Japanese insurance leaders Tokio Marine Holdings and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group have posted improved nine-month figures to December 31st 2009. Tokio Marine, the country's largest non-life insurer by gross written premiums, said that net profit increased to ¥110.02bn ($1.23bn), from ¥4.64 in the previous corresponding period. Net premiums rose to ¥1.73trn from ¥1.67trn. The insurer raised its net profit forecast to ¥105bn from its previous forecast of ¥85b, At Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Holding, the country's second-largest non-life insurer by revenue, net profit for the nine-month period to December 31 2009 rose to ¥61.54bn from ¥12.07bn, on net premiums down to ¥1.05trn from ¥1.11trn. The full-year profit forecast was kept unchanged at ¥36bn. Meanwhile, Japan's "Big Six" insurers reported premium revenue 0.7% higher in January, compared with the same month last year. Premiums reached ¥381.2bn, helped by an increase in the sales of new cars, because of tax breaks on greener vehicles. Motor insurance revenue was up 0.5% to ¥159.9bn.
Marine revenue fell 1.1% to ¥17.7bn. Nissay Dowa recorded the biggest increase in revenue, while Aioi saw a fall of 3.8% because of some corporate cancellations.

Bermudian re/insurer Allied World Assurance Co Holdings saw 2009  net income rise to a record $606.9m, more than tripling the prior-year $183.6m. The improvement was fueled by a 78% increase in underwriting income to $316.9m, helped by the benign Atlantic storm season. The group also benefitted from a 77% decline in impairment charges to $49.6m and a swing to $126m in realized investment gains from year-earlier losses of $60m. The combined ratio for the year improved to 76.1% from 84.1%, reflecting an 18% rise in net earned premiums to $1.32bn and a 5.8% drop in incurred claims losses to $604.1m.

Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe Ltd has altered its organizational structure in the wake of its acquisition of Paris Re, while maintaining three major operating divisions, PartnerRe North America, PartnerRe Global and PartnerRe Capital Markets under existing management. The Global unit is to form a new facultative operation to be led by Dom Tobey, who has served as the division's  deputy head of specialty lines. Paris Re's business that is sourced outside the US and Canada will be integrated into the new unit or one of the Global division's four other business units. In addition, Michel Plécy and Emmanuel Clarke have been named deputy chief executives of the Global division to oversee, respectively, catastrophe & p/c business and specialty lines business.  Mr Plécy previously headed treaty underwriting and marketing at Paris Re, while Ms Clarke headed PartnerRe Global's specialty lines. Former Paris Re chief financial officer Christophe Boizard has been named to the global division's executive management team.
Meanwhile, PartnerRe is expanding its former US division to include Canadian business, thereby forming the new North American division. As part of that division, Hervé Castella has been named head of a new Canada business unit comprised of the Global division's former Canadian business and Paris Re's Canadian operations. In another move, Paris Re president and chief executive Hans-Peter Gerhardt, chief underwriting officer Jean-Luc Gourgeon, general counsel Frank Papalia and head of human resources Marie-Hélène Autem have opted not to remain with PartnerRe but will maintain Paris Re management duties through end-June.

Lloyds Banking Group announced this morning that it had agreed the sale of its 70% stake in UK online insurance business esure to esure Group Holdings, a buyout vehicle led by Peter Wood. The buyout was backed by private equity vehicle Tosca Penta Investments. Lloyds said that it would receive a cash consideration slightly above book value, which was £185m ($290m) in the Lloyds accounts at the end of 2008. At that time esure had gross assets of £975.5m, including assets backing insurance liabilities. Under the deal's original terms Mr Wood had first refusal over the business. This meant that there were no other bidders. Mr Wood said that esure would now look to expand organically. Esure will not look to float for at least three years, and Mr Wood said that he had no plans to put together a bid for the insurance interests of RBS. Esure was founded in 2000 as a joint venture between Halifax and Peter Wood, later coming under HBoS and ultimately Lloyds Banking Group. Lloyds Group Executive Director for Insurance, Archie Kane, said that "this sale means we can focus our efforts on our core general insurance brands of Halifax and Lloyds TSB".