Insurance news

• QBE taps ex-Attune CEO Friesenhahn

  07-04-2017 22:48
  QBE has hired long-time AIG executive and former Attune CEO
  Richard Friesenhahn as head of its multi-national client business
  in North America.
  Friesenhahn left the Attune leadership post in November, only a
  few months after AIG established the joint venture in September
  with Hamilton Insurance Group.
  At AIG, Friesenhahn was most recently executive vice president
  of US casualty lines.
  He will be based in New York in his new role at QBE North
  America, reporting to Kathleen Zortman, the specialty.
  
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• Gunter takes reins at Chubb NA commercial unit

  07-04-2017 22:48
  Chubb has promoted Scott Gunter to head up its North America
  commercial insurance business as division president.
  Gunter moves up to replace Steven Pozzi, who will retire at the
  end of 2017 after 36 years in the insurance industry.
  Gunter was most recently COO in Chubb's North America
  personal risk services division, and was Chubb commercial insurance
  global CUO prior to the New Jersey-based carrier's acquisition
  by Ace last year.
  He will report to Paul Krump, Chubb's group president for...
  
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• Axis Re sets U of Illinois cat 'hackathon'

  07-04-2017 22:48
  Axis Re will challenge University of Illinois students to come up
  with new models for evaluating catastrophe risks during a
  "hackathon" at the Urbana-Champaign campus this weekend
  that is designed in part to attract talented young people to
  insurance industry careers.
  Called the "Future of Insurance", the event
  "reflects our company's commitment to help engage and
  develop the next generation of insurance and reinsurance
  professionals", said AXIS Re's Jon Colello, president and
  chief underwriting
  
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• Large-scale crash for cash gang receives long jail sentence

  07-04-2017 18:27
  
  The large-scale crash for cash gang was involved in fraud potentially worth more than £500,000
  
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• large-scale crash for cash gang receive long jail sentence

  07-04-2017 18:27
  
  The large-scale  crash for cash gang were involved in fraud potentially worth more than £500,000
  
  Read more

• Opinion: The quarterly grind

  07-04-2017 17:57
  With AmTrust just filing its belated 10K for 2016 and the first
  quarter reporting season only 10 days from starting, covering US
  P&C financial results can, at times, feel like being stuck in
  journalistic purgatory.
  But it also provides the best barometer there is for the state
  of the market, and the health of the companies that operate in
  it.
  The sector entered 2017 on the back of its first annual
  underwriting loss since Sandy hampered profitability in 2012.
  Full-year...
  
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• Eames launches consulting business

  07-04-2017 17:57
  Recruitment firm Eames Consulting has launched an executive search
  and consulting business, Eames Partnership, it announced today.
  The business will operate globally, with a focus on providing
  companies with guidance on market trends and competitor and
  business intelligence.
  It also offers new market entry analysis, perception analysis
  reports, and succession planning and benchmarking assistance.
  Eames' founder and executive director Matthew Eames will
  become managing partner of the new business
  
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• This Month in Post: Rates, start-ups and fraud

  07-04-2017 16:03
  
  Spring is in the air and it's a time well-known for cleaning out the old and starting anew. As I continue to unpack boxes and work out where to put all of the fairly useless things I have collected over the decades, the industry has been taking its own look back at achievements and woes.
  
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• Willis Towers Watson CFO Millay to retire

  07-04-2017 14:16
  Willis Towers Watson CFO Roger Millay is to retire in October,
  according to a statement from the broking giant.
  Millay was the CFO and vice president of Towers Watson until its
  2015 merger with Willis, when he became CFO of the combined
  entity.
  Millay said that at the age of 60 he was stepping down "to
  pursue new life interests". Willis Towers Watson has begun its
  hunt for a new CFO, the company said.
  During his CFO tenure, Millay also...
  
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• Opinion: Greenberg and the brokers

  07-04-2017 14:16
  Evan Greenberg gave the brokersa fierce shellacking earlier this week, the like of which we
  haven't seen in some time.
  The Chubb CEO castigated the brokers for their
  "predatory" and "abusive" behaviours around
  commissions, and accused them of "enrich[ing] themselves at
  the expense of both their customers and underwriters". He
  singled out the London market as the most egregious case.
  The status quo is unsustainable to Greenberg.
  This kind of invective and the underlying analysis will be
  familiar
  
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• Nexus seeks funding partners for £20mn+ debt raise

  07-04-2017 14:16
  Nexus Underwriting is looking to raise substantial debt to fund
  a trio of managing general agency (MGA) acquisitions,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Debt advisory firm Clearwater has been appointed to run a
  process to secure the financing, likely to be in the
  £20mn-£25mn ($25mn-$31mn) range, with 15 initial
  potential counterparties already whittled down to seven, sources
  said.
  Interest in MGAs is currently intense after cyber-focused CFC
  was able to secure a buy-in from Vitruvian
  
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• M&A causes US crop reinsurance premium drought

  07-04-2017 14:16
  M&A in the US primary crop market has altered the playing
  field by removing demand for reinsurance, causing some reinsurers
  to question their future involvement.
  The reinsurance renewals for multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI)
  and crop hail books, which typically take place in March and April
  despite their 1 January inception dates, have been overshadowed by
  Zurich's decision to pull its existing outwards deals.
  Zurich acquired the biggest US MPCI insurer, Rural Community
  Insurance Services (R
  
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• Impact of UFR change minimal: Bernstein

  07-04-2017 14:16
  The European regulator's decision to reduce the ultimate
  forward rate (UFR) from 4.20 percent to 3.65 percent will have a
  limited impact on most (re)insurers, according to a note from
  Bernstein analyst Thomas Seidl.
  The European Insurance and Occupational Pension Authority
  (Eiopa)'s impact study found that reinsurers will be broadly
  unaffected, with life and composite carriers the most impacted by
  the rate change.
  The UFR is used to calculate the risk-free rate which is the
  basis for discounting
  
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• CSU and TSR predict below-average Atlantic hurricane season

  07-04-2017 14:16
  Colorado State University (CSU) and Tropical Storm Risk (TSR)
  have both put out forecasts predicting below-average activity in
  the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.
  CSU's Dr Philip Klotzbach projected 11 named storms, four
  hurricanes and two major hurricanes at Category 3 or above between
  the 1 June official start of the season and November 2017.
  Meanwhile, TSR's Professor Mark Saunders and Dr Adam Lea are
  also forecasting 11 named storms, with four hurricanes and two
  major hurricanes, in their up
  
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• AIG ordered to pay Cosby $675k in legal costs

  07-04-2017 14:16
  AIG has agreed to pay Bill Cosby $675,000 in legal costs incurred
  in the comedian's trial for historical sexual assault
  allegations, according to court documents.
  In a Massachusetts district court order published on 5 April,
  judge Mark Mastroianni said AIG had reached an agreement with Cosby
  on the issue of attorney's fees.
  However, the order added AIG had learned late on the afternoon
  of 5 April that Cosby's accusers in the defamation case related
  to the sexual assault allegations intended...
  
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• Terrorism and political risk threat increases worldwide

  07-04-2017 13:17
  
  Businesses with domestic and international footprints face an increasing threat of terrorism risk as Western countries experience a sharp increase in such attacks, according to risk analysts.
  
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• Insurance Age’s UK Broker Awards 2017 opens for entries

  07-04-2017 12:40
  
  Make your submissions with 11 categories available.
  
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• Quizzical questions: 7 April 2017

  07-04-2017 12:18
  
  Test your knowledge of the week's news with our topical quiz.
  
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• Tech-driven commercial insurance broker Konsileo enters market

  07-04-2017 11:53
  
  Tech-driven commercial insurance broker Konsileo has entered the market and is in the process of recruiting mid-market brokers.
  
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• Barbon appoints Mark Witherspoon as non-executive director

  07-04-2017 11:48
  
  Barbon Insurance Group has appointed Mark Witherspoon as non-executive director, subject to the usual regulatory approval.
  
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• M&A insurance growth undeterred by Brexit uncertainty, says JLT

  07-04-2017 11:47
  
  The demand for mergers and acquisitions insurance remains strong despite fears that Brexit uncertainty may hinder growth, according to JLT.
  
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• Chubb’s Evan Greenberg blasts ‘predatory’ brokers

  07-04-2017 11:23
  
  Certain brokers’ ‘predatory behaviours’ will come back to haunt them, Evan Greenberg warns
  
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• Nat Cat losses cost insurers over $2bn in March alone, says Aon

  07-04-2017 11:21
  
  Global natural disaster events could impact insurers with a $2bn (£1.6bn) hit over March, according to impact forecasting from Aon Benfield.
  
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• Motor premiums have gone up by 9.4% and are set to keep rising

  07-04-2017 11:06
  
  Car insurance has rocketed by 9.4% to an average of £661 and this is set to increase due to the decision to lower the discount rate.
  
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• Crash for cash fraudster sentenced to two years

  07-04-2017 11:04
  
  A crash for cash fraudster who staged accidents in Kent has received a two year prison sentence after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.
  
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• Miles Smith Holdings reveals drop in profits for 2016

  07-04-2017 10:51
  
  However turnover for the year increased slightly.
  
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• US weather losses hit $2.0bn in March: Aon

  07-04-2017 10:26
  US carriers were hit with approximately $2.0bn of losses in March
  after severe weather swept across the country causing widespread
  damage, according to Aon Benfield.
  In the company's latest Impact Forecasting report, released
  today, it said the US suffered four separate significant outbreaks
  which led to extensive damage in the east and south of the
  country.
  The most notable example was wind damage in the Plains, Midwest
  and Southeast between 6 March and 10 March, which alone caused
  combined pub
  
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• Carriers brace for NZ Debbie losses

  07-04-2017 10:26
  New Zealand\'s North Island is beginning to tally the damage
  from Cyclone Debbie with (re)insurers likely to suffer substantial
  losses from widespread flooding across the area.
  The tail-end of Debbie struck the island nation earlier this
  week, bringing deluges which meteorologists have suggested was a
  one in several hundred years event.
  Coastal towns have been particularly heavily impacted. Reuters
  reported that the town of Edgecumbe in the Bay of Plenty had
  completely submerged by floodwaters,
  
  Read more

• InsurTech Futures: Start-up broker Konsileo launches

  07-04-2017 10:24
  
  New commercial broker aims to disrupt the market.
  
  Read more

• SME now and the future: Reaching a new market

  07-04-2017 10:04
  
  Small businesses are waking up to the value of D&O insurance, so brokers and providers need to step up to help SMEs get the cover they need, writes Edward Murray
  
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• Market moves April 2017: Springing back

  07-04-2017 10:03
  
  March saw a number of people moves, however, the trend for insurers to be more active than brokers has continued.
  
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• Lycetts turnover grows to £19.8m

  07-04-2017 09:50
  
  However, profits down as the firm points to increased investment in staff and IT as its moves from several platforms to Open GI.
  
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• Terrorism risk climbs in US and worldwide: Aon

  07-04-2017 01:13
  Terrorist attacks in the US rose to the highest number in a
  decade last year amid a sharp increase in such incidents targeting
  Western countries, a new report shows.
  Reported attacks targeting the West more than doubled to 96 from
  35 in 2015, global broker Aon said in the study. Overall, it said
  incidents rose 14 percent worldwide to 4,151 from 3,633 in the
  previous year.
  Islamic State militants spread violence to a broader range of
  nations last year, hitting...
  
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• CSU and TSR point to below average Atlantic hurricane season

  07-04-2017 01:13
  Colorado State University (CSU) and Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) have
  both put out forecasts predicting below average activity in the
  2017 Atlantic hurricane season.
  CSU's Dr Philip Klotzbach projected 11 named storms, four
  hurricanes and two major hurricanes at category 3 or above between
  the 1 June official start of the season and November 2017.
  Meanwhile, TSR's Professor Mark Saunders and Dr Adam Lea are
  also forecasting 11 named storms, with four hurricanes and two
  major hurricanes in their upd
  
  Read more

• Berkshire unit sues Goodyear on legacy asbestos claims

  07-04-2017 01:13
  Berkshire Hathaway's specialty carrier has sued Goodyear
  Tire & Rubber over thousands of legacy asbestos claims,
  asserting that the manufacturer waited for seven years before
  disclosing them to the insurer.
  Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Co brought the case in
  federal court in Akron, Ohio, yesterday seeking to avoid paying
  "several millions of dollars" on the claims through an
  excess of loss policy, Reuters reported today.
  The insurer claimed that Goodyear had said in 2008 that cover
  
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