Europe Intelligence Wire articles from April 2006

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from April 2006

Editorial - Why this creme brulee market will soon become inedible.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Byline: Mark Geoghegan, editor, mark.geoghegan@incisivemedia.com. Dear Friend, First of all, I must acknowledge a debt of thanks to the Benfield research team for coming up with the marvellous culinary...

News - Validus opens $300m credit facilities.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Bermudian start-up reinsurer Validus has entered into syndicated credit agreements amounting to $300m with a syndicate of lenders. The deal consists of a $100m senior-unsecured 364-day revolving credit facility and a...

News - Hiscox launches new US operation.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Hiscox has announced the opening of Hiscox USA, an underwriting operation offering cover for small- and mid-sized US professional service businesses outside the Fortune 1000. With an office in Armonk, New York, and...

News - Lancashire 'A' rating in review after key underwriter departure.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Bermudian start-up (re)insurer Lancashire has had its financial strength rating of A- (excellent) and its issuer credit rating of bbb-placed under review with negative implications by AM Best. AM Best have undertaken...

News - St Paul Travelers deny Zurich takeover.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) St Paul Travelers has rebuffed suggestions that it is in takeover talks with Zurich. The company issued a statement saying: "The St Paul Travelers announced today that recent reports of its being in discussions...

News - Odyssey under review after 10-K delay.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) AM Best has placed the financial strength rating and the issuer credit and debt ratings of the operating subsidiaries of global reinsurer Odyssey Re under review with negative implications following the company's...

News - FSA lets industry off the hook on contract certainty regulation.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will not increase its regulatory powers over the insurance industry by implementing rules governing contract certainty. In a speech given by chief executive John Tiner, the FSA said...

News - Wellington reports GBP26m loss.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Wellington Underwriting has produced a pre-tax loss for the last financial year, after massive hurricane losses put its business into the red. Chief executive Preben Prebensen said: "The pre-tax loss caused by the...

News - Quanta receives further downgrades.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) AM Best has downgraded Quanta's financial strength ratings (FSR) to B++ (Very Good) from A- (Excellent), and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to "bbb" from "a-". The ratings apply to Quanta Reinsurance (Quanta Re,...

News - Tropical Cyclone Larry hits NE Australia.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Northeast Australia has been hit by Tropical Cyclone Larry, which has caused widespread devastation. The cyclone came ashore close to the town of Innisfail, 62 miles south of Cairns. Thousands of people were...

News - AWAC files $400m New York IPO.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Ending months of rumours, Bermudian specialty (re)insurer Allied World Assurance Holdings (AWAC) has confirmed its plans to list $400m of shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The S-1 form said that the...

News Focus - GEIS paper warns of increased US coastal risks.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) The enormous growth in US coastal population and development is dramatically increasing the potential for insured losses, according to a new paper from General Electric Insurance Solutions (GEIS). "Demographic trends...

News Focus - Benfield reports healthy profits despite stormy 2005.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Benfield has announced that despite difficult market conditions, it made a profit of GBP34.8m over 2005, up 12% on the GBP31m it made during the previous year. The broker said it had missed the fall-out from New York...

News Focus - Allstate drops New York coverage.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Allstate has said that it isn't renewing some of its homeowners' policies in the New York City area for fears that a major hurricane could strike there, leaving the insurer overexposed. Allstate has already said it...

News Focus - Stormy 2006 ahead, claims hurricane chief.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season may be worse than 2005, according to Max Mayfield, director of the US-based National Hurricane Center. Speaking at the annual Windstorm Insurance Conference in Florida, Mr Mayfield...

News Focus - Run-off market continues to grow, reports ARC.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) At least 23% of the reserves held in non-life business in the UK are now related to the run-off market, according to the Association of Run-Off Companies (ARC). Speaking at the start of ARC's annual congress,...

News Focus - Run-off ruling hits CIGNA.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) CIGNA Corporation has reported that it has received an adverse ruling from a London arbitration panel concerning a dispute over a retrocessional reinsurance arrangement related to a portion of its run-off workers'...

News Focus - PXRE's troubles deepen.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) PXRE has reported a net loss of $446.5m for the fourth quarter of 2005, which was substantially down on the $32.8m it made in the fourth quarter of 2004. The net loss in the fourth quarter of 2005 principally reflects...

News Focus - Hannover Re announces 'break even' 2005 results.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Hannover Re has said that it achieved a 'break even' result for 2005, despite what it described as "an unparalleled burden of natural catastrophe losses" for international reinsurers. The company made a profit of...

News Focus - AIG cuts links to Starr.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) American International Group (AIG) has announced the termination of the agency relationship between AIG Companies and Starr Technical Risks Agency and its subsidiaries (Starr Tech), all owned by CV Starr. All current...

News Focus - Converium announces 2005 profit.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Converium has announced it made a profit of $68.7m in 2005. The company said the results reflected a satisfactory underwriting performance of its ongoing operations, which produced total segments' income of $173.8m, a...

News Focus - Munich Re claims record profit.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Munich Re Group has achieved a record profit of over EUR2.7bn (roughly $3.3bn) in 2005. The company posted a consolidated profit of $3.3bn, a further increase on the previous year ($2.3bn), to which both reinsurance...

News Analysis - Life on the A- precipice.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) If you dig deep into PXRE's 2004 annual report (on page 40, to be precise), among the long list of disclaimers nestles a very revealing paragraph on the potential threat of downgrade clauses to the company's business:...

Rethink - Mono-liners were the big losers this season.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Our latest rethink was carried out at the end of February, in the wake of the torrent of last-quarter 2005 results that everyone had been half expecting and half dreading due to the financial damage caused by 2005's...

Inside View - Four steps you must take now to avoid 'big wind' in 2006.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Byline: Ryan Ogaard is managing director and global leader of Guy Carpenter's The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons have radically altered notions on how catastrophic risk transfer should be viewed. Given this elevated...

Inside View - Why the current crisis of confidence in reinsurance matters to you.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Byline: Nick Goulder is international director of casualty at Willis Re. This year's post-renewal season debriefs were particularly interesting when it came to the open debates that we held with some of the...

Interview - No need to rush - this mar ket will continue to harden.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Lloyd's' giant Hiscox decided not to raise more than $300m for its new Bermuda venture to avoid red tape in London, which would have delayed the company's launch. Robert Childs, chief executive officer of Hiscox Bermuda,...

Technical Report - Lighting up the sky.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Comets spend part of their lives as inert, nearly dead objects in the cold, empty wastes of space, before swinging around and bursting into life as they come closer to the sun, expanding as they vent gases. That's a good...

Round Table - How to survive the double das h to diversify.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) A bittersweet renewal season Unfortunately, the loss of a camera on my return journey means I'll have to describe the scene for you: it's the evening of the last day of the World Insurance Forum back in late...

Country Profile: Russia - Russia run down.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) By European Union (EU) standards, the Russian (re)insurance market is still underdeveloped. Until recently, it was difficult to make even informed estimates on what the 'real' market was worth and to what extent it was...

Country profile: Australia - Australian aplomb.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Following nearly a decade of heavy trading losses, brought about by natural catastrophes, ballooning industrial disease claims and savage price competition, the Australian non-life insurance industry seems to have...

Earthquake centenary - 100 years on.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) A hundred years ago this month the city of San Francisco had one of the nastiest shocks that a city can be hit with: a massive earthquake shook the metropolis literally to its foundations, while the ensuing fires...

Briefing - All your Solvency II questions answered.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Byline: Dewi James is a partner of DFA software providers Ultimate Risk Re: So, what is the Solvency II initiative all about? The technical objective of the European Commission's Solvency II project is to match...

Briefing - Bird flu: why you should be worried.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Although the 9/11 terrorist attack completely restructured the global insurance industry, the impact of a flu pandemic has not been tested yet, leaving the consequences to speculation. Theories aside, the H5N1 virus...

Legal - The 'law of the jungle'?
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) The action Bonner and Others v Cox1 was brought by a number of Lloyd's Syndicates who participated as reinsurers on the 'Aon 77 Cover', under which a large volume of energy business was written. The cover operated such...

Re-sume - What is life in Bermuda really like?
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Bermuda is undeniably a growing force in the insurance world, attracting business predominantly from the US, but increasingly from Europe and Asia - and the class of 2005 is driving home the fact that this significant...

Re-sume - Ri3ky business.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Current position: Chief executive of electronic trading service RI3K. Companies worked for: I worked for Young & Rubicam for five years before establishing my own agency, the SMI Group. Publicis subsequently bought...

Re-sume - Recruitment moves.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) Markel International has appointed Ian Smith as hull and war underwriter within its Marine & Energy division. Mr Smith joins the division to write commercial hull business, yachts and war risks, and will strengthen the...

Diary - Reinsurance diary.
April 1, 2006... (From Reinsurance) April 2006 - 23-27 RIMS 2006 Annual Conference - Hawaii Convention Centre, Honolulu, US +1 (212) 286 9292; www.rims.org/registernow May 2006 - 7-10 NAIC E-Regulation Technology Conference - Hyatt Regency Crown...

Minister dumped over spending sins.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Martina Jurinova Spectator staff PM proposes former culture minister Rudolf Chmel be re-hired THE GOVERNMENT of MikulaS Dzurinda has decided to fire another minister just a few months ahead of...

Unions join Smer election team.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Martina Jurinova Spectator staff Party promises to take care of labour interests if it enters government after June vote THE OPPOSITION Smer party drew bitter criticism from its political rivals...

Iraqi NGOs study Slovak democracy.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Beata Balogova and Zuzana HabSudova Spectator staff YOU MIGHT not know it from the mood of the Slovak electorate, but the countrys young democracy contains some important lessons for countries...

Slovakia first to ratify nuclear terrorism convention.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) SLOVAKIA has become the first country to ratify the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2005. ...

IRI extends helping hand to Iraq.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) AFTER decades of living under the repressive regime of Saddam Hussein, Iraqis now face the challenge of building a functioning democracy. The Slovak branch of the International Republican Institute (IRI),...

PM meets medical staff in stormy atmosphere.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) ON MARCH 28, Slovak Prime Minister MikulaS Dzurinda discussed the problems of the Slovak health care sector with medical staff at Bratislavas Ruinov Hospital, where, just a few weeks ago, he himself was treated...

Austria to keep its labour market closed.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in SHORT AUSTRIA is unlikely to join those European Union member states that plan to open their labour markets to the new member states that entered the union in 2004, Austrian...

Health care becomes election issue.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in SHORT COALITION and opposition politicians are duelling over a possible strike by health care workers in pursuit of higher wages. Prime Minister MikulaS Dzurinda and...

Commission registers 21 parties for elections.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in SHORT THE ELECTION commission has registered all 21 parties that submitted lists of candidates for general elections in June, and barred only one candidate from running because...

State to "humanize" custody.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports News briefs THE JUSTICE Ministry plans to earmark Sk50 million this year (1. 3 million) to improve conditions for people held in pre-trial custody, in keeping with new...

Slovaks work longer than EU peers.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Survey ACCORDING to a new finding by the EU statistics office, Eurostat, Slovak employees work an average of 41 hours per week - more than in most European Union countries - and spend 10 hours more in the...

No room on the political map?
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Editorial ALL SOCIETIES have invisible minorities, people who live on the margins. The majority knows they are out there but pay essentially no attention to them unless it feels threatened by them. Then...

Reader feedback: Good or bad for Slovakia?
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Re: Reader feedback: Just a media stunt, March 27 - April 02, 2006, Volume 12, Number 12 I dont know whether it is good for Slovakia or not, but since it is a forgone conclusion that the euro will be adopted,...

Reader feedback: A good read.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Re: Reader feedback: Just a media stunt, March 27 - April 02, 2006, Volume 12, Number 12 I just finished Tony Judts Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945. Judt looked closely at Greece and Italy during...

Reader feedback: Euro would be a disaster.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Re: Reader feedback: Just a media stunt, March 27 - April 02, 2006, Volume 12, Number 12 It would be a disaster for continued Slovak economic growth to adopt the euro. Even remaining in the ERM is a risky...

Slovakias investor love affair continues.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Beata Balogova Spectator staff Surveys, rankings and stats show FDI in no danger of drying up - for now ANALYSTS frequently warn that in the years to come it will be increasingly difficult for the...

Reforms and growth earn cheap credit.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Beata Balogova Spectator staff Slovak Eurobond assigned lowest interest rate among new EU members SLOVAKIAS economic awakening continues to pay dividends, this time in the form of cheaper...

OECD: Slovak taxes low, payroll taxes remain high.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) ALTHOUGH Slovakia has relatively low income taxes, the state still claims a relatively high share of the wealth generated in the form of payroll taxes to the social insurer Socialna poisov"a and health insurance...

Carat Slovakia to promote quality mark.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports Business briefs SLOVAKIAs Agriculture Ministry Intervention Agency concluded a tender in March to select a supplier for a Quality Mark marketing campaign within the National...

FDI to Slovakia up by Sk20 billion in 2005.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in SHORT FOREIGN direct investment (FDI) to Slovakia in 2005 increased by Sk20. 123 billion (537 million), the Slovak Statistics Bureau reported on March 24. The...

NBS: No cause for worry on euro introduction.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in SHORT NATIONAL Bank of Slovakia Governor Ivan Sramko expects that the new government that emerges from the June 17 general elections will continue preparations for introducing...

Enel to wrap up SE deal by end of April.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in SHORT THE ITALIAN Enel firm has decided to complete the privatization of a 66-percent stake in Slovak energy utility Slovenske elektrarne (SE) by the end of April 2006, Enel CEO...

Compagnero to settle in Rimavska Sobota.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in SHORT RIMAVSKA Sobota may not lose an investment by the Italian electro-motor producer Compagnero after all, despite the cabinets decision not to sell any more state property...

Hitching a ride with the private sector.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Marta Iurianova Spectator staff Infrastructure - Cabinet to take plunge into public-private partnerships on building infrastructure INFRASTRUCTURE spending has always been a difficult temptation for...

Railway track modernization to continue from March 1.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Infrastructure RAILWAY network operator eleznice Slovenskej republiky (SR) began additional track modernization on March 1, 2006. "This year, the track between Bratislava and Trnava will be modernized...

Highway construction to double in 2006.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Compiled by Marta Iurianova Focus shorts THE NATIONAL Highway Company (NDS) plans to increase its investment into highway and speedway construction by 61 percent this year to a total of Sk23. 3...

TGV also to Slovakia.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Compiled by Marta Iurianova Focus shorts CONSTRUCTION has begun in France, Germany, and Austria on new routes for high-speed trains (TGV) that will also go to Slovakia. "It has become necessary...

Highway construction prices fixed.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Marta Iurianova Spectator staff Infrastructure - State expectations to reduce costs labeled naive A HIGHWAYS total cost should be known before its construction begins, according to a regulation by...

Airport passenger traffic up sharply from 2005.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Infrastructure BRATISLAVAS MR Stefanik Airport served 204,367 passengers during the first two months of 2006, a 97 percent increase compared to the same period last year. "In the first two months of the...

Around Slovakia.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Slovakia Land prices continue upward trend LAND prices in Slovakia have been rising due to increased demand and, according to real estate agents, this trend is set to continue, the SME daily wrote. Not only...

Stitnik.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) HISTORY TALKS. . . THE TOWN of Stitnik in the Gemer region is known for its Gothic church with marvellous wall paintings, which make it a perfect place to visit in southeast Slovakia. The...

Firearms in Levoea collection.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) The Slovak National Museums Spectator column VIRTUALLY every museum collection in Slovakia consists of some number and kinds of weapons. At the Slovak National Museums SpiS branch in Levoea, military...

Culture shorts.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Compiled by Jana Liptakova from press reports Janovic receives Tatarka Award THIS YEARS Dominik Tatarka Literature Award went to TomaS Janovic on March 21 for his book of aphorisms and epigrams...

EVENTS COUNTRYWIDE.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Western SLOVAKIA KALMAN Balogh, the most prominent and experimental dulcimer player of his time, joins seven other world-famous musicians in Miraculous Meetings, a concert session on April 4 at the Slovak...

Loving and being loved.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Stefan M Hogan Special to the Spectator MOVIE Review Brokeback Mountain (Skrotena hora) Starring:Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams Directed by:Ang LeeRunning time:134 minutesRating:10...

NOW PLAYING IN CINEMAS.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Prepared by Stefan Hogan This weeks premieres Pride and Prejudice(Pycha a predsudok) Classic drama by Joe Wright. Jane Austens great love story graces movie screens once again in this...

Intersections of three artists.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Zuzana HabSudova Spectator staff Determined by mutual territory, the three different personalities who met for the show nevertheless managed to preserve their individuality THE FAMILY of great Slovak...

Slovak history joins art in Italy.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) THE LUIGI Pigorini National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography in Rome plans to join the archaeological findings in Slovakia: The Crossroads of European Civilization with the art show PRAE ARS: Prehistoric...

Ski Update: Crazy April lives up to its reputation.
April 1, 2006... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Roman Millan Special to the Spectator THE SITUATION on the weather front is changing rapidly, as anyone who lives near a river can tell you. The snow is melting fast and the temperature is...

OVERS 60'S AND DISABLED PEOPLE NOW HAVE FREE TICKET TO RIDE.
April 1, 2006... (From Government News Network (Was Hermes-Government Press Releases)) ] DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT 036 31 March 2006 OVERS 60'S AND DISABLED PEOPLE NOW HAVE FREE TICKET TO RIDE From today people over 60 and disabled people will be able...

EMERGENCY SERVICES IN SEARCH FOR MALE SWEPT INTO THE SEA.
April 1, 2006... (From Government News Network (Was Hermes-Government Press Releases)) ] MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY Duty Notice 1 1 April 2006 BLACKPOOL EMERGENCY SERVICES IN SEARCH FOR MALE SWEPT INTO THE SEA At a quarter to three this morning...

MARKETMOVERS : Irish Estates shares trade up 34pc to top list.
April 1, 2006... (From Irish Independent) Ailish O'Hora PROPERTY management company Irish Estates topped the list of gainers on the Dublin stock market this week when its shares finished up 34pc. The shares had finished at their highest-ever price...

BUSINESS WEEK : No pension gripes from former AIB director.
April 1, 2006... (From Irish Independent) Tom Lyons FORMER AIB finance director Gary Kennedy, who stepped down last year but remains "special adviser" to the group on finance and risk, has been awarded a total remuneration package worth 3.7m. ...

News In Brief.
April 1, 2006... (From Irish Independent) Fyffes enters Indian market FRUIT distribution group Fyffes has made its first move into the Indian market with the formation of a joint venture with the Suri Fruit Agency, the leading distributor of high...

Outgoing Jurys chief makes room for a business makeover.
April 1, 2006... (From Irish Independent) NEWSMAKER: PAT McCANN, JURYS DOYLE CHIEF EXECUTIVE Pat Boyle JURYS Doyle boss Pat McCann took the helm in May 2000, shortly after the merger which created Ireland's biggest hotel group. He...