Lloyd’s & London Market

Call to action on corporate nat cat plans

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Comment: A joint PwC/UNISDR report warns that large multinationals’ dependencies on international supply chains, infrastructure and markets poses a systemic risk to “business as usual”.

Time to rethink disaster reduction

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Feature: Economic losses from natural disasters are out of control and will continue to escalate until disaster risk management becomes a core part of business investment strategies.

UK flood row: when the levy breaks

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Comment: While everyone is talking about public-private partnerships in disaster risk reduction, in the UK there’s still no agreement on the future of flood insurance for homeowners.

Feature: Berkshire Hathaway declares war

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Berkshire Hathaway’s aggressive entry into commercial primary insurance has raised concerns among US insurers about a potential pricing war. Some believe more reinsurers will follow Warren Buffett ‘s lead and target the E&S insurance market.

Marsh launches D&O Delta product

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Insurance broker Marsh has introduced a directors’ and officers’ liability insurance (D&O) product to shield from growing regulatory and liability risks.

Capital markets in reinsurance's “main tent”

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Willis ILS report says $1.6bn of new cat bond issuance in the first quarter, and “2013 is roaring forward with a flurry of cat bond, sidecar, and collateralised reinsurance activity”, with record issuance expected.

Berkshire Hathaway credit rating cut to AA

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Berkshire Hathaway's credit rating one notch to AA from AA+ because of its “dependence on its core insurance operations for most of its dividend income”; AA+ financial strength rating affirmed.

UK's MGAA hunts for first managing director

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

A managing director is being searched for the lead the UK's Managing General Agents' Association because of its growing scale and profile.

Zurich reports “strong results” for Q1

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Swiss insurer Zurich has posted operating profit of $1.35bn for the first quarter, and a combined ratio of 94.9%.

Berkshire E&S play “controlled and measured”

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

AM Best has predicted that Berkshire Hathaway’s E&S market entry will be “controlled and measured”. The rating agency affirmed Berkshire's insurance and reinsurance operations ratings for National Indemnity Company.

Vote for the Reactions Global Awards 2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Have your say on the the best insurance, reinsurance, broking and service provider firms for the Reactions Global Awards 2013. The winners will be anounced at our awards dinner in New York on September 25.

Buffett needs “stomach” for E&S insurance

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Berkshire Hathaway must be prepared for hard times if it is going to be a successful long-term player in the commercial property/casualty market, according to excess and surplus lines broker Christopher Cavallaro from ARC Excess & Surplus.

Allianz recruits technology underwriter

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Allianz has expanded its London based financial lines team by appointing its first technology professional indemnity underwriter in its global corporate and speciality branch.

Q-Re makes senior appointments

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Qatar-based reinsurer Q-Re has announced a management reshuffle, with several appointments to be based in Doha, Zurich, London and Bermuda.

Cat models, capital models to integrate: PwC

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

PwC is working with UK and London market insurance market clients to reduce a “communications gap” between the development of catastrophe risk models and capital models introduced under regulatory pressure.

Catlin’s Q1 premium jumps $201m

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Catlin saw a 12% increase in premium for the first quarter of 2013, thanks to having no large catastrophes and expected operating expenditure.

Firms may face environmental black hole

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Many companies are under insured for an environmental disaster, despite having environmental liability coverage, the International Association of Underwriters has reported.

Interview: Shah outlines RMS(one) vision

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The CEO of Risk Management Solutions says his firm's new platform is the result of the risk modelling industry reaching an inflection point, while insurance and reinsurance firms welcome the chance to analyse data faster through the cloud.

Argo hires Harris to lead Lloyd's syndicate

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Argo International has appointed a new managing director of its Lloyd’s syndicates, as Jeff Radke is promoted to head of Argo Group’s operations.

Beazley ups reinsurance premium 20%

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Lloyd’s insurer and reinsurer Beazley has issued its first quarter results update, announcing a 2% overall increase in rates at renewals, gross premium written of $518m.

New regulations have mixed credit effects

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

New regulatory regimes could have both positive and negative credit implications for insurers, according to a new report released today by Moody's.

Record ILS issuance predicted for 2013

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Catastrophe bonds are experiencing an expanding investor base and competitive capacity, while insurance-linked securities may hit issuance levels of $7bn this year, according to GC Securities.

Aon Benfield builds construction arm

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Aon Benfield has announced its new construction and engineering team will embrace treaty, facultative and capital markets.

RMS(one) unveiled as future of cat modelling

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

RMS reveals RMS(one), which will allow insurance and reinsurance companies to manage all their risk models, exposures and analytics on a single platform. Partners for the platform include ERN, JBA, Risk Frontiers and Aon Benfield’s ReMetrica.

Willis blog slates passive risk management

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

A blog from Willis has slated risk management systems without tangible action points, but "active risk management will not be an easy transition", says the broker.

Berkshire to quickly become “sizeable” player

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Berkshire Hathaway is on the brink of becoming a sizable player in the commercial insurance market, according to equity analyst Meyer Shields, which will have, overall, a negative impact for specialty insurers such as AIG and Lloyd’s.

E&O helps Hiscox up premium 12%

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Interview: Errors and omissions (E&O) business and benign claims conditions helped Hiscox hit £506.1m gross premium for 2013's first quarter, Hiscox CEO Bronek Masojada tells Reactions.

Munich Re’s Q1 profit rises 25% to €979m

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Munich Re expects slight price erosion for such cat reinsurance cover in the US at July 1. The world’s biggest reinsurer said it is continuing to aim for a profit of close to €3bn for the whole year.

Reinsurers to follow Berkshire's lead: Ryan

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Pat Ryan says Berkshire Hathaway’s deal for the Aon Lloyd’s business and move into the excess and surplus lines market, coupled with increased convergence between reinsurance and capital markets, make this year one of the most eventful in his career.

Shariah-compliant Lloyd’s agency launched

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Colbalt Underwriting, Aon and XL join forces to launch the first underwriting agency at Lloyd’s to provide Shariah-compliant insurance and reinsurance products to businesses globally.