Axa’s US IPO prices well below expectations

The sale of one of Axa’s US businesses, which will be used to fund the French insurance giant’s purchase of XL Group, is likely to bring in far less than it initially expected.

Thu 10 May 2018

Anbang founder handed 18 year prison sentence

The founder and former chairman of Chinese insurance giant Anbang, Wu Xiaohui, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after a trial in a Shanghai court in which the executive pled guilty to fundraising fraud and embezzlement.

Thu 10 May 2018

AmTrust pushes Maiden into the red as strategic review rumbles on

Maiden’s long-standing quota share with sister company AmTrust again hindered its performance as the Bermudian’s first quarter combined ratio extended further into the red.

Thu 10 May 2018

Beazley top line jumps 10% as rates rise amid market ‘recalibration’

London market carrier Beazley said it grew gross written premiums (GWP) by around 10 percent in the first quarter to $631mn as the Andrew Horton-led firm noted substantial rate increases across the majority of its underwriting lines.

Thu 10 May 2018

Aon Benfield pegs US April storm losses at $1.5bn

Wed 9 May 2018

Lloyd’s tells underwriters to withdraw insurance to NRA

Lloyd’s of London has informed underwriters to pull out of any programmes associated with the National Rifle Association of America (NRA).

Wed 9 May 2018

TMK’s hull underwriter departs

Long serving hull underwriter Des Keane has resigned from Tokio Marine Kiln, re-Insurance.com understands.

Wed 9 May 2018

Zurich exercises caution in P&C market despite rate increases

Swiss insurance giant Zurich said it had decreased its gross written premiums (GWP) in the quarter by around 1 percent to $9.3bn as the group dropped its presence in what it views as unprofitable lines despite signs of an uptick in rates.

Wed 9 May 2018

NBG's CEO steps down as Ethniki sale process rolls on

Leonidas Fragiadakis - the CEO of the National Bank of Greece, which is currently running a sales process for the country’s national insurance company Ethniki - has stepped down suddenly from his role.

Tue 8 May 2018

CatCo shares slump almost 20% after major 2017 loss creep

Only months after raising $2.5bn from investors, collateralised retro fund manager Markel CatCo has announced a 19.5 percent reserve hit to its April net asset value (NAV) from growing 2017 cat losses mainly stemming from Hurricane Irma, the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Tue 8 May 2018

Enstar slips into the red as losses erode Atrium and Starstone profits

An increased loss burden ate into Atrium’s profits in the first three months of the year as Enstar’s Lloyd’s arm’s combined ratio spiked 12.1 points to 94.9 percent.

Tue 8 May 2018

Bermuda bosses split on how to handle M&A bonanza

The leaders of some of Bermuda’s biggest insurers and reinsurers differ on how to address the currently thriving M&A environment - with some actively pursuing deals in the frothy market and others hoping to benefit from the spoils of any mooted takeover.

Tue 8 May 2018

Aon’s ex-Bolivia CEO denies stealing millions of dollars from employer

The former CEO of Aon’s operations in Bolivia has denied misappropriating millions of dollars from his old employer in an alleged scandal that saw the broker’s local reinsurance subsidiary taken over by the country’s regulator.

Tue 8 May 2018

Berkshire Hathaway’s return to insurance profit outshines equity loss

It is never nice to post a $6.2bn loss in your equity portfolio in one quarter - least of all when you are Berkshire Hathaway, the company famous for its stock picking boss - but that load looks a little lighter when your (re)insurance operations return to profitability and it dawns that the loss is really a matter of accounting.

Tue 8 May 2018

Brokers steady at end of Q1 as reporting changes muddy comparisons

The masters of the P&C broking world got off to a strong start in 2018 as the big three - Willis Towers Watson, Aon and Marsh & McClennan Companies (MMC) - all outstripped consensus earnings estimates with figures heavily influenced by changes to revenue reporting standards.

Tue 8 May 2018

Reinsurers fail to secure meaningful Florida rate hikes

Talk of meaningful reinsurance rate hikes for Florida business appear to have resulted in very little actual movement in price as details of the key 1.6 renewal start to emerge.

Tue 8 May 2018