Insurance news

• Orchid targets commercial expansion with online platform

  14-11-2016 22:18
  US coastal wind-focused MGA Orchid Underwriters is looking to
  significantly expand its recently launched commercial lines
  business into new states with the help of a new online distribution
  platform, The Insurance Insider can
  reveal.
  The Florida-based excess and surplus lines (E&S) specialist
  entered the commercial lines space in April this year, writing in
  its home state as well as Louisiana, Texas and New Jersey.
  Orchid then entered North and South Carolina in late September,
  initially wri
  
  Read more

• Chubb brings Reiss to New York to replace Hurley

  14-11-2016 22:18
  Chubb is bringing Steven Reiss back to New York from Europe to
  replace the late Andrew Hurley as executive vice president for real
  estate and hospitality lines.
  Reiss will take charge of underwriting strategy, production,
  marketing, product development and management, and profit and loss
  performance for the group, reporting to Chris Maleno, president of
  Chubb's North America major accounts division, the company said
  today in a statement.
  "Steve's global knowledge and management skills, proven
  tr
  
  Read more

• Fosun targets European runoff in $10bn push

  14-11-2016 20:34
  Fosun is targeting European run-off assets as it looks to grow
  its investable assets by between $5bn and $10bn over the next year,
  the Chinese conglomerate's CEO has said.
  Liang Xinjun revealed that his company has already signed
  agreements with some European insurers in deals that are just
  waiting on regulatory approval, in an interview with Asian
  Investor.
  It is the first time that the Chinese investment giant's
  leader has spoken openly about the company's intent to enter
  the run...
  
  Read more

• Marsh open to further acquisitions in UK

  14-11-2016 18:37
  Marsh's acquisition of Bluefin won't be its last UK broker
  deal as the company is on the lookout for other transactions,
  according to Marsh UK and Ireland CEO Mark Weil.
  The Marsh & McLellan Companies subsidiary announced earlier
  today that it had reached an agreement with Axa to buy Bluefin for
  £295mn ($368.81mn), almost a year after it completed its
  £258mn acquisition of another UK broker, Jelf.
  Despite taking out two of the major players in the UK retail
  market,...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Gable owner barred from insolvency proceedings

  14-11-2016 18:37
  Gable Holdings has been prohibited from attending a shareholder
  meeting called by special administrator PwC on behalf of Gable
  Insurance.
  In a statement, Gable Holdings, the parent company of Gable
  Insurance, said it had challenged PwC's appointment in the
  Liechtenstein court and lambasted the accounting firm's
  proposals, which it said were not "in the best interests of
  either policyholders or creditors".
  Prior to PwC's appointment by the Liechtenstein regulators,
  Gable Holdings said it had been
  
  Read more

• Aspen hires Phelan for Singapore role

  14-11-2016 18:37
  Aspen Insurance has appointed Martin Phelan as head of credit
  and political risk in its Singapore office.
  In the newly created position, Phelan will report to Yann
  Marmonier, principal officer and managing director in Singapore,
  with a matrix reporting line into global head of credit and
  political risk Paul Sanders.
  He joins the company from XL Catlin, where he previously served
  as a senior underwriter for credit and political risk in Asia
  Pacific, having joined in 2012.
  Prior to that...
  
  Read more

• Allied World hires AIG Asia Pac casualty duo

  14-11-2016 18:37
  Allied World has added to its general casualty division in Asia
  with the hires of Daphne Boon and Christie Huang Shuying.
  Boon will become vice president and head of general casualty in
  the region, while Huang joins as assistant vice president.
  Boon moves to the company from AIG, where she spent 10 years,
  most recently as head of casualty in Singapore. She also held
  additional leadership responsibilities for Indonesia.
  Huang also joins the carrier from AIG after eight years at...
  
  Read more

• FSCS pays out £2m to UK Enterprise motor policyholders

  14-11-2016 17:56
  
  The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has paid out over £2m in return of motor premium claims to Enterprise policyholders in the past two weeks.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• PIB to buy majority of Thistle

  14-11-2016 17:01
  UK broker consolidator PIB Insurance Brokers has agreed to buy
  the majority of JLT's Thistle UK business.
  Thistle UK is to be split into two businesses, one of which will
  be merged into JLT as previously announced, while the other will be
  acquired by PIB.
  PIB, led by Brendan McManus, will take the online business,
  affinity scheme and small and medium-sized enterprise business,
  along with the company's managing general agent arm Thistle
  Underwriting.
  JLT, meanwhile, will retain the London market.
  
  Read more

• Ariel offers scale and complementary book: Argo

  14-11-2016 17:01
  Buying Ariel will take Argo close to joining Lloyd's top 10
  carriers by size and add a cohort of talented underwriters,
  according to the New York-listed (re)insurer's management
  team.
  Earlier today this publication revealed that Argo was poised to
  acquire 100 percent of Ariel, with the company subsequently issuing
  a release confirming that it had struck a deal to buy the
  Lloyd's (re)insurer for $235mn.
  "The deal gives us scale both in our underwriting business in
  Bermuda, as well as...
  
  Read more

• FSCS makes £2m in Enterprise payouts in two weeks

  14-11-2016 16:38
  
  Compensation scheme returning premiums for failed insurer Enterprise
  
  Read more

• Norwegian Hull Club opens Lime Street office

  14-11-2016 15:57
  
  The Norwegian Hull Club has opened its first underwriting office outside of Norway.
  
  Read more

• JLT to sell majority of Thistle UK to PIB Group

  14-11-2016 15:42
  
  JLT will sell the majority of its Thistle UK business to PIB Group, subject to regulatory approval.
  
  Read more

• Argo confirms $235mn Ariel takeover

  14-11-2016 15:03
  Bermudian carrier Argo has confirmed its acquisition of
  Lloyd's (re)insurer Ariel Re for a cash consideration of
  approximately $235mn.
  The deal values the business at 1.25x forecast year-end tangible
  book value.
  The Insurance Insider revealed Argo
  was on the verge of striking an agreement to acquire 100 percent of
  Ariel earlier
  today.In a statement, Argo said the purchase remains subject to
  regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in the first
  quarter of next year.
  The combined Ariel Re.
  
  Read more

• Argo Group acquires Ariel Re for £187m

  14-11-2016 15:02
  
  Argo Group is to acquire Ariel Re for approximately $235m (£187m).
  
  Read more

• PRA sets out cyber guidelines

  14-11-2016 14:57
  
  PRA says firms don’t fully understand cyber exposure
  
  Read more

• Marsh committed to growth in local business

  14-11-2016 14:57
  
  Marsh is "essentially using the model that Bluefin and Jelf used to acquire" small businesses and will continue to seek out opportunities.
  
  Read more

• JLT sells majority stake of Thistle to PIB

  14-11-2016 14:22
  
  Jardine Lloyd Thompson is to sell the majority of its Thistle UK business to PIB Group.
  
  Read more

• JLT announces majority stake sale of Thistle to PIB

  14-11-2016 14:22
  
  Jardine Lloyd Thompson is to sell the majority of its Thistle UK business to PIB Group, subject to UK regulatory approval.
  
  Read more

• Map Capital offers £33mn capacity in auction 3

  14-11-2016 13:27
  Corporate member Map Capital Ltd, which supports Syndicate 2791,
  has tendered £33.3mn ($42.0mn) of capacity in the venture at a
  price of 45p per pound in the third round of Lloyd's capacity
  auctions.
  Map Capital is a vehicle through which staff at Managing Agents
  Partners Limited (Map) as well as third party capital backers
  participate in Syndicate 2791.
  In an auction disclosure, the managing agency said that it had
  been instructed by a third party shareholder to "participate
  in the...
  
  Read more

• Gable to take ‘robust’ defence against insolvency petition

  14-11-2016 13:11
  
  Gable is taking “the most robust” action against its administrators over any petition to declare the company insolvent.
  
  Read more

• Marsh still on acquisition trail after Bluefin - Weil

  14-11-2016 13:08
  
  Marsh’s purchase of Bluefin won’t be its last in broking space
  
  Read more

• Dye: Allianz will be back in the black on personal lines

  14-11-2016 12:50
  
  Allianz said it will take eight months for the company to become profitable again in personal lines after withdrawing from direct home and motor.
  
  Read more

• Allianz GWP falls 4.2%

  14-11-2016 12:44
  
  GWP at Allianz dropped 4.2%, while operating profit saw a 17.7% rise to reach £121m in Q3 2016, up from £102.8m in the same period last year.
  
  Read more

• JLT sells majority of Thistle to consolidator

  14-11-2016 12:42
  
  Deal expected to complete this year
  
  Read more

• #insagepeople: 14 - 20 November 2016

  14-11-2016 12:42
  
  Keep up to date with all the latest people moves.
  
  Read more

• Kaikoura cut off by 7.5 magnitude NZ quake

  14-11-2016 11:58
  Two people have been reported dead after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake
  struck the North Canterbury region of New Zealand's South
  Island in the early hours of Monday morning local time.
  USGS data put the magnitude at 7.8, higher than that recorded by
  New Zealand's GeoNet.
  But the earthquake has struck deeper and further from
  Christchurch and other major urban centres in the South Island than
  the 2011 Lyttelton event, helping to keep damage down compared to
  that disaster.
  The small...
  
  Read more

• Brit launches $50mn diamond processing consortium

  14-11-2016 11:58
  Brit has launched a Lloyd's consortium for diamond
  processing risks, offering capacity of up to $50mn, it announced
  today.
  The consortium, led by Brit, is the first in Lloyd's
  dedicated to diamond processing, the company said.
  Craig Dennis, fine art and specie underwriter at Brit Global
  Specialty, said the firm believed giving London brokers the ability
  to efficiently quote and bind stones with values of up to $50mn
  would be a key differentiator in a marketplace that was very much...
  
  Read more

• Argo to acquire 100% of Ariel

  14-11-2016 11:58
  Bermudian Argo is on the verge of striking a deal to acquire 100
  percent of Ariel as the long-running M&A saga surrounding the
  Lloyd's (re)insurer takes yet another turn, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  It is understood that the all-cash deal will value the business
  at 1.2x-1.3x book value, with 50 percent owner the Abu Dhabi
  Investment Council (Adic) making an unexpected move to sell out
  alongside BTG Pactual, which holds the other 50 percent and has
  wished to sell...
  
  Read more

• Allianz’s Dye: more deals likely following Marsh/Bluefin

  14-11-2016 11:55
  
  Allianz UK chief executive praises Marsh’s previous acquisition
  
  Read more

• Ex-Quindell unit extends motor deal

  14-11-2016 11:14
  
  Watchstone unit Hubio prolongs partnership
  
  Read more

• Commercial lines drives Allianz UK’s profit growth

  14-11-2016 11:01
  
  Allianz UK chief executive Jon Dye hails ‘pleasing results’ for first nine months
  
  Read more

• Allianz UK looks to grow brokered personal motor book

  14-11-2016 11:01
  
  Allianz UK has “addressed issues” in previously troublesome business line
  
  Read more

• Cyber Insight 2016: live updates

  14-11-2016 10:37
  
  The Insurance Times editorial team brings you the latest developments from the Cyber Insight 2016 conference as they happen
  
  Read more

• Marsh acquires UK broker Bluefin

  14-11-2016 10:07
  Global intermediary Marsh has acquired Axa UK broker network
  Bluefin Insurance Group, the company announced today.
  The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of
  2017, subject to regulatory approval.
  The financial consideration for the deal was not disclosed.
  Marsh said it would merge Bluefin with employee benefits and
  financial planning intermediary Jelf under Jelf CEO Phil Barton,
  with the management team comprising members from both firms.
  The unit would combine two of the large
  
  Read more

• Hellman and energy team resurface at Thomas Miller

  14-11-2016 10:07
  Dual's former global head of marine and energy Bernt Hellman
  and his team of six have joined Thomas Miller Specialty,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Hellman will launch a new marine and energy offering on Thomas
  Miller's managing general agency (MGA) platform, which was
  formed via last year's acquisition of fixed protection and
  indemnity (P&I) MGA Osprey.
  Sources said that James Scott and Jason Wheeler have also joined
  as directors of energy.
  Parisha Bansil has moved with Hellman as senio
  
  Read more

• Marsh buys Bluefin from AXA

  14-11-2016 09:05
  
  Marsh to merge Bluefin with Jelf
  
  Read more

• Marsh to acquire Bluefin from Axa for £295m

  14-11-2016 08:59
  
  Global broker Marsh is continuing its UK SME push after reaching agreement with Axa over the acquisition of national broker Bluefin.
  
  Read more

• E-cigarettes: The new asbestos?

  14-11-2016 08:00
  
  The use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, has grown exponentially since they appeared on the market 10 years ago. When it comes to covering the associated risks, are insurers and brokers playing with fire?
  
  Read more

• Hedge fund continues to build Esure stake

  14-11-2016 07:30
  
  Company buys more shares in personal lines insurer Esure
  
  Read more

• QBE joins Underwriting Agencies Council

  14-11-2016 04:14
  
  QBE's Australia and New Zealand arms have joined the Underwriting Agencies Council in Australia and New Zealand.
  
  Read more

Follow @Insurance_UKnws on Twitter!