Bermudian insurer and reinsurer Endurance Specialty has implicitly rejected a plea by significant minority stakeholder Perry Corp to "undertake an evaluation of its strategic alternatives and pursue a possible merger or other strategic transaction" that Perry Corp said would "create a stronger company with a defined growth strategy". Endurance said yesterday that it had "an exceptionally strong balance sheet" and that it intended to "remain focused on delivering superior value for its shareholders". Perry Corp claimed that Endurance's recently announced changes in leadership — David Cash was appointed CEO and William Jewett was named President, both as successors to Ken LeStrange — "will not position the issuer to capitalize on industry consolidation opportunities". Perry Corp also felt that the election of Ken LeStrange to the post of non-executive Chairman was "not in the best interest of (Endurance) and is not in accordance with best corporate governance practices". Mr LeStrange but will continue as chairman of the board until March 2011. Perry Corp plans to contact other investors in Endurance on "possible strategies to improve shareholder value". Perry Capital was one of the founding investors in Endurance when the latter was formed in December 2001, and still holds a 12.6% stake. Its president, Richard Perry, sits on the Endurance Board of Directors.

France-based insurer CNP Assurances has posted a net profit of €1.004bn ($1.359bn) for full-year 2009, on premium income up 15.1% to €32.6bn. Return on equity rose to 22.6%, from 8.5% in 2008. Non-life makes up only a small proportion of CNP's mainly savings-focused business, and is focused exclusively in Portugal and Brazil. Premiums there rose 15.9% to €401.6m. The company declared a dividend of €3 a share, up 5.3%. Investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Ralph Hebgen said that the results "generally beat our expectations", with overall premium growth ahead of forecasts.

Australia-based financial services group Suncorp Metway saw its share price dip more than 6% today after stating that, despite a first-half profit rise of 41% to AUD364m ($325m), it was cutting its interim dividend by 25% to 15¢ a share. The company said that Suncorp Metway's capital position had strengthened over the half, but that "given continuing economic volatility, the potential for major natural hazard events and uncertainty around future regulatory settings" the Board "has decided to adopt a conservative position when determining the overall level of capital retained in the business". The company said that it would return excess capital if the short-term risks did not materialize. In the company's non-life arm, pre-tax profit for the half to December 31 2009 was AUD491m, on an insurance trading result (ITR) of AUD401m, representing 12.8% of net earned premium and a combined ratio of 95.5%. This compares with a combined ratio of 120.2% for the same period in 2008. Gross written premiums rose by 4.4% to AUD3.49bn, or 7.5% after discounting Suncorp Metway's discontinuation of its travel insurance partnership with Covermore. The home portfolio rose by 13.9% to AUD867m, helped by rate increases, while motor (excluding compulsory third party) rose 6.8% to AUD1.21bn, in an increasingly competitive market. Commercial was up 1.4% to AUD896m, "aided by stable retention, rate increases and a targeted focus on broker business", while CTP rose 17% to AUD406m, although Suncorp Metway noted that "some consumers have responded to increased premiums by moving to six-month rather than annual policies". The half was relatively benign for losses, resulting in natural hazard claims some AUD56m below the company's long-term allowance. The New Zealand business generated premium growth of 6.3% in local currency terms, with an ITR of NZD42m ($29.1m) and an ITR ratio of 11.9%. The vast majority of Suncorp Metway's insurance business is in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, which together amount to about 80% of total income. Outward reinsurance for the half-year rose 11% year on year to AUD293m, "due to growth in risk exposures and reinsurance premium rate increases". Suncorp Life's underlying post-tax profit for the half was AUD86m, down 14.9% year on year. Embedded value at the end of the year was AUD2.30bn, up from AUD2.15bn on June 30 2009. No full-year earnings outlook was supplied.