News

Canada Pension Fund OMERS to Buy Stake in Fairfax Run-off Unit, RiverStone UK

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and OMERS, the pension plan for Ontario’s municipal employees, announced they have entered into an agreement where OMERS will acquire a 40% interest in Fairfax’s UK run-off group, RiverStone UK. The transaction gives RiverStone UK the …

Spending Bills with Flood, Terrorism Insurance Renewals Go to President Trump

The Senate yesterday went along with House measures that fund the military and rest of the federal government through next September. The government funding measure includes two provisions of particular interest to the property/casualty insurance industry: a reauthorization of the …

Ascot Appoints Walter as Executive VP and Head of Cyber & Commercial E&O

Ascot has appointed Drew Walter as executive vice president and head of Cyber & Commercial E&O. Also joining the team are Tracy O’Hara, Abigail Oliver, Greg Garijanian and Ben Mancuso. Based in New York, Walter will build a business writing …

Munich Re Group Agrees to Buy Manhattan Skyscraper

Munich Re Group, advised by MEAG, has agreed to acquire the 330 Madison Avenue building in New York City. The 39 story high-rise dates from 1963 and was designed by Ely Jacques Kahn, one of the fathers of the New …

How Car Makers Are Doing with Voluntary Accord to Install Automatic Braking Systems

Three years ahead of schedule, four vehicle manufacturers— Tesla, Volvo, Audi and Mercedes— have already met their voluntary commitment under an agreement to equip virtually all of their new passenger vehicles with low-speed automatic emergency braking systems that includes forward …

Mass. High Court Upholds Consent-to-Settle Clause in Malpractice Policy

Massachusetts’ highest court on Monday rejected arguments that consent-to-settle clauses in professional malpractice insurance policies violate public policy. The Supreme Judicial Court sided with CNA subsidiary Continental Casualty Co. in an engineering malpractice lawsuit brought by homeowners Douglas and Kristen …

Insured Losses in 2019 Estimated at $56B, Down from $93B Last Year: Swiss Re

Global insured losses in 2019 dropped to an estimated US$56 billion, from US$93 billion in 2018 and below the annual average (US$75 billion) of the previous 10 years, according to preliminary sigma estimates from Swiss Re Institute. During the year, …

Canadian Lab Test Firm, LifeLabs, Pays Ransom After Data Breach

Lab test provider LifeLabs said Tuesday that it paid a ransom to secure data for Canadians that was stolen in a data breach in late October. Hackers also obtained personal information of an unknown number of the company’s 15 million …

Legacy Acquirer DARAG Completes Portfolio Transfer with Germany’s SOVAG

DARAG Group Ltd., the Malta-based legacy acquirer, announced it has closed the portfolio transfer with German re/insurer SCHWARZMEER UND OSTSEE Versicherungsaktiengesellschaft (SOVAG), following the receipt of all regulatory approvals. The direct insurance and inwards reinsurance business within the legacy portfolio …

Deadly Danish Train Accident Caused by Improperly Secured Trailer: Report

Danish authorities say a deadly accident in which a high-speed passenger train struck a semi-trailer that fell off a freight train coming in the opposite direction, happened because the unit wasn’t properly secured. Denmark’s Accident Investigation Board, known by its …

News Archives by Month