Commercial
Allianz to increase property and energy investment
Allianz is to double its investment in alternative assets, including property loans and renewable energy, to produce better yields from its investment portfolio.
Aspinall appointed class underwriter at Liberty Syndicates
Liberty Syndicates has named experienced Lloyd's syndicates underwriter Mark Aspinall as class underwriter for specie and fine art.
Quindell pockets £20m thanks to 'major institutional investor'
Quindell Portfolio has secured £20m of funding through the issuing of 153 846 153 placing shares with a major new institutional investor.
AM Best offers positive outlook on Markel International
Rating services firm AM Best Europe has affirmed the financial strength rating of 'A' and issuer credit ratings of "A+" of Markel International and Lloyd's Syndicate 3000.
Generali to sell assets to grow insurance business
Italian insurer Generali is to sell non-strategic assets next year to generate cash to invest in emerging markets.
Davies expects Markel full-year results to weather the storm
Markel International finance director Andy Davies is confident that the impact of superstorm Sandy on his firm's full-year results will not halt the momentum achieved in the opening nine months of the year.
Scor attributes £5.7bn GWP to a 'robust' business approach
Global reinsurer Scor delivered a 13% jump in gross written premiums to €7.2bn (£5.7bn) in the first nine months of the year owing to "increased visibility in the industry".
QBE scales back profit margin estimates as Sandy losses swell
Global insurer QBE has estimated its insured losses from super storm Sandy will be between £220.4m ($350m) and £283m ($450m).
RSA on alert after man appears in court a year on from M5 crash
RSA will "continue to monitor matters closely" after the provider of a fireworks display at Taunton Rugby Club was charged with seven counts of manslaughter following a pile-up on the M5 last November.
Charles Taylor to buy life business in £1.55m deal
Charles Taylor is to acquire Global Life Assurance Limited from Pinnacle Company Limited for £1.55m.
"Allianz shareholders are happy," says Torrance despite COR deterioration
Allianz UK chief executive Andrew Torrance has called the insurer's retail non-motor combined operating ratio of 101.7% for the first nine months of 2012 a "decent result" given recent poor weather.
Axa unveils legal service for SMEs
Axa Commercial Lines and Personal Intermediary has launched a legal, regulatory and compliance service as standard on its management liability product.
Covea unveils new look executive team
Covea Insurance has confirmed the line-up of the executive team charged with leading the business following its creation via the merger of MMA and Provident.
Allianz CEO Torrance blasts 99.1% COR as 'unacceptably poor'
Allianz UK's commercial lines combined operating ratio deteriorated to 99.1% for the first nine months of 2012 from 95.1% in Q3 2011 as the retail non-motor COR worsened to 101.7%.
AIG brand is back, declares Benmosche
American International Group, has declared that AIG is once again the “go-to-market brand” of its global property casualty business, which had been rebranded as Chartis in the wake of its near-collapse in 2008.
Lucas Fettes appoints management duo to Manchester team
Growth-hungry broker Lucas Fettes has backed up its acquisition of Cougar Underwriting with two senior additions to its Manchester team.
New LMA property risks wordings to provide clarity for underwriters
A new standard wording for power and utility property risks placed in the Lloyd's market was unveiled at this week's London Power Forum.
Markel boss credits investment returns for 'excellent' nine months
Markel International has chalked up a substantial drop in its combined operating ratio for the opening nine months of 2012 to 86% compared with 119% for the same period last year.
Crawford & Co staff homeless after Sandy
Up to 660 Crawford & Company employees have been affected by superstorm Sandy, including nine people whose homes were destroyed.
Allianz UK delivers stable performance
Allianz UK saw gross written premiums grow by 1.9% to £473.2m (€593m) in the third quarter, but operating profits in the business division took a £2m dip to £40m (€50m).
GAB Robins reports profit rise in 2011
GAB Robins' pre-tax profit increased to £2.14m for the full year 2011, from £1.56m in 2010.
Two aviation underwriters join Antares
Lloyd's insurer Antares has appointed Simon Hennessy and Russell Mason as aviation underwriters.
Xchanging secures Lloyd's claims reporting contract
Business technology services provider Xchanging has landed a contract to build a platform for the Lloyd's claims reporting suite.
Novae insurance income to dwarf reinsurance earnings
Novae Group's investment returns grew by £6.5m to £22.1m for the first nine months of 2012, but gross written premiums remained flat at £510.6m (2011: £516.4m).