Insurance news

• Fema gets six-fold return on mitigation spend: NIBS

  18-01-2018 23:01
  For every $1 spent by US agencies on mitigating natural hazard
  risks such as flood, wind, earthquake or wildfire, there is a $6
  benefit in terms of saving lives and property, and when it comes to
  each dollar used to exceed 2015 model building codes, the return is
  $4, a National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) study
  shows.
  "The report confirms for the insurance industry the fact
  that mitigation is an extremely cost effective strategy to reduce
  the impact of...
  
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• Argo merges international property under Hansberry

  18-01-2018 23:01
  Specialty insurer Argo Group has restructured its international
  book of property business to consolidate operations,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  As part of a strategic shift the firm is combining its London
  and Bermuda property units under Bermuda-based Bob Hansberry, and
  Argo's syndicate head of property Neil Russell will leave the
  business, Argo international president Jose Hernandez said
  today.
  The insurer is unifying its international property book so its
  property teams from different
  
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• Argo merges global property under Hansberry in Bermuda

  18-01-2018 20:30
  Specialty insurer Argo Group has restructured its international
  book of property business to consolidate operations in Bermuda,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  As part of a strategic shift the firm is combining its London,
  Bermuda and US property units under Bermuda-based Bob Hansberry,
  and Argo's syndicate head of property Neil Russell will leave
  the business, Argo international president Jose Hernandez said
  today.
  The insurer is unifying its international property book so its
  property teams
  
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• Blockchain pilots will be weighed on their merits: Verisk

  18-01-2018 17:31
  There may be several Blockchain prototypes available for companies to choose from at present but there will be a "narrowing" in terms of successful models later on, a consultant said.
  
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• Blockchain pilots will be weighed on their merits

  18-01-2018 17:31
  There may be several Blockchain prototypes available for companies to choose from at present but there will be a "narrowing" in terms of successful models later on, a consultant said.
  
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• The Blog Spot: An alternative broker manifesto - my 2018 pettifogging petition

  18-01-2018 16:50
  A Manifesto packed full of the trivial and trifling to create a better broking sector.
  
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• Integra Insurance Solutions to consult over 17 redundancies

  18-01-2018 16:30
  Exclusive: Integra Insurance Solutions is consulting over making 17 staff redundant as it looks to streamline its operations.
  
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• RenRe poised to buy minority stake in Catalina

  18-01-2018 15:52
  RenaissanceRe is on the verge of making a minority investment in
  legacy specialist Catalina, as it continues to diversify beyond
  P&C reinsurance, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Sources told this publication that the New York-listed
  (re)insurer was set to sign a deal this week that would make it a
  minority investor in the business, alongside investment giant
  Apollo and the management team led by Catalina CEO Chris Fagan.
  The buy-in reflects mounting interest in the legacy market from
  live
  
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• Marsh in trademark battle with InsurTech Marshmallow

  18-01-2018 15:52
  Marsh is taking trademark infringement action against
  Marshmallow, in an attempt to skewer the start-up over its choice
  of name, the InsurTech said.
  The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is mediating the
  dispute, which Marshmallow described as "a David versus
  Goliath" battle.
  Marshmallow co-founder Oliver Kent-Braham said: "It's
  the principle. There is a huge amount of InsurTech innovation in
  the UK at the moment. We believe that this is a good thing for
  consumers and should be supported not
  
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• AmTrust at Lloyd's hires Gibbs as head of space

  18-01-2018 15:52
  AmTrust at Lloyd's (ATL) has appointed Chris Gibbs as the
  carrier's new head of space.
  Gibbs joins from Osprey Aerospace and will help develop
  ATL's existing book of space business.
  Prior to this he was a space class underwriter at Brit Insurance
  for eight years, and before this was a space underwriter at
  Generali.
  The ATL space team is supported by general aviation underwriter
  Paris Riseborough and also receives advice from technical adviser
  John Fitton.
  Fitton is a satellite engineer...
  
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• ProAssurance expands finance chief's role to COO

  18-01-2018 13:37
  US healthcare liability insurer ProAssurance has named Ned Rand
  as its chief operating officer, the company said.
  Rand is currently the New York-listed carrier's CFO, a
  position he will retain, ProAssurance said.
  He joined ProAssurance in 2005.
  The Birmingham, Alabama-based carrier increased gross written
  premiums by 6.7 percent in the third quarter to $166.3mn.The insurer provides capacity to Dale Underwriting Partners, the
  managing agency of Syndicate 1729....
  
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• Marsh accused of trying to squash Marshmallow name by InsurTech start up

  18-01-2018 13:37
  Company planning to launch with motor insurance in 2018.
  
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• Liberty hires trade credit underwriter from Lloyds Banking

  18-01-2018 13:37
  Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) has hired Chris Hall as senior
  underwriter to spearhead a new trade finance insurance initiative.
  Hall, who is currently head of trade asset management for Lloyds
  Banking Group, will be based in LSM's London headquarters.
  He will report to Andrew Beechey, who is head of underwriting
  and strategic development within the global financial risks (GFR)
  business.
  Hall began his career in banking in 2005 with Royal Bank of
  Scotland before moving to Lloyds in 2015.
  Beeche
  
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• AGCS appoints Reel Media as North America MGA

  18-01-2018 13:37
  Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has struck an MGA
  agreement with film completion contracts specialist FFI Holdings.
  FFI subsidiary Reel Media will become an MGA for AGCS's
  studio, independent film and television business. Reel Media will
  also have delegated authority to write business for AGCS's US
  loan-out corporation and touring operation.
  The partnership will extend to Canada, where Reel Media is set
  to become AGCS's MGA for studio, independent film and
  television business, as
  
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• Marsh Networks partners with Ataraxia for succession planning

  18-01-2018 11:47
  Equity release offering available to Marsh ProBroker, Purple Partnership and Bluefin Network members.
  
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• Executives admit they were unprepared for 2017 nat cats

  18-01-2018 11:32
  Senior executives of major financial businesses admit they were unprepared for the spate of costly natural catastrophes that hit the American coastline at the tale end of last year.
  
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• Volante launches first London Market MGA

  18-01-2018 11:20
  Volante has launched Edison Motor, its first London Market-based managing general agent.
  
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• Travelers hires Berkshire to head A&H in London

  18-01-2018 11:04
  Travelers Syndicate 5000 has hired Giles Berkshire to lead its
  accident and health (A&H) team in London, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Berkshire is to join in March from Axis, where he had been
  underwriting manager for international A&H for almost seven
  years.
  Prior to this, Berkshire worked at Ace Europe, latterly as a
  major risks underwriting manager in its A&H team in London.
  He started his underwriting career at Compass Underwriting as an
  assistant underwriter in 1999.
  Berksh
  
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• Opinion: Going public

  18-01-2018 11:04
  This publication's revelation that independent MGA Nexus isconsidering a public listing as part of its ongoing growth
  strategy has raised more than a few eyebrows in the streets around
  EC3.
  Nexus has long been recognised as an ambitious player. Last
  year, it quashed speculation that it would look for a full or
  partial sale following CFC's high-multiple deal with Vitruvian
  by lining up £26mn ($36mn) of debt from Ardonagh backer HPS
  and £4mn from BP Marsh.
  That debt allowed...
  
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• Ironshore shuffles Bermuda roles

  18-01-2018 11:04
  Liberty Mutual-owned carrier Ironshore has announced several senior
  promotions at its Bermuda operation.
  Steve Horton, who has worked at the insurer for a decade,
  becomes CEO of Iron-Starr, an excess liability carrier owned by
  Ironshore, Starr Companies and Antares.
  The carrier has also appointed Susan Pateras to the role of
  chief operating officer of Ironshore Bermuda.
  Horton and Pateras take over roles previously held by Mitch
  Blaser, who remains CEO of Ironshore Bermuda.
  Liam Jones takes over
  
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• Alternative providers drive reinsurance capital uptick

  18-01-2018 11:04
  The level of available reinsurance capital grew by 2 percent
  last year to stand at $427bn at the end of 2017, dampening rate
  rises, according to data from Guy Carpenter and AM Best.
  The overall increase stemmed from a 9 percent rise in
  convergence capital to $82bn, with traditional capital flat
  year-on-year.
  The reinsurance broker said that price increases had been
  "generally moderate", with price shifts varying between
  different clients.
  Guy Carpenter estimated insured catastrophe losses in 201
  
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• Connected cars pose terror risk, conference hears

  18-01-2018 10:51
  Connected cars are vulnerable to hacking and therefore pose a terror risk, a conference in Budapest heard.
  
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• Volante launches first MGA – Edison Motor

  18-01-2018 10:39
  Platform was launched in December 2017.
  
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• Erskine Murray buys Essex-based Asciak Holdaway Merritt

  18-01-2018 10:33
  Broker says purchase will enhance its professional indemnity insurance offering.
  
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• Liiba sets out 2018 PPL push

  18-01-2018 08:44
  The London & International Insurance Brokers'
  Association (Liiba) has committed to ensuring its top 50 members
  are signed up to electronic trading platform Placing Platform
  Limited (PPL) by 1 January 2019.
  The trade body said it would do more to promote London market
  modernisation as one of its overarching objectives in 2018, and
  aspires to make PPL the predominant distribution tool in the market
  by 2019.
  As of December 2017, the platform had 28 broking firms signed up
  including Marsh,...
  
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• Blog: Brexit could leave motor insurers without room for manoeuvre

  18-01-2018 07:00
  British drivers who have a car accident in the European Union can currently seek redress through UK courts but Brexit could change that. Mark Hemsted, partner at Clyde & Co, lists the points to keep an eye on.
  
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• Personal auto losses show signs of easing: AM Best

  18-01-2018 02:46
  Personal auto insurers saw signs of improvement in underwriting
  profitability last year, as the direct loss ratio for private
  passenger auto policies for the third quarter fell 3 percentage
  points from the same period in 2016, according to AM Best.
  The combined ratio of the most auto-concentrated insurers -
  those with more than half their premiums coming from auto liability
  and physical damage - improved 4.3 points to 101.6 percent last
  year through the third quarter compared with a year...
  
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• Broker M&A jumps 31% to top 600 deals in 2017: Optis

  18-01-2018 02:46
  Deals involving brokers and agencies in the US and Canada surged
  last year as private equity participation grew to fuel nearly
  two-thirds of the transactions, Optis Partners said.
  The deal total reached 604, with PE-backed or controlled firms
  involved in 63 percent, investment bank Optis said today in an
  annual report on the space.
  "This whopping increase exceeded expectations," Optis
  managing director Timothy Cunningham said. "We expect the beat
  to go on in 2018."
  Acrisure, a PE supported firm,
  
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• Berkley formally combines Monitor and Select units

  18-01-2018 00:21
  WR Berkley has consolidated two professional liability units run
  out of Chicago, combining Monitor Liability Managers with the
  Berkley Select operation there under the leadership of Joseph
  Shores, who had already been leading both organisations as
  president.
  Berkley Select operates as an underwriting manager specialising
  in cover for lawyers, accountants and miscellaneous errors and
  omissions risks on a surplus lines basis.
  Monitor has served some of those markets as well as private
  directors an
  
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• Aon, Willis shares recover despite Blair downgrade

  18-01-2018 00:21
  Shares of international intermediaries Aon and Willis Towers
  Watson bounced back today after both fell yesterday in the
  aftermath of a downgrade by a William Blair analyst who cited
  uncertainty created by a probe into broker compensation by UK
  authorities.
  Aon's shares, which fell 1.5 percent to $134.54 in New York
  Stock Exchange trading at yesterday's close, rose 1.4 percent
  to $136.49 today, while Willis, down 1.9 percent to $152.58 on
  Nasdaq yesterday, also recovered 1.4 percent to end today.
  
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