|
Lloyd's insurer Amlin has closed down its US platform after less than two years in business, The Insurance Insider can reveal. Amlin was the first Lloyd's agency to establish a representative office in Illinois, working within the existing Lloyd's infrastructure and using the Society's US licence to write admitted lines. The insurer set up the Chicago office in July 2008, drawn by the promise of business from local brokers and the opportunity to encourage more volume into the London market. The Stateside venture, however, is understood to have struggled to take root in the crowded US market, with competition from corporate giants such as Chubb and Travelers and local admitted carriers. Other Lloyd's managing agents followed Amlin's move into the US, including Beazley, Brit and Catlin. Brit was incorporated in Illinois in December 2008 to write AJ Gallagher business and became operational in May 2009. Amlin Illinois specialised in property, casualty, auto and marine cargo business. An Amlin spokeswoman confirmed the decision and said the US platform closed down on 30 April. "We were not successful in penetrating those local [US] markets," she said. "Given current market conditions we decided not to carry on with our operation in the US going forwards." David Harris, president of the former Amlin Illinois operation, has continued as managing director of London-based Amlin Underwriting. In recent months the Lloyd's insurer has secured a further foothold in Europe, launching a reinsurance platform in Switzerland in May. This followed its EUR350mn acquisition in July last year of the European commercial insurer Fortis Corporate Insurance from the Dutch government. Amlin's new Swiss-domiciled operation is capitalised with $1.4bn, and aims at providing the group with access to European reinsurance business that does not typically flow into the London and Bermuda marketplaces. Amlin intends to re-domicile its reinsurance company, Amlin Bermuda Limited, from Bermuda to Zurich, renaming the company Amlin AG. The existing operations of Amlin Bermuda will become a Bermuda-based branch of Amlin AG.
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 September 2010 )
|
|
|
London market electronic trading business Ri3K has rejected a takeover bid led by shareholder Neil Eckert and is now considering two alternative approaches, The Insurance Insider can reveal. The Ri3K board is due to decide imminently between the bids from a subsidiary of Hewlett Packard (HP) and a private equity financed management buy-out (MBO). The bid from HP division MphasiS is believed to be the favoured option, according to sources. A deal will end months of speculation for the loss-making technology business. Former Brit Insurance CEO and industry entrepreneur Neil Eckert was part of a consortium that acquired a majority of Ri3K in 2007. The consortium also included ICAP's Michael Spencer and the hedge fund Eton Park. Recently, The Insurance Insider revealed that Eckert's company Climate Exchange plc invested a seven-figure sum into RI3K while the technology company continued talks with potential new backers. RI3K was effectively put up for sale late last year when its major customer, the broking giant Aon, insisted that fresh capital be placed in the business in order to attract other major brokers into using the network. The electronic trading platform's technology includes a messaging service that allows documents such as quotations, placements and endorsements to be exchanged from one side of the marketplace to the other. RI3K is yet to turn a profit since its launch in 2000 and is thought to have spent over £40mn in developing its technology. Sources suggest both options value the reinsurance placement network at approximately £10mn. Whoever wins the auction, the priority will be to successfully conclude negotiations with Marsh and Willis on the brokers placing relevant business through the network. The broking "big three" provide more than half of all business written in the London market and effectively are in control of the platform's future. It is unclear who is providing the capital to support the MBO bid for RI3K, which is led by CEO Alex Letts. Eckert, who is a member of the Ri3K board, recently sold Climate Exchange to US energy exchange group ICE for £350mn. RI3K employs about 60 staff and says it has a network of more than 270 companies trading on its service. A decision is expected next week. Ri3K declined to comment.
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 September 2010 )
|
|
|
has posted revenue of ¥962.5bn ($11.27bn) for the first quarter of its financial year to June 30, down 3.6% year on year. The diluted earnings per share rose to ¥71.6 from ¥44.8, as the net gain rose to ¥56.4bn from ¥35.3bn.
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 September 2010 )
|
|
Netherlands-based Aegon saw its share price decline this morning after it revealed that tougher reserve requirements had caused a €700m ($896m) decline to €3bn in capital above that required by rating agency Standard & Poor's. Aegon CEO Alex Wynaendts said that this level remained a "solid buffer". The assurer recorded underlying pre-tax earnings of €1.01bn for the first half, up from €317m in the same period last year. The return on equity increased to 9.6% from 2.1%. Aegon is continuing to look for "a suitable buyer" for US operation Transamerica Re as it seeks to allocate its capital more efficiently. In addition, Aegon will be increasing its equity hedging of its back book of variable annuities in the US, and would continue to shift its focus to fee-based business from spread-based products.
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 September 2010 )
|
|
New York-based property-casualty insurer Tower Group has reported a net income of $45.7m for the first half, down from $48.6m in the same period last year, on premiums of $614.9m, up from $460.7m. The combined ratio was 94.8%, up from 85.5% in H1 2009. The operating return on equity declined to 8.7% from 22.2%. For the full year Tower Group is projecting earnings of between $2.55 and $2.65 a share, from half-yearly earnings of $0.96 a share.
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 September 2010 )
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next > End >>
|
| Results 1 - 9 of 67 |
