Sedgwick is combining its Norwegian and Swedish operations to create a new regional hub in Scandinavia, which the firm said will support growth in the region. The new hub will begin operation in February. Sedgwick said it will provide “consistent and expanded” services to clients across the entire region, giving Scandinavian and international clients a central point of contact. Sedgwick…
The hardening reinsurance market could mean higher prices for corporate insurance buyers into 2021 and signal a period of restricted coverage and reduced underwriting flexibility. The hardening reinsurance market is likely to exert more influence on the primary commercial P&C and specialty markets than has been the case in previous years, according to Clarissa Franks, managing director and risk management…
British insurers have said they “regret” legal disputes over Covid-19-related business interruption (BI) claims and vowed to pay out on policies as soon as possible. However, a slew of industry trade bodies are calling for insurers to learn lessons and improve the clarity of wordings following the momentous defeat in the UK’s Supreme Court over coronavirus-related BI claims. On Friday,…
Insurers face a large bill for Covid-19-related business interruption (BI) claims after the UK’s Supreme Court resoundingly ruled in favour of policyholders and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). All six insurers lost their appeals, while the Supreme Court supported the FCA’s appeals of certain unfavourable rulings delivered by the lower court. The Supreme Court, the UK’s highest, considered appeals against…
Convex Group, which was set up by insurance industry veteran Stephen Catlin, has secured $500m of capital from investment firm Sixth Street, which lifts the specialty (re)insurer’s total to $3.2bn. The $500m of preferred equity capital from affiliates of Sixth Street follows a recent $1bn capital raise from a consortium led by Onex and GIC, in which Sixth Street also…
New York-based Hudson Insurance Group has acquired the renewal rights transfer of a select portfolio of miscellaneous professional liability, financial institutions liability and management liability policies from Validus Specialty Underwriting Services. The business transfer agreement also includes the transfer of ten employees to Hudson, with effect from 1 January 2021. Hudson said the new professional lines team brings deep experience…
Contingent employers’ liability policies are “inherently complex” and create confusion for insurance buyers, according to London market body the International Underwriting Association (IUA), which has published a guide to help risk managers break down some of the problem areas. “If the insurance industry is to expect clients to fully understand the product, it must have clarity on what each contingent…
The insurance market is getting tougher for buyers and experts predict conditions will worsen this year, but there is some hope that the rate of hardening will slow. Brokers, ratings agencies and Ferma all told Commercial Risk Europe that the commercial insurance market is increasingly difficult for buyers and they expect it to harden further in 2021. Hugo Wegbrans, Aon’s…
A new joint venture between Seventeen Group, which owns London-based brokerage James Hallam and MGA Touchstone Underwriting, and German broker MRH Trowe has been launched to create a Lloyd’s broker in Germany that will allow clients of all firms to better access UK and EU markets. The new European Lloyd’s broker London Re will be based in Duesseldorf and have…
MS Amlin Insurance has appointed Herbert Baeten as chief underwriting officer (CUO) of its P&C business lines. Mr Baeten will take up the role on 1 February subject to regulatory approval and report to Ludovic Sénécaut, CEO of MS Amlin Insurance. He succeeds Rudy Benmeridja, who retired from the role at end of last year. Mr Baeten has more than…