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March 2010
Allied World Assurance has re-shuffled its senior level management in Bermuda, Europe and the US.
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Global gross premiums written by Bermudian reinsurers remained flat in 2009, according to data released today by the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR).
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Insurance leaders should not fool themselves that the industry’s recent strong underwriting returns are down to good management, Ted Kelly, CEO of US insurer Liberty Mutual, has warned.
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Tax came up as an issue that concerns insurance leaders, though for different reasons, at the World Insurance Forum.
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Montpelier Re Holdings has announced a preliminary estimate of losses from the recent Chilean earthquake, European windstorm Xynthia and the Australian hailstorms.
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Ace Bermuda has announced two senior appointments to its professional lines department.
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Bermuda-based Axis Capital Holdings has provided its catastrophe loss initial estimates for the Chile earthquake and European windstorm Xynthia.
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Endurance Specialty Holdings, the global specialty provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, has announced its initial loss estimate for the earthquake in Chile and windstorm Xynthia in Europe.
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Max Capital Group’s preliminary estimates of combined claims for the Chilean earthquake and the European winter storm Xynthia range from $10m to $20m, net of reinstatement provisions and retrocessions.
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RenRe North America Holdings will issue $250m of senior notes in an underwritten public offering. The notes, maturing in 2020, will offer a coupon of 5.750% and are backed by parent, RenaissanceRe Holdings.
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Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings, the global reinsurance and insurance company, has announced its preliminary estimate of claims relating to its exposure to the earthquake in Chile is $50m net of reinstatement premiums and retrocession.
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Don Kramer has stood down as CEO of Ariel Holdings.
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The merger of Bermudian firms Max Capital Group and Harbor Point has been termed a merger of equals. Reactions spoke to the CEO’s of the two companies and an analyst to get the perspective from all sides on what the future holds for the combined company Alterra Capital Holdings.
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Validus Holdings, the Bermuda based provider of reinsurance and insurance, today provided an initial estimate of losses from the recent Chilean earthquake and European windstorm Xynthia.
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Everest Re has estimated its preliminary loss owing to the earthquake in Chile at about $225m.
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A unit of PartnerRe has raised $500m through a 10-year note sale. PartnerRe Finance has issued the senior notes, maturing June 1, 2020.
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RenaissanceRe has announced the impact of the Chilean earthquake and windstorm Xynthia on its financial results could be material.
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The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers today filed its opposition to a house bill which would replace private sector risk bearing capital with government reinsurance and government guarantees of state debt.
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Endurance's new CEO will be looking to continue the work done under eight years of Ken LeStrange's leadership but won't be afraid to make big changes if necessary, he tells Reactions in an exclusive interview.
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The Bermudian holding company Kinsale Capital Group, has announced the formation of Kinsale Insurance Company (KIC), a specialty insurance operation based in Richmond, Virginia.
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The amalgamation deal between Max Capital and Harbor Point to form Alterra Capital is being deemed a ‘modest positive’ by analysts.
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Consolidation rumoured on Bermuda.
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Bermudian firms Max Capital Group and Harbor Point have announced they have agreed to a merger.
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February 2010
RenaissanceRe has elevated Peter Durhager to the role of executive vice-president. He will report to the reinsurer’s CEO, Neill Currie and will continue his role as chief administrative officer.
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Bermudian reinsurance firm Everest Re Group has announced the appointment of Roger Singer to its board of directors.
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Bermudian reinsurance firm PartnerRe today announced that its board of directors has approved a new share repurchase authorisation up to a total of 8 million common shares.
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Endurance Specialty Holdings has been urged to find a merger partner by its largest shareholder, as the reinsurers’ Bermuda-based rivals look to consolidate.
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Bermuda’s regulator is making strides towards its goal of achieving regulatory equivalence. It also revealed that the island’s insurance market’s assets grew by 7% last year.
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Bermuda’s regulator is making strides towards its goal of achieving regulatory equivalence. It also revealed that the island’s insurance market’s assets grew by 7% last year.
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PartnerRe Global’s chairman, Bruno Meyenhofer, will step down. Meyenhofer, who will retire on March 31, 2010, has held the position as chairman of PartnerRe’s global, non-US operations since July 2008.
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Validus Holdings has reported net income of $165.8m in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with net income of $37.0m for the same period last year. Net income for the year was $897.4m, compared with $53.1m for 2008.
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Bermudian insurance and reinsurance firm Endurance Specialty Holdings today announced that, effective March 1 2010, David Cash will become its chief executive officer.
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RenaissanceRe’s board of directors has approved an increase in RenaissanceRe's stock repurchase programme, bringing the total authorisation to $500m.
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Reinsurer Validus has appointed John Fitzpatrick to its board of directors. The appointment will increase the number of board members to 12.
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Bermuda has long been viewed as the so-called better mousetrap, the best and most efficient place for new insurance capital. That is now changing, but the island’s leaders say observers should not underestimate Bermuda’s importance.
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Endurance Specialty Holdings today reported net income of $154.8m for the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with net income of $16.9m for the fourth quarter of 2008.
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The Spitzer-era ban on contingent commissions for the world’s biggest insurance brokers, Aon, Marsh and Willis, has been lifted. An equity analyst believes Aon and Marsh could now receive as much as $200m a year in contingent commissions.
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Bermudian reinsurer Platinum Underwriters Holdings today reported net income for the fourth quarter of 2009 of $90.8m, compared with a net income of $61.5m in the same period last year.
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Arch Capital Group has reported net income in the fourth quarter of 2009 of $284.7m, compared with a net loss $143.0m for the 2008 fourth quarter. For the full year of 2009, net income was $851.1m, compared with $265.1m for 2008.
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PartnerRe's acquisition of Paris Re, along with involvement in initiatives such as the Global Reinsurance Forum trade group, confirms Patrick Thiele's position as one of the most influential reinsurance executives around.
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Montpelier Re Holdings, a Bermudian provider of short-tail reinsurance and other specialty lines, today reported strong fourth quarter and record full year financial results.
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Fresh off the back of the busiest ever fourth quarter for cat bonds, insurance-linked securities activity is predicted to be high in 2010. Reactions' Convergence Quarterly section includes all the cat bond data from 2009.
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Bermudian insurance and reinsurance firm Allied World Assurance Company today reported net income of $161.3m for the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with net income of $19.9m for the fourth quarter of 2008.
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Axis Capital Holdings has announced the formation of a renewable energy team within its Axis Insurance business.
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Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe today announced organisational changes, following the acquisition of Paris Re. These include Paris Re’s chief executive officer leaving the company at the end of June.
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Reinsurance pricing softened at the January 1 2010 renewals. Reactions asks what this will mean for pricing for the rest of the year.
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Everest Re Group, the Bermudian reinsurance company, has reported fourth quarter net income of $197.2m, compared with a net loss of $16.6m for the fourth quarter of 2008.
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Fierce pricing competition is prompting investors to choose their stocks carefully this year. We reveal which stocks equity analysts are tipping to outperform.
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MMC today reported a decline of net income to $38m in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with net income of $80m in 2008. Marsh’s revenue for the quarter fell 4% while Guy Carpenter’s revenue for the year was up 23%.
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Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe today reported net income of $354.4m for the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with net income for the fourth quarter of 2008 of $95.3m.
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Aspen Insurance Holdings today reported net income of $126.3m in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with net income of $21.8m for the fourth quarter last year.
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Bermudian insurer and reinsurer Axis Capital Holdings has reported net income for the fourth quarter of 2009 of $282m, compared with net income of $131m for the corresponding period in 2008.
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Bermudian insurance and reinsurance group Max Capital Group today reported net income of $62.6m for the quarter, compared with a net loss of $94.1m for the same quarter in 2008.
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Bermuda reinsurer RenaissanceRe Holdings has reported net income of $211.8m in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with a net loss of $55.2m in the fourth quarter of 2008.
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Bermudian insurer and reinsurer XL Capital today reported a net loss for the fourth quarter of 2009 of $40.3m, compared with a net loss of $1.4bn in the fourth quarter of 2008.
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Aon Corporation surpassed expectations in the fourth quarter as the company saw the benefit of restructuring savings and favourable foreign currency translation.
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A coalition of 13 US insurance groups have voiced support for US president Barack Obama’s proposal to cut what it sees as offshore tax avoidance. The coalition has urged legislation to be passed quickly.
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This year firms face a stark choice over how to deploy their capital, says Kenneth LeStrange, chairman, president and CEO of Bermudian insurer and reinsurer Endurance Specialty Holdings.
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Global reinsurers face the daunting prospect of eroding profitability margins over the next two to three years, S&P has warned in a new report.
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US president Barack Obama’s 2010 new budget proposal puts the issue of tax avoidance through offshore business back in the limelight as it plans to reduce the US deficit.
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XL Insurance has hired Patrick Tannock as president and country manager.
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January 2010
XL plans to redomicile to Ireland and the remaining Lloyd’s players headquartered in the UK are also considering leaving. We ask why firms are looking to move and to where.
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Sony Life Insurance said Wednesday that it has set up a Bermuda-based reinsurance joint venture with Dutch insurer Aegon.
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Endurance Specialty Holdings has appointed Nicholas Campbell. Campbell will join as senior vice-president and head of specialty treaty reinsurance at Endurance Specialty Insurance.
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Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe today announced that during the January 1 2010 treaty renewal season it expects to write and bind about $2.6bn of non-life premium
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Charles Taylor Consulting has renamed its Bermuda-based insurance management business, CTC Allegro, as CTC Insurance Management (Bermuda).
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AM Best has upgraded the financial strength rating of Paris Re to A from A- and the issuer credit ratings a+ from a-. The ratings have been assigned a positive outlook.
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Bermuda-based reinsurer Validus Holdings plans to sell $250m of debt, the company said in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
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White Mountains Re announced today that it intends to acquire Central National Insurance Company of Omaha from Drum Financial Corporation.
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Validus Holdings, the Bermudian reinsurer and insurer, has issued $250m of senior bonds according to IFR, the Thompson Reuters service.
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Max Capital Group, the Bermudian reinsurer that lost out to Validus in its tussle for IPC Holdings last year, may still be on the look out for large-scale acquisition, the firm’s CEO has suggested.
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Bermudian insurance and reinsurance group Endurance Specialty Holdings, today announced the appointment of Kimberly Morgan as practice leader for Endurance’s Bermuda healthcare practice.
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Aspen Insurance Holdings has announced it will change its corporate structure to manage its insurance and reinsurance businesses under two separate brands, Aspen Insurance and Aspen Reinsurance.
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Bermudian insurer Ironshore has announced that its specialty healthcare division, IronHealth, has entered into a collaborative agreement with Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty.
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Frank O’Halloran, CEO of Australian insurer QBE Insurance Group, has been announced as the 2010 Insurance Hall of Fame winner.
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Read a selection of stories from the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Reactions.
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Michael McGavick, chief executive officer of XL, wants to move his firm’s holding company to Ireland because of the stability the country offers, he has told Reactions.
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Ironshore has announced that its Bermuda property division has increased its available line size to $25m effective immediately.
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Reactions canvassed executive search firms worldwide to produce a list of who they believe will be the top leaders of the future. Here are the names they came up with.
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XL Capital has announced today that it proposes to change the parent holding company's place of incorporation to Ireland from the Cayman Islands, with the parent holding company to be renamed XL Group.
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The mixed reinsurance rating environment is a disappointment against last years’ expectations says Bermudian reinsurer Aspen Re.
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Bermudian reinsurer RenaissanceRe Holdings today announced a consolidation of its global underwriting organisation.
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Bermudian reinsurer Harbor Point has announced that its affiliate, New Point Re is continuing to offer collateralised retrocessional reinsurance coverage for contracts taken up from January 1 2010 onwards.
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The catastrophe bond market recovered in 2009, with issuance returning to the pre-crisis levels, says Munich Re in a briefing.
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Aspen Insurance Holdings has announced an accelerated share repurchase program with Goldman Sachs to buy back $200m of Aspen's ordinary shares within the next 10 months.
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The Bermuda firms tracked by reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter experienced strong recovery in their balance sheets as net income improved to $7.28bn in the first nine months of 2009, from a $440m loss in the first nine months of 2008.
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Last year saw the most active fourth quarter ever for catastrophe bond issuance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) activity looks set to remain high in 2010 as a record volume of catastrophe bonds mature, according to risk modelling firm RMS.
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Members of the Guy Carpenter Global Reinsurance Composite saw their total net income more than double to almost $10bn in the first nine months of 2009, according to a Guy Carpenter briefing.
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Insurance and reinsurance group Ace expects its operating income per share to be between $6.25 and $6.75 for 2010.
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Bermudian Max Capital Group has appointed Joseph Monk as global chief actuary.