United Kingdom News

A.M. Best Reports Reinsurers See Orderly, But Soft, January Renewals

January renewals showed signs of softening as reinsurers benefited from improved financial markets plus a lack of natural catastrophe claims in 2009. The three largest global reinsurance brokers – Aon Benfield, Guy Carpenter & Co. and Willis Re – said …

Ratings Roundup: Ins. Corp. Barbados, Ansvar, National Grid

A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) with stable outlooks. Best said the rating actions “reflect ICBL’s solid capitalization, leading market …

Best Reports Reinsurers See Orderly, but Soft, January Renewals

January renewals showed signs of softening as reinsurers benefited from improved financial markets plus a lack of natural catastrophe claims in 2009, according to the latest issue of BestWeek U.S./Canada. The three largest global reinsurance brokers — Aon Benfield, Guy …

The Insurance Industry Wants You!

American-born poet, T.S. Eliot, did little to further the cause of attracting people into the insurance business. As far back as 1922, in his famous work, “The Wasteland,” the sometime bank employee created a repulsive character and described him as …

Ratings Recap: Cattolica, Ghana Re, Al Ittihad, Grafton, RCHL

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a” of Italy’s Societa Cattolica di Assicurazione – Societa Cooperativa. Both ratings gave negative outlooks. Best said the ratings reflect its “expectation …

Truth or Lore? Insurance ‘Factorama’ Explores the Known and Little-Known

It’s the end of the decade that apparently has no name as yet, but that doesn’t stop those of us at Insurance Journal from looking back at the past 10 years and beyond for known and little-known insurance “factoids.” Why? …

S&P: Europe’s Insurers Weather Storm, But ‘Resilience Will Be Tested’

Europe’s insurance sector has “fared well relative to banks over the past two years,” a new report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services notes. As an example, the study – “European Insurers Withstand Global Economic Conditions, But Resilience Will Likely …

S&P Upgrades Catlin’s Subsidiaries Ratings to ‘A’; Outlook Stable

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has raised its long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on the following core subsidiaries of Bermuda-based Catlin Group Ltd. to ‘A’ from ‘A-‘: — Bermuda-based Catlin Insurance Co. Ltd. — U.S.-based Catlin Specialty …

Ratings Recap: XL Europe, Wagram, NAGICO, AGS, ARIG

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it withdrew its ‘A’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on XL Europe Ltd. on Dec. 10, 2009. “We withdrew the ratings because of the company’s merger and business portfolio transfer, effective Dec. …

Bermuda Concludes Tax Information Agreement with Belgium

Bermuda’s Minister of Finance, the Hon. Paula A. Cox, announced that Bermuda had concluded negotiations of a bilateral agreement with Belgium that provide for a full exchange of information on criminal and civil tax matters between Bermuda and the Kingdom …