Last week, AIG CEO Brian Duperreault mused that between efforts to right its own underwriting ship and the actions of Lloyd’s to similarly clean up, the two insurance giants had moved the market.
For all the issues that dog the insurance industry, the perception among customers or the wider public that carriers are out to deny valid claims is the most damaging and, sadly, the one that most persistently raises its head.
Last week, amid the flurry of statements about the future of Lloyd’s and where the market needs to go from here, I came across some interesting footage of the Corporation from all the way back in 1961.
On their way to medals, knighthoods, eternal Olympic glory etc, British cycling giants such as Sir Bradley Wiggins, Victoria Pendleton CBE and Sir Chris Hoy were imbued with a singular driving philosophy which underwrote their path to success.
Working in and around the commercial (re)insurance industry during the festive period is a little different to how things go in other sectors, even within financial services.
If you are reading this from the UK or Europe, it is likely that your political attention the last few weeks has homed-in on certain rumblings in that peculiar part of central London where reality recently seems to have become a relative concept.
Growing up, we are constantly encouraged to build good habits into our daily routines to ensure that we get into the right way of doing things early on.
Even with the most in-depth data, those attempting to estimate the insured or economic loss from a major hurricane are always bound to be off by some degree, especially when it comes to complex events such as hurricanes hitting densely populated areas.
Shares in German reinsurer Hannover Re dropped almost 5 percent as investors appeared unimpressed with a consensus-beating EUR399.5mn ($469.3mn) operating profit in the second quarter.
Shares in US carrier AmTrust and sister company Maiden Holdings dropped today in New York, after both firms released their second quarter results late yesterday.
India's government-owned reinsurer General Insurance Corporation of India, or GIC Re, has filed for an initial public offering of shares which could raise over $1bn.
Charles Taylor InsureTech has emerged as the preferred partner in a project that will radically reshape the way coverholders pass data to London market carriers, The Insurance Insider understands.
Recently formed Lloyd's syndicate Blenheim has launched a specialty reinsurance division under the leadership of former Talbot head of treaty John Cutts.
Argenta-managed Lloyd's carrier Atrium Syndicate 609 has increased its syndicate forecasts for the 2015 year-of-account by 3.5 percentage points at the midpoint.
David Ross, the chief executive of newly rebranded Towergate owner Ardonagh Group, has said the entity could consider an IPO as early as next year, according to a report.
US specialty insurer OneBeacon has reported a Q2 underwriting loss as increased catastrophe and underlying losses pushed the combined ratio up by 4 percentage points to 106.9 percent.
(Re)insurers are set to be hit with more claims from skyscraper fires in Dubai after the Torch Tower caught fire yesterday for the second time in two years.
Underwriting profits at Fairfax Financial jumped 31.7 percent in the second quarter to $108.4mn, as the company reported diluted earnings per share of $12.67.
Florida regulators have approved the take-out of 50,000 Citizens personal residential and coastal account policies by local insurers Safepoint and Southern Oak.
AM Best has improved International General's credit outlook from stable to positive on the basis of the carrier's strong operating performance and risk management system improvements
Independent London market broker SSL has called off a sale process after it failed to agree terms with high bidder Ed, The Insurance Insider can reveal.
Commissions and fee income at Willis Towers Watson's investment, risk and reinsurance arm increased by 3 percent on an organic basis to $383mn in the second quarter as the broker undershot analyst earnings expectations
Generali reported a modest uptick in group profits in H1 as its P&C business generated an operating profit of EUR1.10bn ($1.29bn) that was 0.7 percent higher year-on-year.
Equity analysts remain bullish on the outlook for XL Group after its stock dropped 4 percent last week, despite the carrier posting consensus-beating second quarter results.
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has opted to establish a new office in Dublin as part of the expansion of its UK and Southern Europe division
US healthcare diagnostic firm LabCorp has initiated legal action against AIG Specialty and Liberty Mutual after the insurers refused to pay out on a $10mn policy over the company's loss of a class action suit.
A cohort of hull underwriters led by Aspen have lost their appeal to sue the banker of Turkey-based Kairos Shipping in an English court to recoup a $22mn payment for a ship that was later judged to have been scuttled.
Shares of CNA Financial climbed 5.3 percent in New York trading after the big property and casualty carrier beat Wall Street earnings estimates for the second quarter.
Shares of CNA Financial climbed 5.3 percent in New York trading after the big property and casualty carrier beat Wall Street earnings estimates for the second quarter.
Fewer and less severe catastrophe losses helped US carrier CNA Financial beat second quarter earnings forecasts, as the company reported operating earnings per share (EPS) of $0.88, equating to net operating income of $239mn.
Fosun International chairman Guo Guangchang has thrown his weight behind an "essential and timely" push for stricter oversight of overseas M&A deals by Chinese authorities, according to a report.
Pre-tax profits at London market carrier Hiscox fell almost 50 percent year-on-year in the first half to £102.6mn ($134.7mn), with the result dented by a currency loss for the period but nevertheless beating forecasts.
Oak Hill Capital Partners has acquired a controlling stake in US retail P&C intermediary Epic Insurance Brokers from fellow private equity house The Carlyle Group in a transaction that sets the firm's worth at nearly $1bn.
Standard & Poor's (S&P) has lowered Markel's corporate rating by one step from BBB+ to BBB following the company's announcements yesterday that it would acquire State National for $919mn in cash and an industrial farm based in Miami for an estimated $255mn
Revenues at Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) reinsurance arm Guy Carpenter rose 4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter to $293mn as group earnings per share met forecasts.
Market behaviour in recent renewals suggests Bermudian carrier RenaissanceRe's greatest growth is behind it "for the foreseeable future", according to the company's chief executive Kevin O'Donnell.