Insurance news

• Former Mitsui at Lloyd's CEO McKee departs MS Amlin

  20-12-2016 19:45
  Andrew McKee, CEO of MS Amlin's managing agency, is to leave
  the Lloyd's arm of Mitsui Sumitomo later this month.
  McKee was of CEO of Mitsui Sumitomo's Lloyd's business
  ahead of the Japanese big three member's £3.5bn ($4.3bn)
  acquisition of London-listed insurer Amlin, announced in September
  2015.
  Under the merged structure, McKee became CEO of MS Amlin
  Underwriting Ltd, the firm's managing agency and the key
  regulated entity for the group.
  McKee will leave the business on 23 December, wit
  
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• Blog: Enterprise Act - brokers need to be aware of the change to their responsibilities

  20-12-2016 16:45 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Healys' Jerome O'Sullivan raises issues for brokers to consider around insurers contracting out.
  
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• Beazley investor sells £2.34m shares

  20-12-2016 15:37
  
  A major shareholder in Beazley has disposed of £2.34m of shares in the company.
  
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• Reinsurance remains too complex to disrupt easily

  20-12-2016 15:03
  The complexity of (re)insurance has been a major factor in the
  low level of disruption experienced by the industry, according to a
  panel of experts.
  Jed Rhoads, president and chief underwriting officer of
  Markel's global reinsurance division, was among those who felt
  the intricate nature of P&C products was a key reason why the
  market hadn't yet been disrupted by an outside influence.
  "Our industry isn't selling a ride in a taxi or a
  rental home like Airbnb or Uber....
  
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• Muted movement for the week

  20-12-2016 15:03
  The Insider 50 was up just 0.38 percent for the week
  when closing bells rang at stock exchanges on either side of the
  Atlantic on Friday (16 December).
  The muted movement stood in stark contrast to the previous week,
  which saw significant swings as valuations moved in excess of 15
  percent in either direction.
  The most meaningful movement last week came from Maiden, as its
  shares climbed just over 3 percent to reach their highest point
  this year after analysts...
  
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• Lockton pursues ex-employees after Marsh defection

  20-12-2016 15:03
  Lockton's Texas division is suing two of its former
  employees after they allegedly led a team defection to rival broker
  Marsh.
  The departing team, which includes at least five energy, marine,
  power and infrastructure brokers, all worked on one of
  Lockton's largest accounts in the region.
  The suit has been brought against former Lockton equity partner
  Karey Vaught and executive vice president Alberto "Tony"
  Garcia.
  Marsh hired Garcia as managing director and head of its Houston
  office in July thi
  
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• Lloyd's plans EU base post Brexit

  20-12-2016 15:03
  Lloyd's will establish a subsidiary in Europe should the UK
  government fail to secure passporting rights following Brexit.
  The Corporation confirmed its contingency plans last week, and
  told this publication that work on a branch solution had been put
  to one side.
  The confirmation followed a report by the Financial
  Times that said Lloyd's was choosing from a shortlist of
  five locations in which it could set up a new, separately
  capitalised European subsidiary.
  Lloyd's would then seek regulatory
  
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• KaylaRe completes roster of total returns reinsurers

  20-12-2016 15:03
  Enstar's legacy-and-live total return reinsurer KaylaRe,
  which it launched last week (15 December) with
  capitalisation of $620mn, looks likely to be the final entrant in
  the recent spate of such carriers to make it over the line.
  A flurry of total return reinsurers launched from 2014-16, but
  the scepticism of high net worth investors in the face of the
  complexity of the model and the patchiness of their track record
  looks for now to have closed off the possibility of...
  
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• Insider View: Lloyd's of Dublin?

  20-12-2016 15:03
  That Lloyd's has plumped for an EU-based subsidiary
  workaround for Brexit will come as little surprise to the
  market.
  While the subsidiary will need to be separately capitalised and
  regulated, its establishment is arguably more straightforward and
  less time-consuming than working with the 27 EU member states
  individually to secure licence approval.
  As the Corporation has previously stated, only 11 percent of
  business written at Lloyd's comes from the European Economic
  Area. And only 4 percent is
  
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• Florida debt issuances attract new crowd of ILS managers

  20-12-2016 15:03
  Two Florida insurers have issued debt to insurance-linked
  securities (ILS) managers in recent weeks, highlighting the fact
  that a broader group of such companies are prepared to invest in
  such deals.
  United Insurance Holdings placed $30.0mn of senior debt notes
  with funds managed by Zurich-based ILS manager Twelve Capital,
  while Heritage Insurance was set to place $79.5mn of senior secured
  debt in a deal supported by Fermat Capital Management and Hudson
  Structured Capital Management Bermuda (HSC
  
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• Fed rate rise promises reprieve for insurers

  20-12-2016 15:03
  By the time the US Federal Reserve nudged interest rates higher
  last week (14 December), the change had already been priced in and
  most investors and treasury managers had made any adjustments to
  portfolios and allocations that might have been expected as a
  result.
  But the unanticipated suggestion by the Fed's Open Market
  Committee that it would revisit rates three times in 2017 instead
  of the previously expected two led to a steepening of the yield
  curve by the end...
  
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• Enstar to take on Gable run-off

  20-12-2016 15:03
  Legacy and now-live carrier Enstar has been appointed as run-off
  manager for the now-defunct Gable Insurance, which was sunk by the
  increased capital requirements of Solvency II.
  In a statement on the insurer's website, the administrators
  Batliner Wanger Batliner told policyholders to contact Enstar over
  claims.
  It said Enstar would have oversight over Gable Insurance's
  brokers, coverholders, claims handling agents and
  representatives.
  Earlier this yearWilliam Dewsall, the CEO of parent Gable
  Ho
  
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• Citizens pencils in reinsurance budget amid uncertainties

  20-12-2016 15:03
  Florida Citizens Property Insurance has tentatively set aside
  $70mn to spend on its reinsurance buying in 2017, as it faces
  rising losses from water claims and assignment of benefits (AOB)
  litigation.The insurer said it would be looking to replace "a
  portion" of its expiring $2.16bn of reinsurance in what is
  shaping up to be a challenging 2017 for the company.
  It has estimated that it could secure $754mn of limit in
  addition to an existing $300mn cat bond that...
  
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• Alpine Eternity loss jumps to $275mn

  20-12-2016 15:03
  Marine (re)insurers have been notified that the ground-up loss
  from last year's Alpine Eternity collision has risen
  to $275mn, The Insurance Insider revealed
  last week.
  The International Group (IG)'s reinsurance programme looks
  set to absorb the bulk of the loss, the payment of which has been
  complicated by western sanctions against Iran.
  For 2015/16, the reinsurance programme for the group of
  protection and indemnity clubs attaches at $80mn.
  Britannia Club, which insures the Alpine Eternity, sa
  
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• AIG continues disposals with sale of Greek unit to Exin

  20-12-2016 15:03
  Matt Fairfield's (re)insurance start-up Exin Partners has
  struck a deal to buyout AIG's interest in AIG Greece in a deal
  worth upwards of EUR100mn ($104mn), The Insurance
  Insider revealed on 20 December.
  Banking sources told this publication that Exin had signed and
  closed the acquisition of AIG's 50 percent stake in the
  managing general agent (MGA) through which it operated in Greece,
  as the global insurance giant continues to show a willingness to
  shed assets following a period of sharp...
  
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• Lawyers condemn ABI's 'Scrooge-like' discount rate legal challenge

  20-12-2016 14:04
  
  Lawyers have branded the Association of British Insurers’ legal challenge over the government’s discount rate review as “worthy of Scrooge himself”.
  
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• Liquidator to Gable appoints run-off manager

  20-12-2016 13:11
  
  The liquidator of Gable has appointed Enstar as run-off manager.
  
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• Fidelis replaces Berkshire private placement for IG

  20-12-2016 12:58
  Richard Brindle's total return carrier Fidelis has agreed a
  5 percent private placement on the International Group's
  general excess of loss (GXL) programme, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  It is understood Berkshire Hathaway declined to renew its
  three-year deal with the group, with the vacancy filled by Fidelis,
  the start-up launched last year by Lancashire duo Brindle and Neil
  McConachie.
  Berkshire Hathaway previously wrote a 5 percent share of the GXL
  programme up to $1.1bn in excess of a $
  
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• Exin acquires AIG's Greek operations

  20-12-2016 12:58
  Matt Fairfield's (re)insurance start-up Exin Partners has
  struck a deal to buyout AIG's interest in AIG Greece in a deal
  worth upwards of EUR100mn ($104mn), The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Banking sources told this publication that Exin had signed and
  closed the acquisition of AIG's 50 percent stake in the MGA
  through which it operated in Greece, as the global insurance giant
  continues to show a willingness to shed assets following a period
  of sharp activist pressure.
  AIG confirmed the...
  
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• BGC likely to get Besso as process comes down to wire

  20-12-2016 12:58
  BGC looks likely to emerge as the winner of the sale process for
  independent London market broker Besso, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Banking sources said that after a series of delays a final
  decision is believed to be imminent, with the Besso board set to
  take a decision between financial services firm BGC Partners
  (formerly part of Cantor Fitzgerald) and a debt-backed management
  buyout.
  However, it is understood that the proposed BGC deal is the
  probable outcome of the...
  
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• Acappella hires Dual financial lines pair

  20-12-2016 12:58
  Acappella Group has appointed Liz Hanlon and Paul Russell to launch
  a financial lines managing general agency (MGA),confirming previous reports by The Insurance
  Insider.Hanlon will become chairman of existing MGA Acappella Agency
  Ltd, while Russell takes up the position of chief underwriting
  officer.
  The duo join the platform from Dual, where they previously built
  and led the core financial lines book, which constitutes around 70
  percent of the company's portfolio.
  The announcement marks the lat
  
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• Enstar appointed as run-off manager for Gable

  20-12-2016 12:31
  
  Liquidator Batliner Wanger Batliner confirms move was effective from 16 December.
  
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• Home and motor insurers to end 2017 in the red, EY warns

  20-12-2016 11:30
  
  Home and motor general insurers are likely to face significant losses in the coming year, EY said.
  
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• Gable liquidator appoints run-off manager

  20-12-2016 11:00
  
  Gable run-off manager to handle claims and technical operations
  
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• Trust Re profits halve in Q3

  20-12-2016 10:41
  Bahrain-based reinsurer Trust Re's profits fell by more than
  50 percent to $15.7mn in the third quarter, after a one-off gain on
  the sale of shares and higher investment income skewed the Q3 2015
  figure.
  Third-quarter gross written premium declined by 2.6 percent
  year-on-year to $374.3mn, while the combined ratio was broadly flat
  at 95.1 percent.
  Net underwriting profit fell by 11.7 percent to $9.1mn as a
  result of continued pressure on reinsurance pricing.
  Commenting on the third-quarter perfor
  
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• Prosecutors label Platinum hedge fund a 'Ponzi' scheme

  20-12-2016 10:41
  Federal prosecutors claim that a New York hedge fund, Platinum
  Partners, became a massive "Ponzi scheme" that defrauded
  investors while collecting over $100mn in fees from unsuspecting
  clients.Co-chief investment officers Mark Nordlicht, 48, and David Levy,
  31, were among those indicted along with several associates. They
  face conspiracy and fraud charges and could be sentenced to as many
  as 20 years in prison if convicted, according to Robert L. Capers,
  the US Attorney for the Eastern District
  
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• Kuchinski leaves Allied World for Zurich

  20-12-2016 10:41
  Rob Kuchinski has resigned from Allied World to join Zurich just
  four months after signing up for the (re)insurer, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.Kuchinski joined Allied World - which has agreed a deal to be
  bought by Fairfax Financial - in August this year as senior vice
  president and head of international property, based out of London.The executive had previously been a global property executive
  for Emea at AIG, and had spent nine years at the insurance giant...
  
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• Home and motor to be unprofitable next year, says EY

  20-12-2016 10:15 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Maintaining low premiums for customers and achieving healthy earnings will be a struggle for the market, according to advisory firm.
  
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• Brokers will sell new types of cover in 2017

  20-12-2016 10:15
  
  Sharing economy, Internet of Things and even augmented reality could impact UK brokers in 2017 according to expert.
  
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• Axa's David Williams reviews 2016 and looks ahead to 2017

  20-12-2016 10:10
  
  Williams on McCafferty joining Axa, the discount rate, differential pricing and Brexit.
  
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• Christmas Q&A with Chris Patterson and Steve Daulby

  20-12-2016 10:07
  
  Who prefers turkey and who will be reaching for the pigs in blankets?
  
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• Bleak outlook for UK general insurers in 2017 - EY

  20-12-2016 08:53
  
  UK general insurers will make losses in key lines, accounting firm predicts
  
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• Flood claims: Under the weather

  20-12-2016 08:00
  
  One year after Storms Desmond and Eva, schemes are now available to make cover affordable for households and small businesses in areas at risk of flooding. As barriers to resilient repairs persist, the focus is shifting to a more precise mapping of the risk
  
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• ABI in legal attack on controversial review’s “flawed methodology”

  20-12-2016 07:30
  
  Personal injury discount rate review is based on ‘flawed methodology’
  
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