Insurance news

• XL Catlin names McDermott to lead global lines pricing

  28-03-2018 23:23
  XL Catlin has promoted Melissa McDermott to head of pricing and
  global lines, the insurer said today.
  In her new role, McDermott will join the pricing global lines
  leadership teams, the .
  Previously, McDermott was deputy head of pricing for theBermuda-based company's North American business group. She
  brings 20 years of experience to the job, including seven with XL
  Catlin, having started at the company in actuarial financial
  reporting.
  The global lines unit includes segments such as fine art...
  
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• Demotech affirms all but one Florida carrier

  28-03-2018 23:23
  Demotech has affirmed the crucial A ratings of all but one of
  the 16 Florida homeowners carriers that had been waiting for action
  from the firm since filing their annual financial statements at the
  start of March.
  The agency also left its A financial strength rating on Florida
  Specialty in place as it awaited the outcome of "final
  deliberations and negotiations with third parties", which it
  expects to have been completed by the end of the month.
  As previously reported,...
  
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• Beazley adds workplace violence cover for US clients

  28-03-2018 23:23
  Doubling down on efforts to create policies addressing sexual
  harassment in the workplace, Beazley's reinsurance arm said
  today it has added workplace violence cover to its specialist
  products available to US insurers.
  The cover accessed through its through its Beazley Product
  Solutions team will encompass actual or alleged acts or threats of
  physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening
  or disruptive behaviour in a workplace", the company said
  today.
  "We provide a clarity ar
  
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• Aviva’s shares woes stem from EU — and Brexit may not solve it

  28-03-2018 21:03 via ft.com
  FCA hints at wider issue as it reviews group’s plan to cancel preference shares
  
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• The Hanover confirms potential Chaucer sale

  28-03-2018 20:25
  The Hanover's share price climbed by 2.56 percent this morning
  after the insurance group confirmed it had appointed Goldman Sachs
  to run a strategic review that could lead to the sale of its
  Lloyd's business, Chaucer.
  In a short press release the company said it was undertaking a
  "review of strategic alternatives", including a possible
  sale, and had retained Goldman Sachs as an adviser through the
  process.
  The announcement followed a report by The Insurance
  Insider that the New York-listed...
  
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• Nestlé mulls $1bn Gerber Life sale

  28-03-2018 20:25
  Food and drinks manufacturer Nestlé has mandated Goldman Sachs
  to sell insurer Gerber Life, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Goldman Sachs is understood to have offered the life insurer to
  prospective buyers for roughly $1bn.
  Gerber Life is a subsidiary of Nestlé's Gerber
  division, which produces baby food and baby care products.
  Gerber's life insurance operation is focused in the US,
  Canada and Puerto Rico and holds a book of business worth
  $45bn.
  The sale preparations follow a n
  
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• Ethniki bid process re-opened after Exin falls short

  28-03-2018 20:25
  Exin has lost exclusivity in the race to buy
  Greek state-owned insurer Ethniki and will now have to fight off
  competition from Chinese bidders including Fosun, The Insurance
  Insider understands.
  Matt Fairfield's start-up had until close of business today to
  show the Greek authorities how the EUR718mn ($890mn) takeover,
  agreed in June, will be funded and structured, but was unable to
  satisfy seller the National Bank of Greece (NBG) and regulator the
  Bank of Greece.
  Local news site insider.gr has.
  
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• Aspen in talks as bid process nears

  28-03-2018 20:25
  Aspen is engaged in takeover talks with a number of interested
  parties and is preparing to run a bid process, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Sources said that Aspen, which is being advised by Goldman Sachs
  and JP Morgan, has had approaches from at least one strategic
  bidder and two private equity houses.
  Indications are believed to be in the range $47.50 to $50 per
  share, with the shares closing at $42.63 yesterday.
  Sources said that Aspen is preparing non-disclosure...
  
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• Brokers welcome Oak and Zurich deal

  28-03-2018 18:31 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Some suggested that Oak lost its “soul” under RSA ownership and questioned the fit of Oak and RSA.
  
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• The Hanover eyes Chaucer sale

  28-03-2018 18:28
  The Hanover is considering a sale of Chaucer, its Lloyd’s specialty insurance business.
  
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• UK regulators strive to safeguard London’s status

  28-03-2018 17:31 via ft.com
  Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority give Brexit ‘breathing space’ to EU firms
  
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• Regulators step up efforts to safeguard City of London’s status

  28-03-2018 17:31 via ft.com
  Move offers passporting rights to EU firms during Brexit transition period
  
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• Ombudsman complaints data overshadowed by TV investigation

  28-03-2018 17:07
  A recent investigation that exposed the undertraining of staff at the Financial Ombudsman Service has cast doubt over a report into the UK’s most complained about insurers.
  
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• Zurich buys high-net-worth business from RSA

  28-03-2018 17:04
  Zurich UK has agreed to buy RSA's high-net-worth home and motor
  insurance business, Oak Underwriting.
  Oak provides home, marine, travel and motor insurance to wealthy
  policyholders via a network of brokers. Zurich plans to use it to
  boost its private client business, which provides high-value home,
  contents, fine art, jewellery, travel and motor cover.
  Zurich will retain Oak's existing office in Chipping Norton,
  Oxfordshire. Roughly 80 employees are expected to transfer to
  Zurich as part of the
  
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• The Hanover places Chaucer up for sale

  28-03-2018 17:04
  New York-listed insurer The Hanover is set to run a formal sales
  process for its Lloyd's business Chaucer, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Sources told this publication that Goldman Sachs has been
  retained as the sell-side bank and will launch the process next
  week for the business, which wrote $1.24bn of gross premiums in
  2017.
  M&A valuations have remained high both inside and outside of
  Lloyd's, and with underlying returns in the market running at
  roughly zero, those holding non-core...
  
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• PRA eases Brexit subsidiary requirement for EEA carriers

  28-03-2018 17:04
  The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has eased post-Brexit
  requirements for European Economic Area (EEA) carriers operating in
  the UK, in a lobbying victory for the insurance industry.
  The PRA has since December been consulting on a proposal to
  supervise most EEA commercial carriers as third-country branches
  after Brexit, instead of making them become separately capitalised
  and controlled subsidiaries.
  However, industry representatives including theInternational Underwriting Association (IU
  
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• Flood Re freezes premium payments

  28-03-2018 17:04
  Flood Re is set to freeze the annual premiums charged to insurers
  following discussions with the industry.
  CEO Andy Bord said the two-year-old scheme took the decision
  because of its strong financial position. He said he expected
  savings to be passed to consumers.
  Under Flood Re's founding statute, premium thresholds
  increase in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at the start
  of each financial year.
  The premiums are based on council tax bands, ranging from
  £79 ($112) for contents-onl
  
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• Draycott and Bonard moved in Ed restructure

  28-03-2018 17:04
  Independent broker Ed has restructured its leadership, with CEO
  of energy, marine and construction Andrew Draycott and managing
  director of specialty Chris Bonard moving to group-wide roles.
  After the revamp, line of business heads now report direct to
  group CEO Steve Hearn, The Insurance
  Insider understands.
  Ed has established three group-wide functions to support the
  lines of business as part of the restructure, which creates
  verticals and horizontals more commonly seen at the bigger
  brokers.
  
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• FCA reviewing if Aviva share cancellation plan broke market abuse rules

  28-03-2018 14:35 via insuranceage.co.uk
  CEO Andrew Bailey sends letter to MPs.
  
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• Zurich buys Oak Underwriting from RSA

  28-03-2018 13:39
  Zurich says deal will give it "significant scale" in the HNW market.
  
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• Minor discount rate revision could lead to £44m bounce for LV

  28-03-2018 13:35
  LV could make a profit of £44m if the discount rate was revised even fractionally, the company said.
  
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• LV to remain ‘vigilant’ on home business ahead of Allianz deal

  28-03-2018 13:34
  LV will take a cautious approach to the home market following the acquisition of Allianz’s personal lines portfolio.
  
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• LV GI sees huge profit rise from underwriting discipline

  28-03-2018 13:32
  LV’s general insurance business saw a pre-tax profit of £164m in 2017, up from a loss of £30m the previous year.
  
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• Zurich to buy Oak Underwriting from RSA

  28-03-2018 13:15
  Zurich has reached an agreement to acquire Oak Underwriting from RSA Insurance for an undisclosed sum.
  
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• Flood Re to freeze premiums for first time

  28-03-2018 12:52
  Flood Re is set to freeze the premiums it charges to insurers for the first time.
  
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• Blog: The five peril categories to better manage cyber risks

  28-03-2018 12:48
  There needs to be a significant shift in how cyber risk is understood and managed to help boards have a more accurate view of potential losses, as well as opportunities. Robert Vescio, chief analytics officer at SSIC, explains how using five peril categories.
  
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• Steve Treloar hails LV's "strong results" for 2017

  28-03-2018 12:42 via insuranceage.co.uk
  GI CEO outlines plans to grow in the broker channel and says partnership with Allianz is "progressing well" as he comments on the future Ogden rate and LV redundancies.
  
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• City watchdog to probe Aviva preference shares plan

  28-03-2018 12:35
  The Financial Conduct Authority has launched a review into whether Aviva broke market abuse regulations following plans to cancel its high yielding preference shares.
  
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• Blog: How to get underwriters to step outside the box

  28-03-2018 12:31 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Allianz’s Nick Hobbs talks brokers through how to get the best from their underwriters.
  
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• China accuses Anbang former chairman Wu Xiaohui of fraud

  28-03-2018 12:01 via ft.com
  Court case offers glimpse into tycoon’s toppling but fails to dispel political suspicions
  
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• Opinion: Quelle surprise?

  28-03-2018 11:42
  There is no doubt that Axa's move for XL earlier this month
  caught analysts and investors on the hop.
  And it is clear the French giant has a lot of work to do to
  convince its shareholders of the $15.3bn deal's merits, with
  Axa stock having lost 16 percent of its value since the tie-up was
  announced.
  Yesterday, in a candid interview with the Financial
  Times, Axa CEO Thomas Buberl acknowledged it will probably
  take 12 to 18 months to...
  
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• Anbang founder Wu Xiaohui fights charges in court: reports

  28-03-2018 11:42
  Anbang Insurance Group founder Wu Xiaohui contested charges of
  embezzlement and fraud as his trial began in a Shanghai court
  today.
  Wu, Anbang's former chairman, is accused by Chinese
  prosecutors of fraudulently raising 65.2bn yuan ($10.4bn) and is on
  trial for 'economic crime', multiple news outlets have
  reported.
  A statement from the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's
  Court on 28 March accused Wu of faking licences to sell insurance
  investment products and in 2011 of hiding his control over
  
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• FCA examines whether Aviva shares plan broke market abuse rules

  28-03-2018 10:55 via ft.com
  Insurer dropped scheme to cancel £450m of preference shares after outcry from investors
  
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• Profits and turnover up at LV in 2017

  28-03-2018 10:28
  Broker channel delivers £30m underwriting profit.
  
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• FCA examining Aviva preference share plan

  28-03-2018 08:50 via ft.com
  Regulator looking into whether aborted cancellation attempt broke market abuse rules
  
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• FCA examines Aviva preference share plan

  28-03-2018 08:50 via ft.com
  Regulator looks into whether aborted cancellation attempt broke market abuse rules
  
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• Roundtable: Using data to defend your territory

  28-03-2018 07:00
  Insurers have been exploiting data for decades to underwrite risks. Could they use that know-how to market their products better - and stop tech giants from taking their customers?
  
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• Profile: Phil Bayles, Aviva

  28-03-2018 07:00
  Aviva started the year in its healthiest shape in recent memory, shaking off the impact of the Ogden rate reform to return to profit.
  
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• Aviva's Phil Bayles reveals plans for UK GI growth

  28-03-2018 07:00
  Aviva started the year in its healthiest shape in recent memory, shaking off the impact of the Ogden rate reform to return to profit.
  
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• AIG pays Duperreault $14.9mn for 8 months of work

  28-03-2018 06:00
  AIG paid new CEO Brian Duperreault $14.9mn in compensation for
  his work last year on top of the over $28mn he received when he
  signed on in mid-May, a regulatory filing shows.
  Peter Hancock, the former CEO Duperreault replaced, collected
  over $8.8mn in equity and cash bonuses for 2017 in addition to the
  $5mn in cash he received for agreeing to stay on with the New
  York-based carrier after stepping down from the leadership role,
  the company said today.
  In...
  
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• XL Catlin and RedSeal launch cyber risk model

  28-03-2018 01:54
  XL Catlin and cybersecurity firm RedSeal have launched a new a
  cyber risk modeling system, the companies announced today.
  The model will analyze clients' network infrastructure to
  derive a cyber risk score.
  "It's like a health check for the network," said
  Steve Timmerman, a RedSeal vice president.
  A so-called digital resilience score will capture the risk of
  the network that a company wants to insure based on how easily
  cyber attackers can get into different parts of the network.
  What...
  
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• Judge spares State Farm from California retro rate cut

  28-03-2018 01:54
  A California judge has ruled that the state's insurance
  commissioner overstepped his authority in setting State Farm's
  homeowners' and renters' insurance rates, in effect
  negating an order to make the rates retroactive and for the payment
  of more than $13mn in refunds.
  San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal ruled on Friday
  (23 March) that California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones
  wrongly ordered State Farm to cut its rates going back to mid-2015
  after accusing the Bloomington, Illinoi
  
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