Insurance news

• Seeman Holtz adds to California expansion drive

  19-07-2017 23:51
  Expansive broker Seeman Holtz has acquired a second southern
  California agency, Behrooz Meimand, as it continues a drive to
  expand outside its home territory in Florida.
  The acquisition of the Los Angeles agency that has been in
  business for more than 35 years is expected to bring with it
  "a solid book of quality client relationships", Boca
  Raton, Florida-based Seeman Holtz said today in announcing the
  deal. Terms were not disclosed.
  In addition to California, Behrooz Meimand serves Nevada and..
  
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• Chubb forms large-scale NA commercial auto group

  19-07-2017 23:51
  Chubb has launched a commercial auto group to serve companies
  with fleets of more than 500 vehicles in the US and Canada, the
  insurer said today.
  The newly formed transportation industry practice will provide
  cover for truckers, bus operators, waste haulers, rental car
  companies, and airlines, as well as larger manufacturers and
  distributors.
  Chubb indicated it was targeting clients that are willing to
  utilize large deductibles in their programme.
  The new group will be headed up by David Brown w
  
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• Aviva seeks digital disruption in Hong Kong as well as Hoxton

  19-07-2017 23:21
  Sale of FPI arm allows group to focus on other growth opportunities in Asia
  
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• Talanx to buy Generali Colombian units for EUR30mn

  19-07-2017 21:19
  Talanx has agreed to a EUR30.0mn ($34.6mn)) deal to acquire
  Generali's majority stake in it two Colombian units as the
  Italian carrier continues to divest non-core assets.
  The big German insurer is buying more than 90 percent of
  Generali Colombia's general and life insurance businesses.
  The acquisition remains subject to regulatory approval in
  Colombia and is expected to close by the end of the year.
  The acquired operations include eight branch offices in Colombia
  alongside a headquarters in Bog
  
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• Five US weather events top $1bn mark

  19-07-2017 19:19
  US weather events led insured losses from catastrophe events in the
  first half of 2017, as five separate storm outbreaks all produced
  more than $1bn of claims, Impact Forecasting reported.
  Severe convective storms caused 78 percent of first-half
  catastrophe claims.
  The Aon Benfield subsidiary put total insured cat losses for the
  period at $22.0bn, which was broadly in line with the $19.5bn
  reported by Munich Re's NatCat service.
  The total came in 35 percent lower than the $34bn sustained in...
  
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• Everest adds Martin as political risk underwriter

  19-07-2017 19:19
  Everest Re's insurance subsidiary has added Joe Martin to
  its credit and political risk team as an executive underwriter in
  New York, the company said today.
  The executive joins the carrier from Mitsubishi Financial Group
  where he was a director responsible for originating and structuring
  export credit.
  Before joining Mitsubishi, Martin worked for the US
  Export-Import Bank, or ExIm, where he was a senior project officer
  in the project finance division.
  The executive has also racked up some exper
  
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• Bermuda changeover won't disrupt business service: BDA

  19-07-2017 19:19
  The Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) has claimed the
  island can navigate changes in government without disrupting
  business relations, after a new party swept to power in
  yesterday's general election.
  Bermuda's Progressive Labour Party (PLP) regained control of
  the House of Assembly from the One Bermuda Alliance (OBA), which
  had been in power since 2012.
  BDA CEO Ross Webber said the organisation looked forward to
  working with the government to ensure the local market remained
  vibrant.
  "B
  
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• Vizion adds Living as fourth partner

  19-07-2017 17:13
  Pete Living has joined Vizion Insurance Brokers as a fourth
  founding partner, the firm announced today.
  Living has spent the past eight years in the high net worth
  market, most recently working for Aon UK and A-Plan Insurance.
  Vizionlaunched in January with a desire to attract entrepreneurial
  broking talent in the London market. The business is led by John
  Sims as managing director and Chris Blackham as its chairman.Jeremy Guscott, a former England rugby player and TV sports...
  
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• On-demand insurance provider receives £1.2m in funding

  19-07-2017 16:54
  
  Pay-as-you-go insurance provider, Zego has raised £1.2 million in a seed funding round following the launch of its first product led by Aviva.
  
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• Flood Re to grow policies by 50%

  19-07-2017 16:22
  
  Flood Re will increase the number of policies by 50% by next year, its CEO said.
  
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• Swinton launches Munich Re backed SME cyber policies

  19-07-2017 16:20
  
  New SME cyber policies underwritten by Munich Re unit
  
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• Swinton launches Munich Re-backed SME cyber policies

  19-07-2017 16:20
  
  New SME cyber policies underwritten by Munich Re unit
  
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• Video: Meet Sam White

  19-07-2017 15:45
  
  Learn more about the lighter side of the Pukka Insure and Action 365 CEO in our quick-fire Q&A video.
  
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• The Blog Spot: The changing face of claims

  19-07-2017 15:43 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Claims is where insurance shows its true value but is the march of technology going to change things for the better?
  
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• Lloyd's outlines MTE syndicate support measures

  19-07-2017 14:49
  Lloyd's has set out a series of measures to aid recovery after
  a market-turning event (MTE), which are designed to maintain its
  solvency and ability to pay claims.
  In a report released this week, the Corporation revealed six
  "guiding principles" which aim to allow syndicates to
  bounce back during the aftermath of a major catastrophe and to help
  capital flow more efficiently back into the market.
  Jon Hancock, Lloyd's director of performance management,
  said the goal of the review was...
  
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• Alberta Motor sues reinsurers over Fort McMurray loss

  19-07-2017 14:49
  The Alberta Motor Association is suing 16 reinsurers that it
  alleges are baulking at paying a C$165mn ($130mn) claim from its
  treaty provision dealing with forest fires.
  The Canadian carrier is facing rising claims from last
  year's Fort McMurray wildfire.
  The insurer has cited a clause in its cat treaty that it said
  provides for the division of a forest fire that lasts longer than
  168 hours into multiple loss occurrences.
  The Insurance Insider reportedlast year that Alberta Motor...
  
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• Aviva offloads Friends Provident International to wealth group

  19-07-2017 14:38
  Insurer continues non-core disposals with sale of lossmaking unit to specialist RL360
  
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• 134 staff cut as Call Connection goes into administration

  19-07-2017 13:34
  
  Insurance lead generator Call Connection has gone into administration, cutting 134 staff.
  
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• Broker Ignition Select calls in administrators

  19-07-2017 13:01
  
  Around 70 people are understood to be facing redundancy at the Ipswich-based broker.
  
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• Wildfire risks remain for 4 million west US homes: Verisk

  19-07-2017 12:25
  Millions of homes in the western US remain vulnerable to
  wildfires, even though the widespread drought in the region has
  eased, Verisk Analytics said in a report today.
  California has the largest number of at-risk residences by far,
  with over 2 million, compared with the other 12 most vulnerable
  states, Verisk said. Texas ranks second with 715,300 homes at
  risk.
  Sparsely populated Montana has the greatest proportion of homes
  potentially exposed to wildfires, at 28 percent, followed by Idaho
  (26.
  
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• Stevenson to retire from Lloyd's

  19-07-2017 12:25
  Bob Stevenson, the longstanding head of relationship management at
  Lloyd's, is planning to retire by the end of this year,
  The Insurance Insider understands.
  Stevenson, who has been at the Corporation for more than 25
  years, was also a member of the New Entrants Assessment Group, the
  committee that monitors and controls the entry process at
  Lloyd's.
  Lloyd's declined to comment.
  Stevenson's retirement is the eighth senior departure from
  the Corporation in just over 12 months.
  Most recently, Lloyd
  
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• Nexus gains first US MGA with ZON Re deal

  19-07-2017 12:25
  Expansive MGA Nexus Group has acquired US personal accident
  treaty reinsurance MGA ZON Re, backer BP Marsh announced today.ZON Re had gross written premiums (GWP) of $14.3mn in 2016,
  revenue of $3.77mn and Ebitda of $2.69mn.
  The business will be rebranded as Nexus Re, but will continue to
  be led by ZON Re's senior management team.
  ZON Re executive vice president and chief underwriter Kieron
  Farrelly will be CEO of the rebranded firm, with chairman W Brian
  Harrigan becoming...
  
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• Aviva to sell Friends Provident to Vitruvian-backed IFG

  19-07-2017 12:25
  Aviva has agreed to sell its Asia and Middle East-focused life
  business Friends Provident to private equity-backed International
  Financial Group (IFG) for £340mn ($443mn).
  Aviva said today that the business no longer reflected its
  strategy of focusing on a small number of markets "where it
  has scale and profitability or a distinct competitive
  advantage".
  The deal will increase Aviva's Solvency II capital surplus
  by around £100mn. The London-based carrier added that the
  transaction wi
  
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• Sequel enters partnership with fintech underwriter

  19-07-2017 12:19
  
  Software specialist, Sequel Business Solutions has entered long-term partnership with fintech underwriting company, Elseco.
  
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• Insurance Fraud Awards 2017 shortlist now available

  19-07-2017 12:10
  
  Aviva, Allianz and Zurich are among the firms leading the way in terms of the shortlist for the Insurance Fraud Awards 2017.
  
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• Direct Group launches commercial combined product

  19-07-2017 11:53
  
  Product is aimed at SMEs with average premium under £10,000.
  
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• Jobs lost as Ipswich broker calls in administrators

  19-07-2017 11:36
  
  Jobs lost as Ipswich broker and sister company enter administration
  
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• Pay as you go broker unveils funding and Aviva-backed product

  19-07-2017 11:33
  
  Fresh money and new product for pay as you go broker
  
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• UK Broker Awards: Best Companies shortlist revealed

  19-07-2017 10:39
  
  The winner will be unveiled at the UK Broker Awards in September.
  
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• Aviva sells Asian life business for £340m

  19-07-2017 10:37
  
  Aviva sells Asian life business for £340m to focus on core operations
  
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• Opinion: Growing pains

  19-07-2017 10:32
  Rarely do new ideas with merit arrive in this world quietly.
  More often they come screaming and wailing, proclaiming that a
  new dawn has arrived and the fundamental nature of reality is about
  to change.
  For the (re)insurance industry over the last year, this
  bombastic and prophetic fledgling has been InsurTech.
  The start-ups arrived with capital in hand and their eyes
  sparkling with ideas, determined to disrupt.
  But the unruly infant of the industry is now beginning to do
  something...
  
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• IAG restructures Australian businesses

  19-07-2017 10:32
  Insurance Australia Group (IAG) is pulling its domestic
  businesses into a single unit, as the carrier aims to make A$250mn
  ($198mn) in cost savings.
  Group COO Mark Milliner is stepping in to run the Australia
  division, while the CEO of the Australian consumer division,
  Anthony Justice, has resigned, the company said today.
  The new structure will bring together the existing Australian
  consumer and Australian business units, alongside IAG's
  operations and satellite divisions.The CEO of the Austral
  
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• Aviva sells Friends Provident International for £340m

  19-07-2017 09:21
  
  Following a strategic review UK-headquartered insurer Aviva is selling the international arm of Friends Provident to International Financial Group subsidiary RL360 Holding Co.
  
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• Analysis: Fighting for cover

  19-07-2017 07:00
  
  Military personnel struggle to find motor and household insurance adapted to their circumstances. Should general insurers leave that market to specialists?
  
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• Justice departs as IAG creates single Australia division

  19-07-2017 06:43
  
  The CEO of Australian insurer's IAG consumer division Anthony Justice has decided to leave the company after six years following the creation of a single Australia division for the firm.
  
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• Wildfire risks remain for 4mn US West homes: Verisk

  19-07-2017 06:07
  Millions of homes in the US West remain vulnerable to wildfires,
  even though widespread drought in the region has eased, Verisk
  Analytics said in a report today.
  California holds the largest number of at-risk residences by
  far, with over 2 million, compared with the other 12 most
  vulnerable states, the Jersey City, New Jersey company said. Texas
  ranks second with 715,300 homes at risk.
  Sparsely populated Montana has the greatest proportion of homes
  potentially exposed to wildfires, at 28 percent
  
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• Starr buys into CoverWallet InsurTech startup

  19-07-2017 06:07
  Maurice "Hank" Greenberg's CV Starr Companies has
  become the first insurer to invest directly in CoverWallet, an
  InsurTech startup targeting the small-business market.
  Starr's investment follows two capital infusions from Two
  Sigma, a New York quant fund that has partnered with Hamilton
  Insurance. Two Sigma Ventures invested in both the initial seed
  round of about $2mn in March 2016 and again in a $7.8mn Series A
  round later last year, according to CoverWallet.
  Two Sigma, Hamilton and American I
  
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• New cat bonds lift Hannover Re fronted limit

  19-07-2017 06:07
  Hannover Re said that it had written an additional $2.5bn of
  limit in fronted business in recent years, after completing $960mn
  of cat bonds this year for three organisations.
  This included two repeat transactions for regional US wind
  insurers and a new deal for American Integrity Insurance Company of
  Florida.
  Hannover Re board member Jürgen Gräber said the firm
  had substantially enlarged its market share of transformer business
  with the placement of additional exposures in recent year
  
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• Mexican disaster fund returns for cat bond cover

  19-07-2017 06:07
  The Mexican government's natural disaster fund Fonden is
  working with the World Bank to renew its cat bond cover after its
  previous deal paid out $50mn linked to a 2015 hurricane, sister
  publication Trading Risk reported.
  The parties are seeking to raise $290mn of reinsurance from a
  new multi-peril cat bond that is being sponsored through the World
  Bank's Capital-at-Risk Notes programme, which has previously
  been used to issue a Caribbean cat bond as well as this year's
  pandemic bond....
  
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• Lockton taps late founder's son Ron as global CEO

  19-07-2017 06:07
  Independent broker Lockton has named vice chairman Ron Lockton
  to replace Glenn Spencer as president and CEO, effective
  immediately.
  Spencer resigned for personal reasons, according to the company.
  Ron Lockton is the son of the broker's late founder, Jack
  Lockton, and the nephew of chairman David Lockton.
  The younger Lockton was named to the vice chairman's role in
  2017 as part of the company's leadership succession plan.
  "I completely trust his instincts, admire his integrity,
  and know he will
  
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• Integro contingency specialist joins EC3 Brokers

  19-07-2017 06:07
  Colin Man, a senior contingency broker, has left Integro Group
  to join EC3 Brokers, according to market sources.
  Man will join Charles Connell's contingency team at the
  independent intermediary.
  The executive worked at Integro for nearly a decade, according
  to his LinkedIn profile.
  EC3 has a client list that includes Live Nation, the world's
  largest concert promotion and artist management company, and placed
  Ariana Grande's terrorism contingency cover in the Lloyd's
  market.
  The policypaid out &p
  
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• InsurTech start-up InsureX ICO hacked

  19-07-2017 06:07
  Blockchain-based InsurTech start-up InsureX abruptly halted its
  initial coin offering (ICO) last week amid concerns that the
  process had come under attack from fraudsters.
  The ICO was launched on 10 July, but three days later InsureX
  issued a statement saying it had taken the "difficult
  decision" to halt the crowd sale due to the sheer number of
  security threats to its system during the offering.
  The start-up did not say how much money had been targeted by the
  hack. Several...
  
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• Farmers names Fernandez president of business lines

  19-07-2017 06:07
  One of America's largest insurers Farmers has made Sharon
  Fernandez president of its business insurance unit.
  Fernandez was formerly president of Farmers' private
  passenger auto carrier Bristol West, where she was instrumental in
  turning around and growing the business to $1bn in gross written
  premium.
  She will be replaced by Eric Kappler, who was previously head of
  product management at Bristol West.
  "I am confident Sharon and Eric will continue to advance
  our customer-centered, agent powered s
  
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• Credit Suisse assigns outperform rating to Beazley

  19-07-2017 06:07
  Credit Suisse has highlighted Beazley as its preferred
  London-listed Lloyd's carrier, as it initiated coverage of the
  firm alongside rival Lancashire.
  In a note published today, Credit Suisse analyst Paris
  Hadjiantonis gave Beazley an outperform rating, citing the
  insurer's exposure to the growing cyber insurance market in the
  EU and US.
  "Among the Lloyd's insurers we prefer Beazley not only
  due to its attractive profitability but also because of its unique
  opportunity to continue growing its sp
  
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• Chubb names Farrow North American life sciences leader

  19-07-2017 06:07
  Chubb has promoted Lee Farrow to become executive vice president
  and leader of its life sciences industry practice for North
  America, the insurer announced today.
  The new role puts the executive in charge of strategy,
  operations and underwriting for customers in the biotechnology,
  pharmaceutical, supplement and medical-device sectors.
  Farrow will report to Jim West, Chubb's North American
  industry practice leader.
  "Lee has been instrumental in the development of
  Chubb's life sciences business, a
  
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• Brexit can be 'catalyst' to reposition London: White

  19-07-2017 06:07
  The London market should treat Brexit as a "catalyst to
  rethink where the future is" and pivot towards emerging
  markets, according to Marsh specialties CEO Roy White.
  Speaking at the International Insurance Society's global
  insurance forum in London today, White said the (re)insurance
  industry was on track to "naturally follow" its clients,
  which are increasingly focusing their attention on developing
  economies.
  "The future prosperity of London will depend upon our
  ability to seize emerging mark
  
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• Beazley hires from Zurich for Canada environmental push

  19-07-2017 06:07
  London-listed carrier Beazley has hired underwriter Nick Bidwell
  from Zurich as part of a push to offer environmental cover in
  Canada.
  In his new role, Bidwell will focus on fixed site and
  operational liability risks and will be based in Toronto, Beazley
  said.
  He was previously Zurich's national underwriting lead for
  site liability in Canada. Before that, he held environmental
  consulting positions at Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, now GHD,
  in Canada and at WSP Environmental in the UK.
  The en
  
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• Asset sales punish carriers in AM Best rankings

  19-07-2017 06:07
  Insurers that sold assets such as AIG and Assurant moved down
  the rankings of North American non-life, non-health carriers based
  on total revenue and compiled by AM Best, while a few, including
  National General and Mercury General rose as their sales
  expanded.
  Berkshire Hathaway retained its overall No. 1 ranking of North
  American insurers by revenue, but most of the company's
  $223.6bn total comes from operations other than insurance. The
  company's (re)insurance units include General Re, Geico a
  
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• AmTrust set to raise $100mn cat bond

  19-07-2017 06:07
  AmTrust is set to raise its targeted $100mn from its first public
  cat bond deal, Fortius Re, as the insurer managed to close the deal
  for a premium rate that was below its initial target, sources told
  Trading Risk.
  The insurer is set to pay a 375 basis point (bps) insurance
  coupon for the cover, which came in 12 percent below its initial
  400-450 bps target.
  The spread provides investors with a 3.2x multiple of the
  deal's expected loss of...
  
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• AmTrust adds PartnerRe's Hickey for strategy role

  19-07-2017 06:07
  AmTrust has hired Daniel Hickey as an executive vice president
  to take on a business strategy and development role, the company
  said today.
  The new recruit joins the embattled insurer from Exor-owned
  PartnerRe, where he was executive vice president and head of
  standard lines. He fills a gap left in the executive lineup when
  Adam Karkowsky was moved up to CFO last month.
  In his new role Hickey will be responsible for developing and
  implementing the New York-based specialty insurer...
  
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