UK-based Sterling Insurance Group has announced a 7.5% increase in premiums for its high net worth (HNW) clients, with higher increases for those not designated "clean risk". Sterling director for personal and commercial insurances David Sweeney said that "we believe January 2010 is the right time for corrective action and hope that others will quickly follow to avert the collision course the market is currently on with dissatisfied, claiming customers". He added that Sterling had "adopted a robust and sustainable approach to pricing over the last 24 months — prices have been increasing gradually. These increases are necessary to ensure prices remain correct in order to provide a service and products that perform in line with or beyond policyholders' expectations". Sterling observed that there had been a "prolonged soft market:" and that this, combined with the recent economic downturn, plus the increased access to online "commoditized" products had added to the downward pressure on pricing.

Liberty International Underwriters Europe (LIU Europe) intends to target a larger number of Professional Indemnity (PI) risks in the UK, the company said Monday. "The move will build on LIU Europe's existing book of primary PI risks and reflects the success the company has so far achieved in writing cover for this critical business protection", the company said. LIU Europe, a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual, will target UK businesses with an annual fee income for up to £20m ($32.8m), writing primary PI cover for the "traditional" professions, such as architects, accountants and engineers, plus some of the newer growing professions, including management consultancy.

Switzerland-based Zurich Financial Services has completed what it described on Friday as "an important step in the rationalization of its Group holding legal entity structure". Zurich Group Holding (ZGH) has been merged into Zurich Financial Services, the Group's ultimate holding company. Allied Zurich Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services Ltd, in August sold its 42.3% stake in ZGH to Zurich Financial Services. The new move makes Zurich Financial Services the immediate holding company of Zurich Insurance Co Ltd, the group's main operating company. Standard & Poor's yesterday withdrew its rating on Zurich Group Holding, at Zurich's request.

US "pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg could allow some executives at state-controlled insurer AIG to earn more than $500,000, following the threat late last week by five senior executives to resign, reports Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. In October Mr Feinberg said that, with the exception of good cause to pay a greater amount, salaries at AIG would not exceed $500,000. Mr Feinberg controls the salary of the highest-paid 25 executives at AIG, of whom about half have left since the days of AIG's near-collapse in September 2008. He advises on the salaries of the next 75 employees. The decision to remove a salary cap for some employees was said to have been unrelated to the resignation threats. AIG spokeswoman Christina Pretto had insisted that the executives did not threaten to resign, but had instead written the notes on the advice of AIG General Counsel solely to protect their rights to collect executive severance packages. Meanwhile, AIG has launched a search for a new head of human resources following the resignation of Andrew Kaslow. Reuters reported that AIG chief executive Robert Benmosche is already considering one candidate for the HR post: HR executive Lisa Weber, whom he had first recruited at securities broker PaineWebber and again at MetLife when he became chief executive there.