Insurance news

• The Standard Syndicate hires Black to head liability

  19-01-2018 21:48
  Marine and energy specialist The Standard Syndicate has hired
  Suzanne Black as head of liability and class underwriter for marine
  liability, The Insurance Insider can
  reveal.
  It is understood that Black has resigned from her current role
  as divisional head, marine liability at Lloyd's peer Acappella
  Syndicate and will start the new job later in the year.
  The Insurance Insider believes the
  underwriter is currently on gardening leave and has six months of
  notice on her current contract.
  Black was.
  
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• Liberty restructures commercial, retail units

  19-01-2018 21:48
  Liberty Mutual has restructured its operations and installed
  group CFO Dennis Langwell as president of a new Global Risks
  Solutions (GRS) division.
  The new structure consolidates Liberty's underwriting into
  two units, with the second a new Global Retail Markets (GRM)
  division.
  Chris Peirce, who is president of Liberty's global specialty
  operations, will replace Langwell as group CFO, the company
  announced.
  The Insurance Insider also understands
  that the revamp entails several other immediate man
  
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• HDI picks KPMG's Jungsthöfel as CFO

  19-01-2018 21:48
  HDI Global, the Talanx-owned industrial lines insurer, has
  picked Clemens Jungsthöfel, a KPMG auditor and tax consultant,
  to replace retiring Ulrich Wollschläger as CFO.
  Jungsthöfel, who is 47 years old, will join the HDI
  management board from 1 May. Wollschläger retires in June, and
  Jungsthöfel will take on the CFO functions on 1 July.
  As a KPMG partner, Jungsthöfel provides auditing and
  consulting services to insurers from the firm's Hanover
  offices. He is a quali
  
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• People with mental illnesses refused access to insurance cover

  19-01-2018 19:00
  Exclusive: Insurance firms deny discrimination, with 7/7 victim among those turned downCase studies: ‘I didn’t know why I’d been declined’Insurers have been accused of depriving access to life insurance and other kinds of cover to people with depression and anxiety, even for physical conditions unrelated to their mental health.People who have suffered even mild mental health conditions or one-off episodes say they have been refused life insurance altogether, aggravating t
  
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• 'I didn't know why I'd been declined, so I asked for my medical notes'

  19-01-2018 19:00
  Two people with a mental health history describe difficulties of seeking insurance coverExclusive: People with mental illnesses refused access to insuranceI experienced mental health problems in 2009, from which I slowly recovered over the course of a few years. I was experiencing severe anxiety and it became unbearable and I struggled to sleep. I ended up in hospital. I was there for a few days and when I was finally seen by the psychiatrist he said I should never have been admitted but instead
  
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• Opinion: US budget hiatus threatens NFIP

  19-01-2018 18:21
  Coping with the uncertainty of hurricane forecasts can be hard
  enough for (re)insurers looking ahead to the storm season, but
  leave it to Washington to make it even tougher to manage.
  As evening fell yesterday in the US capital, it remained
  anyone's guess whether the Senate would clear a bill to keep
  the lights on after tonight's midnight government funding
  deadline. And that cut-off also applies to the National Flood
  Insurance Program (NFIP).
  Those who run the Federal Emergency Management...
  
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• CUO Indge departs amid Acappella restructure

  19-01-2018 18:21
  Acappella's chief underwriting officer (CUO) David Indge has
  left the company amid a wider restructure of the Pembroke-Willis
  Towers Watson joint venture, The Insurance
  Insider has learned.
  The restructure of Acappella, which came into effect this week,
  is understood to involve an effective break-up of the syndicate and
  MGA businesses.
  Pembroke now has stewardship of Acappella Syndicate 2014,
  sources said, while Willis will take on the oversight of and
  receive the benefits of the MGA business.
  I
  
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• AmTrust committee picks Deutsche Bank as financial adviser

  19-01-2018 18:21
  AmTrust today said the group of directors scrutinising the
  take-private proposal from Stone Point Capital and the founding
  Karfunkel-Zyskind family have retained Deutsche Bank as a financial
  adviser.
  The investment bank will help the directors evaluate the offer,
  which values AmTrust'soutstanding shares at $1.37bn.The committee ischaired by Donald DeCarlo, a non-executive director at AmTrust.Bank of America Merrill Lynch is advising AmTrust itself on the
  deal.
  Using a special committee is common
  
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• Mobile app Honcho takes aim at price comparison websites

  19-01-2018 17:08
  A start-up, which raised £850,000 in investment, aims to challenge price comparison websites by creating a ‘reverse auction’ marketplace for car insurance.
  
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• Esure splits with chief executive as it seeks fresh direction

  19-01-2018 16:54
  Stuart Vann’s sudden exit after six years without a replacement described as ‘confusing’
  
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• Interview: Staysure’s Ryan Howsam

  19-01-2018 16:40
  The chairman tells Insurance Age how the business has developed since its inception ten years ago and outlines its plans for growth.
  
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• Stuart Vann 'was not fired', says Esure CFO

  19-01-2018 16:15
  Stuart Vann was not fired, Esure's chief financial officer has said.
  
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• The Burley Group buys Grace Corporate Insurance Services

  19-01-2018 15:35
  First deal since refinancing in 2015.
  
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• Thomas Miller acquires Brookes Bell surveying business

  19-01-2018 15:07
  Insurance services firm Thomas Miller has bought international
  surveying and marine consultancy Brookes Bell.
  The acquired firm offers marine technical and surveying
  consultancy services and has offices in Liverpool, London, Glasgow,
  Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore.
  It has served the marine and energy industries since 1903 and
  provides specialist services including emergency response, casualty
  investigation, salvage and wreck removal operations, scientific
  cargo expertise, forensic engineering
  
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• Liberty Mutual hones P&C focus with $3.3bn life sale

  19-01-2018 15:07
  Liberty Mutual has agreed to sell Liberty Life Assurance Company of
  Boston to Lincoln Financial Group for $3.3bn.
  Liberty said the transaction was an "integral part" of
  its overarching strategy to focus on P&C business.
  When the acquisition closes Lincoln Financial will retain
  Liberty's group benefits business and reinsure Liberty's
  individual life and annuity business to Protective Life Insurance
  Company.
  "Today's announcement uniquely positions each company
  to expand on their core strength
  
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• Jain controls $109mn of Berkshire Hathaway shares

  19-01-2018 15:07
  Ajit Jain and his family control around $109mn worth of Berkshire
  Hathaway stock, according to a regulatory filing disclosed on 18
  January.
  Jain, who was appointed vice chairman of Berkshire earlier this
  month, directly owns $21.7mn of Berkshire stock, based on the
  closing price on 18 January. A further $22.1mn is held by his wife,
  Tinku Jain. The remainder of the shares are held by a non-profit
  foundation and family trusts linked to Jain.
  The executive, who runs Berkshire Hathaway...
  
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• Hub moves to consolidate London trading relationships

  19-01-2018 15:07
  Top 10 US retail broker Hub International is conducting a formal
  bid process to narrow the panel of London wholesalers it trades
  with, in a move that will create major winners and losers in EC3,
  The Insurance Insider understands.
  Sources said that Hub would look to place all of its London
  business - equivalent to around $1.2bn in premium - through three
  to five wholesalers.
  This would shut out the more than 20 brokers it currently
  corresponds with, and continues...
  
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• Week in Post: Carillion collapse and the executive merry-go-round

  19-01-2018 12:48
  It was oddly coincidental that it was Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year, when Carillion collapsed – placing 20,000 jobs at risk.
  
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• Markel Catco posts 27.6% loss after reserve boost

  19-01-2018 12:18
  The Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund missed its expected
  result for 2017 after posting a 27.6 percent loss for the year
  following claims deterioration from the October wildfires in
  California.
  The loss comes after fund manager Markel Catco increased its
  wildfire reserves by 14.4 percent of net asset value (NAV) in
  December, after previously
  reserving for just a 4.4 percent impact to NAV.
  Markel Catco also increased reserves related to hurricanes
  Harvey, Irma and Maria by 3.6 percent of NAV,
  
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• Hannover Re's $4.2mn deal may pave way for US expansion

  19-01-2018 12:18
  Hannover Re quietly acquired a US shell company on Monday (15
  January) that it will use as a specialty admitted insurance
  underwriter in conjunction with its Chicago-based Glencar MGA
  subsidiary.
  But the giant German reinsurer currently has no plans to
  recreate the sizable special insurance and program business it once
  had in the US, executive director Michael Pickel told
  The Insurance Insider in an exclusive
  interview on Wednesday.
  Pickel said it was "absolutely not the plan" when
  asked if the.
  
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• Quizzical Questions: 19 January 2018

  19-01-2018 12:06
  Test your knowledge of the week's news with our topical quiz.
  
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• Drone usage in insurance claims faces cyber and regulatory challenges

  19-01-2018 11:04
  Inconsistent regulations and risk of hacking are among the challenges that need to be overcome as loss adjusters are increasingly using drones to assess insured damage, said Nick Barber, head of property and energy claims for Europe at AIG.
  
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• Stuart Vann out at Esure

  19-01-2018 10:55
  CEO leaves the insurer looks to new leadership in order to take the business to the “next level” in an “increasingly digital and data driven world”.
  
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• Thomas Miller buys Brookes Bell Group

  19-01-2018 10:53
  Thomas Miller has acquired specialist marine and energy consultancy Brookes Bell Group for an undisclosed sum.
  
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• Brokers face another FSCS hike and situation could yet get worse

  19-01-2018 10:49
  Levy set to jump from £18m to £23m in 2018/19 despite shortening of the accounting period.
  
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• Opinion: The lessons of AmTrust #1

  19-01-2018 10:00
  Just over a year ago, AmTrust was on a high. The firm was on track
  to reach over $8bn in premium, was the second largest workers'
  comp insurer and had seen its stock increase roughly 10x in value
  over the past decade.
  To many observers, the firm's sharp-elbowed management were
  geniuses, and stood as a counterpoint to other conservative and
  slow-moving insurance companies.
  AmTrust broke with conventional wisdom on growth and
  aggressively rolled up distressed assets - arguing it simply...
  
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• Friederike causes 'hundreds of millions' of euros damage: Aon Benfield

  19-01-2018 10:00
  Storm Friederike, a powerful winter storm that struck Western
  Europe on Thursday, is likely to cause hundreds of millions of
  euros in economic damage, according to Aon Benfield.
  The storm killed nine people in Belgium, the Netherlands and
  Germany, with hurricane force winds of 203 kph (126 mph) measured
  in Harz, Saxony-Anhalt.
  The storm also passed over Ireland and the UK, but continental
  Europe received the worst of the storm, which was named Friederike
  by the Free University of Berlin....
  
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• Esure boss Stuart Vann steps down with immediate effect

  19-01-2018 09:30
  Esure CEO Stuart Vann has stepped down with immediate effect.
  
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• esure CEO departs ‘with immediate effect’

  19-01-2018 08:30
  Boss Stuart Vann exits after almost 6 years ‘by mutual consent’
  
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• RenRe confirms Catalina minority investment deal

  19-01-2018 03:29
  RenaissanceRe agreed to make a minority investment in legacy
  specialist Catalina, confirming an earlier report by
  The Insurance Insider, as it continues to
  diversify beyond P&C reinsurance.
  New York-listed Renaissance said late today that it would become
  a minority investor in the business, alongside investment giant
  Apollo as it acquires a majority stake and the management team led
  by Catalina CEO Chris Fagan.
  The deal reflects mounting interest in the legacy market from
  live carriers.
  "Thi
  
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• Commercial auto remains a US P&C sore point: AM Best

  19-01-2018 03:29
  Commercial auto business in the US remains a challenge as
  underwriting continues to be unprofitable even after six years of
  rate increases, AM Best said late today.
  Repeated adverse reserve development has helped drag down
  results as well, the ratings firm said in an outlook for the
  segment. The profitability of the line continued to deteriorate
  through last year's third quarter.
  "Profitability remains pressured, and, as loss costs rise,
  insurers are stuck playing catch-up," the report said, not
  
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• Barron to swap PWC for AIG

  19-01-2018 02:47
  AIG has created a government regulatory role for its international businesses.
  
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• Frazzled working parents forced into career sacrifices

  19-01-2018 02:45
  Research finds men and women are turning down new jobs and promotions
  
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• JLT Specialty picks Chicago for US headquarters

  19-01-2018 01:04
  Jardine Lloyd Thompson's JLT Specialty USA unit plans to
  make Chicago its home base and will double the size of its staff
  there to more than 120 in the next few years.
  "Chicago became an obvious choice for investment given its
  impressive infrastructure, higher education and talent pool,
  especially in the insurance sector," JLT Specialty USA CEO
  Michael Rice said today in announcing the decision. "We
  continue to see value in making long-term investments
  here."
  The intermediary currently bases sev
  
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• CopperPoint completes PacificComp buy from Alleghany

  19-01-2018 01:04
  CopperPoint Mutual has completed its $150mn cash acquisition of
  Pacific Compensation Insurance Company from a subsidiary of
  Alleghany Corporation, the buyer said today.
  The deal for PacificComp, which primarily writes workers'
  compensation insurance in California, was announced on 12
  September.
  At the time, Phoenix-based CopperPoint, which has been
  Arizona's leading provider of workers' comp since 1925,
  said the purchase would take its combined underwriting book to
  about $400mn in premium and a
  
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