Insurance news

• Novae closes above Axis offer price

  06-07-2017 19:13
  Novae's shares overshot the agreed price of its sale to Axis
  Capital, suggesting that the market believes a rival bid is
  possible.The London-listed carrier's stock closed up 129 pence, or
  22.2 percent, at 710.5 pence. That's 1.5 percent higher than
  the 700 pence-per-share value of the Axis takeover, which itself
  represented a 20.4 percent premium to Novae's closing price
  yesterday.Axis announced last night that it hadstruck a deal to acquire Novae for £467.6mn ($604.4mn),
  equivalent to 1.5
  
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• Insider View: Brave Benchimol

  06-07-2017 19:13
  Albert Benchimol is a brave man.
  By buying a business that has been forced to issue a series of
  profit warnings and that is entirely reliant on a highly challenged
  London market, the Axis Capital CEO is taking a gamble.
  And let's be clear: he is not picking up Novae at a discount
  price. At 1.5x on a fully diluted basis, he is paying a premium
  valuation, particularly given that his own shares trade at a 1.1x
  multiple that make...
  
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• Howden hires Yilmaz as Middle East and Africa CEO

  06-07-2017 19:13
  Howden has hired Marsh Emirates CEO Atinc Yilmaz as regional CEO
  for Turkey, the Middle East and Africa.
  The Hyperion Insurance Group-owned wholesale broker places
  property, liability, employee benefits, marine, trade credit and
  reinsurance business in the region from offices in Dubai and Abu
  Dhabi.
  Turkish facultative reinsurance broker GRC Howden and Turkish
  specialty broker Howden Sigorta will also fall under the remit of
  Yilmaz, whose home country is Turkey.
  Yilmaz will be based in Dubai.
  Th
  
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• Guy Carp's Hearn moves up to MMC executive committee

  06-07-2017 19:13
  Guy Carpenter CEO Peter Hearn has been promoted to the Marsh &
  McLennan Companies (MMC) executive committee and now reports to MMC
  CEO Dan Glaser in the wake of Peter Zaffino's departure for
  AIG.
  Hearn had reported to Zaffino in the latter's role as
  chairman of risk and insurance services for the company. Zaffino
  had joined MMC's reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter in 2001,
  rising to become its president and CEO in 2008 before being named
  Marsh CEO in 2011 and...
  
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• Axis shares drop on Novae deal

  06-07-2017 19:13
  Axis shares have fallen just under 3 percent in morning trading
  in New York as investors react to the carrier's acquisition of
  London-listed Novae, announced late yesterday evening.
  The stock was trading down 2.97 percent at $63.77 as of 11:25am
  local time, as markets digested the 700 pence per share offer.
  The deal represents a 1.38x multiple to trailing undiluted net
  tangible asset value per share of 507.9p, but Axis said the fully
  diluted multiple on a trailing basis was...
  
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• AM Best affirms Axis A+ rating following Novae deal

  06-07-2017 19:13
  Axis Capital has retained its A+ (superior) financial strength
  rating with a stable outlook from AM Best following announcement of
  its intention to buy London-listed Novae for $604mn in cash.
  The ratings will not be affected by the Bermuda-based
  company's plan to finance the deal with available resources, AM
  Best indicated.
  The rating agency noted that Novae, operating through its
  Lloyd's Syndicate 2007, had gross written premium of about
  £900mn ($1.17bn) in 2016.
  The 700p per share purcha
  
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• M&A activity set to shrink London’s pool of specialist insurers

  06-07-2017 17:37
  Only three listed Lloyd’s underwriters will remain if £468m Axis offer for Novae succeeds
  
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• Willis Re names James Kent global CEO

  06-07-2017 17:17
  
  Willis Re has announced that James Kent will succeed John Cavanagh as global CEO.
  
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• Optal tech helps insurers manage data breach and GDPR regulation

  06-07-2017 16:57
  
  New Optal tech can save time,money, cut overheads and slash fraud
  
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• Zaffino nets $15mn AIG sign-on bonus

  06-07-2017 16:42
  Newly appointed AIG chief operating officer Peter Zaffino is set
  to receive a one-off $15mn sign-on bonus from his new employer in
  lieu of compensation he has foregone from Marsh.
  According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the
  sign-on award includes stock options to purchase 1 million AIG
  shares at the market price on the date they were granted.
  The shares will vest over a seven-year period, with 333,000
  vesting in equal annual instalments on the first three
  anniversaries...
  
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• WR Berkley makes $120mn gain on property sale

  06-07-2017 16:42
  WR Berkley said it expects to book a gain
  of about $120mn in the third quarter following the sale of a piece
  of Washington DC real estate.
  The gain will be booked pre-tax and comes on top of about $22mn
  in pre-tax earnings related to the property in earlier years, the
  Greenwich, Connecticut-based carrier said.
  "The sale is in keeping with the company's long-term
  strategy of investing for total return in order to continue
  delivering superior long-term value creation to...
  
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• Novae sale could generate £9.6mn for Fosh

  06-07-2017 16:42
  Novae CEO Matthew Fosh could be set to personally gain as much
  as £9.6mn ($12.4mn) from his firm's agreed sale to Axis
  Capital.
  According to Novae's latest annual report, Fosh owned
  872,939 shares outright in the firm - equivalent to close to a 1.4
  percent stake - as of 28 February.
  At Axis' offer price of 700 pence per share, this would
  equate to £6.1mn.
  However, Fosh also had 500,917 shares in unvested awards as of
  the end of February....
  
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• Novae deal takes Axis into nine new lines

  06-07-2017 16:42
  Axis Capital's proposed acquisition of
  Novae will propel the Bermudian into nine new lines, the company
  has said, as well as expanding its offering in eight classes it
  described as complementary.
  According to an investor presentation published by Axis earlier
  today, the New York-listed carrier will become a $2bn player in the
  London specialty market on completion of the deal, with $1.5bn of
  that business within Lloyd's.
  The transaction will also expand the firm's global specialty
  presence, incre
  
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• Novae deal positives 'far outweigh' negatives: Benchimol

  06-07-2017 16:42
  The economic and strategic positives of Axis Capital's takeover
  of Novae "far outweigh" any negatives arising from the
  deal, CEO Albert Benchimol has claimed.
  The comments from the CEO came on an investor call discussing
  the acquisition today, as Benchimol confirmed Axis would not
  execute any share repurchases for the next two quarters.
  Axis would need to hold more capital to support the additional
  $1.2bn of premium it is assuming from Novae in the deal, he
  explained.
  "I can tell...
  
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• Fairfax closes $4.9bn Allied World acquisition

  06-07-2017 16:42
  Fairfax has completed its $4.9bn takeover of Allied World after its
  share exchange offer to the Switzerland-headquartered carrier's
  investors closed yesterday.
  In a statement Fairfax said 96.1 percent of the shares had been
  tendered for the offer and acquired by the Canadian
  conglomerate.
  Allied World has also declared a special dividend of $5.00 for
  all shareholders which tendered their shares as well as all holders
  of record at close of trading on 5 July.
  As part of the deal Fairfax...
  
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• Axis finds deal after two-year hunt

  06-07-2017 16:42
  Axis Capital's deal to acquire London-listed Novae brings to
  completion a two-year M&A search for CEO Albert Benchimol
  following the collapse of the carrier's opportunistic tie-up
  with PartnerRe.
  The PartnerRe acquisition was initially agreed in January 2015
  at a highly discounted 0.90x multiple after the company was offered
  on a plate to Benchimol. However, the deal was wrecked by a
  superior offer from the Agnelli family's investment vehicle
  Exor.
  The transformative transaction would have c
  
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• Novae’s Foshie hits 6 into the boundary

  06-07-2017 16:32
  1.5 times book value is a fair price for a business with 3 recent profit warnings
  
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• Schemes director exits Gallagher to join ambitious MGA

  06-07-2017 16:17
  
  Schemes director was a specialist in hospitality and leisure at Gallagher before joining tech-ambitious MGA
  
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• Broking success: Sutcliffe & Co's Duncan Sutcliffe

  06-07-2017 14:56
  
  Family man: Duncan Sutcliffe, director of Sutcliffe & Co, explains how he plans to grow the family broker while remaining profitable and dealing with IPT, the Ogden rate change and regulation
  
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• Stephen Catlin given the prestigious Achievement Award at the 2017 British Insurance Awards

  06-07-2017 14:52
  
  Described as “a true statesman of our industry”, Stephen Catlin was a worthy winner of the achievement award at the 2017 British Insurance Awards last night.
  
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• Zurich Insurance proposes Michel Liès as chairman

  06-07-2017 14:47
  Former chief executive of Swiss Re to join next year
  
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• SME Now and the future: Shining a light on underinsurance

  06-07-2017 14:46
  
  Educating SME clients about the perils of underinsurance and persuading and advising them to take out appropriate levels of cover has never been more important, writes Edward Murray
  
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• RSA high flier Hannah Kate Smith acclaimed as the 2017 Young Achiever at the British insurance Awards

  06-07-2017 13:54
  
  Described by her employer RSA as a “dynamic, future business leader,” the British Insurance Awards Young Achiever winner Hannah Kate Smith proved a popular choice last night.
  
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• Blog: Setting the pace for change

  06-07-2017 13:51
  
  Technologies such as driverless cars, telematics and the connected home are changing the world of insurance, with the need for more modularisation of coverages, and components that can be used in different ways to suit particular niches and markets. Dean Richardson, head of insurer, strategic sales at SSP explains.
  
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• Shaw lands at Beach from Aon Benfield

  06-07-2017 13:34
  Global (re)insurance broker Beach & Associates has recruited
  Daniel Shaw from Aon Benfield to run its wholesale P&C treaty
  division in London, the intermediary said in a statement today.
  Shaw becomes a senior vice president at Beach and will report to
  Jason Howard, CEO for London and International.
  He was most recently a North America casualty treaty reinsurance
  broker at Aon Benfield, where he has worked for the last 17 years.
  He began his insurance career at CE Heath placing...
  
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• Novae valuation: a question of perspective

  06-07-2017 13:34
  When investors and market watchers weigh the valuation of the
  agreed Axis-Novae deal the view they take will depend heavily on
  the perspective they use.
  The Novae board has recommended that shareholders sell out to
  Axis for 700 pence per share in cash.
  This represents 1.38x trailing undiluted net tangible asset
  value per share of 507.9p, with the forward multiple to the
  full-year likely to be somewhat closer to 1.30x.
  Axis and Novae said that, taking into account dilution from...
  
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• Markerstudy seeks takeovers and funding partners

  06-07-2017 13:34
  Markerstudy is considering the sale of a minority equity stake
  while weighing acquisition opportunities presented by its
  Ogden-ravaged motor insurance peers, according to group
  underwriting director Gary Humphreys.
  Humphreys said the Gibraltar-based motor insurance specialist
  had enlisted Swiss bank Mirabaud to "look at possible funding
  solutions for our growth going forward - both acquisitions and
  underwriting growth".
  "That led to a number of conversations about whether to
  take on senior debt
  
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• EU has 'obvious basis' for Brexit equivalence call: Bailey

  06-07-2017 13:34
  The EU's existing framework for recognising third-country
  regulatory regimes should be used for UK financial services groups
  seeking to do European business after Brexit, according to
  Financial Conduct Authority CEO Andrew Bailey.
  Bailey made the comments about regulatory equivalence in speech
  at a Thomson Reuters event. During the speech, he argued that
  Brexit does not need to involve "abandoning the benefits of
  free trade and open markets".
  The question of equivalence has become one of the mor
  
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• Markerstudy confirms it is not selling, plans strategic acquisitions

  06-07-2017 12:35
  
  Exclusive: Markerstudy has confirmed that it is not for sale and is planning on making further acquisitions.
  
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• Ex-Swiss Re boss Michel Liès to be Zurich chairman

  06-07-2017 12:25
  
  Former Swiss Re CEO Michel Liès has been proposed as the chairman for Zurich from next year.
  
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• Revealed: 2017 British Insurance Awards winners

  06-07-2017 12:14
  
  RSA scooped a trio of awards last night at the British Insurance Awards, winning in the claims initiative, major loss and young achiever categories.
  
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• AXA puts jobs at risk with Ireland branch closures

  06-07-2017 11:52
  
  Company plans Ireland branch closures as customers move online
  
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• Thomas Carroll primed for acquisitions

  06-07-2017 11:47
  
  Rhys Thomas puts profit growth down to a software house change, high retention rates and more new business as he insists the firm is not for sale.
  
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• Axis to buy Novae for £468m

  06-07-2017 11:36
  
  Axis Capital has made an offer to buy Lloyd’s insurer Novae for £467.6m.
  
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• Axis buys Lloyd's insurer Novae

  06-07-2017 10:54
  
  Axis buys Lloyd’s insurer Novae for £468m in cash
  
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• Zurich names ex-Swiss Re CEO Liès as next chairman

  06-07-2017 10:36
  Zurich has nominated former Swiss Re CEO Michel Liès as its
  next chairman, the company said today.
  Liès will be put forward by Zurich to replace the incumbent
  Tom de Swaan at Zurich's next annual general meeting in April
  2018.
  Liès worked at Swiss Re for 38 years, culminating in a
  stint as CEO from 2012 to 2016.
  De Swaan said that Liès "brings a wealth of skill and
  insight gained from a very successful career in our sector, which,...
  
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• Willis Re confirms Kent to succeed Cavanagh

  06-07-2017 10:36
  Willis Re's deputy global CEO James Kent will become global CEO
  at the end of this year, following John Cavanagh's decision to
  step down, the broker confirmed today.
  The Insurance Insider first broke
  the news of the handover on 20 June.Cavanagh has led the Willis Re business as CEO since 2012. He
  joined Willis Re in 2009 having spent 21 years at the Carvill
  Group, where he was latterly joint CEO.
  Prior to this, he was the deputy managing...
  
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• Opinion: Novae's privacy

  06-07-2017 10:36
  Novae has sold to Axis in a $604mn deal announced very late last
  night.
  There will be opportunities for fuller and more considered
  reflection as the day goes on and we learn more.
  But my immediate take is that Novae's position as a public
  small-cap Lloyd's insurer was anomalous and unhelpful to the
  firm.
  Over the years Novae's peer group (Omega, Hardy, Chaucer,
  Brit) have been taken out successively, with even much larger peers
  Catlin and Amlin bowing out of...
  
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• Novae spikes beyond Axis offer price

  06-07-2017 10:36
  Novae's share price overshot the agreed 700 pence of its agreed
  sale to Axis Capital, announcedafter market close yesterday, in early trading to suggest that
  the market believes a rival bid is possible.At 8:49am in London the shares had advanced by 22.4 percent to
  711.5 pence.
  Last night, Axis announced that it had struck a deal to acquire
  Novae for £467.6mn ($604.4mn), equivalent to 1.5x trailing
  book on a fully diluted basis and a 20.4 percent premium to...
  
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• Axis swallows Novae in $604mn deal

  06-07-2017 10:36
  Years of speculation about Novae's future ended late
  yesterday with news that the company hassold itself to Axis Capital for $604mn.
  The acquisition will allow the Bermudian buyer to create a $2bn
  London specialty market carrier and a top 10 insurer at
  Lloyd's, while making Novae the latest brand to disappear from
  the Lloyd's market.
  The agreement comes during a period of retrenchment at Novae, whose
  fortunes abruptly turned last year with a shock profit warning.
  The reinsurer is...
  
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• Axis buys Novae for £468m

  06-07-2017 10:27
  
  The board of the Lloyd's insurer to "unanimously recommend" the offer.
  
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• CityUK delivers blueprint for UK financial services sector

  06-07-2017 08:06
  Greater collaboration between the government, industry and
  regulators and a centralised means of harnessing fintech
  investments are among the ingredients needed to ensure the UK
  financial services sector is still flourishing in 2025, according
  lobby group CityUK.
  A CityUK report compiled in conjunction with PwC gives a series
  of recommendations that the authors estimate would deliver gross
  value added - a measure of output - of £16bn ($20.7bn) by
  2025, and bolster gross domestic product by
  
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• Personal injury payouts driving up cost of motor insurance, says RAC

  06-07-2017 07:00
  
  The cost of motor insurance is being driven up by personal injury payouts that are dramatically higher than the rest of Europe
  
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• Swiss Re shifts entire $130bn portfolio to ethical indices

  06-07-2017 06:04
  Platforms reward socially responsible performance with higher weightings
  
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• I work in insurance: Georgina Oakes, Airmic

  06-07-2017 06:00
  
  Oakes is research and development manager at the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers
  
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• Global insurers worry about cyber crime exposure

  06-07-2017 06:00
  Industry awaits legal tests on whether loose language covers data attacks
  
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• Axis to rebrand Novae and merge Lloyd's syndicates

  06-07-2017 05:28
  The Novae name is set to become the latest Lloyd's brand to
  be retired as Axis plans to bring the carrier under its own
  corporate banner and merge the two syndicates, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.In an exclusive interview on the day Axis announced its deal to
  buy Novae for $604mn, the CEOs of both firms told this publication
  that the London-based (re)insurer would take the Axis name once the
  deal closes, expected in the fourth quarter.
  Axis boss...
  
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• When cyber gets physical

  06-07-2017 05:00
  
  Recent events such as the Wanna Cry ransomware attack and British Airways’ computer outage have helped to drive sales of cyber insurance, but there are concerns that a significant part of the risk is being overlooked
  
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• Penny Black's Social World - July 2017

  06-07-2017 05:00
  
  Sponsoring sport, a motor report and minibus support
  
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• Axis agrees to buy Novae for $604mn

  06-07-2017 02:09
  Axis Capital is buying Novae Group for $604mn to create a $2bn
  London specialty market carrier and a top 10 insurer at
  Lloyd's.
  The price of 700 pence ($9.05) a share in cash values Axis at
  approximately £467.6mn, or about 1.5x net tangible book value
  as of the end of last year and is 20 percent more than Novae's
  closing price on 4 July.
  The price per share represents a 29 percent premium to
  Novae's volume-weighted average price over the...
  
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