may prove less helpful than hoped
  
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• Brightside extends motor claims deal

  15-08-2016 07:30
  
  Brightside selects preferred supplier for glass claims
  
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