capital News

Willis Re Reports on Impact of ‘RMS v11’ European Windstorm Model Changes

A report from Willis Re notes that “UK insurers may see increases of up to 97 percent in their capital requirement for catastrophe exposures under Solvency II rules when making calculations under the new Risk Management Solutions’ model version 11, …

Lloyd’s U.S. CEO Comments on the Importance of ‘Vision 25’

Lloyd’s announcement on Friday of the launch of its “Vision 25” program, an ambitious plan to prepare the historic London market for the future, came as no surprise to Hank Watkins, CEO of Lloyd’s North America. “We are planning for …

UK Prime Minister, Lloyd’s Chairman Unveil Ambitious ‘Vision 25’ Plan

Geneva Association Reminds Federal Reserve Insurers Aren’t Banks

The Swiss-based insurance think tank Geneva Association has followed up on its recent report as to whether or not some insurers should be considered as G-SIFI’s (globally systemic important financial institutions). The Association has sent a letter to the Federal …

Reuters Columnist James Saft on Europe’s Credit Crunch; Bank Capital

Europe looks to be entering a credit crunch, with loans harder to get and those that are made coming on tougher terms. Strikingly, banks are being tight despite falling demand for credit, pointing to a nasty interaction between the economy, …

Swiss Re Team Favored to Acquire Groupama’s Brokerage Unit – Sources

Swiss Re and its private equity partners Apax and PAI are in pole position to acquire Groupama’s GAN Eurocourtage [brokerage] unit for about €600 million ($793.2 million), people familiar with the situation said. The Swiss reinsurance group teamed up with …

Reinsurers Resilient Despite Catastrophes, Economic Uncertainty, Says A.M. Best

In a special report A.M. Best summed up the financial position of the global reinsurance industry as “resilient” in light of “the volatile economic conditions and the frequent and severe loss events of 2011.” Best pointed out that the only …

Aon Benfield Reports Reinsurers’ Capital Remains Strong Despite near Record 2011 Cat Losses

Aon Benfield’s latest edition of its Aon Benfield Aggregate (ABA) report, which analyzed the year end 2011 financial position of the world’s leading reinsurers and examines how 2011 catastrophe losses affected their capital and earnings positions, estimated that total global …

Validus Sets up PαCRe Sidecar; Capitalized at $500 Million

Bermuda-based Validus Holdings, Ltd. announced the capitalization of PαCRe, Ltd., a new Class 4 reinsurer. “PαCRe has been formed to combine the attractive returns available from underwriting top layer reinsurance programs with a long term approach to asset management,” said …

Lloyd’s CEO Ward on 2011 Loss: ‘Not a Bad Result’

At first glance that statement may seem a little strange, considering that Lloyd’s reported an overall loss for the year of £516 million ($822 million). But considering that overall insured losses for the year from natural catastrophes were between $107 …