Latest Excess Surplus Headlines

All the headlines from our Excess Surplus Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Argonaut Group Expands with Launch of Argonaut Specialty

May 19 2005 // Argonaut Group Inc. is expanding its commitment to the wholesale insurance market with the creation of a new company, Argonaut Specialty, which will target accounts that are somewhat larger than those currently handled by...

Higginbotham & Associates Adds VP to Specialty Energy Division

May 17 2005 // Higginbotham & Associates, a privately held insurance brokerage firm based in Fort Worth, Texas, named commercial property and casualty broker Scott Fitzgerald as vice president to reflect his increased 2004 sales...

Reardon Joins International E&S Brokers in Dual Roles

May 17 2005 // Charles Wardlaw, CEO, and Kevin Crombie, president of Encino, Calif.-based International E&S Brokers Inc., announced that Vince Reardon has joined International E&S in the dual role of underwriting manager for...

Specialty Underwriters’ Alliance Reports Q1 Loss of $4.5 Million

May 17 2005 // Chicago-based wholesaler Specialty Underwriters’ Alliance Inc. reported a net loss of $4.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2005. Total revenues were $1.3 million, comprised of earned insurance premiums of...

Lloyd’s U.S. Appoints Valdmanis VP-Communications; Moves to New Office

May 13 2005 // Lloyd’s U.S. office announced the appointment of Thor Valdmanis as vice president, Communications for North America. In the newly created post, he will be responsible for all media activities and promotions in the...

More Support for Lloyd’s Business Platform Kinnect

May 12 2005 // Lloyd’s announced that three more of its leading businesses – QBE European Operations (including Lloyd’s largest managing agent Limit and its company market operations); managing agent Cathedral and,...

Specialty Underwriters Partners With Public Entity Specialist

May 12 2005 // Chicago-based wholesaler Specialty Underwriters’ Alliance Inc. announced a new partner agent contract with Specialty Risk Solutions, which is also based in the Windy City and specializes in the public entity segment...

Sullivan Joins Beazley USA for Specialty E&O

May 10 2005 // Beazley USA, a subsidiary of the U.K.-based Beazley Group, plc, a leading Lloyd’s underwriter, announced that Jerry Sullivan is joining the company as the E&O Product Leader within Specialty Lines. He will be...

La. Commissioner Returns Truck to State After Criticism

May 9 2005 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Robert Wooley has sent his pricey, special edition pickup truck to the state’s surplus property yard, giving up the luxury perk that provoked sharp criticism of both the state-paid...

Best: Lloyd’s Syndicate 1414 Ratings Under Review; Negative Implications

May 6 2005 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has placed the financial strength rating of “A+” (Superior) and the issuer credit rating of “aa-” of Lloyd’s Syndicate 1414 under review with negative...

Lloyd’s Chairman Highlights Three Important Hurricane Lessons

May 4 2005 // Three important lessons from the 2004 hurricane season were highlighted to more than 100 insurance professionals Wednesday in Miami by Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Levene, in advance of what is predicted to be another tough...

Guy Carpenter Publishes Specialty Program Survey

May 3 2005 // Guy Carpenter & Company Inc., a global risk and reinsurance specialist and a part of the Marsh & McLennan Companies, has announced the results of its premier survey of domestic insurance companies that write a...

AIG to Restate Past Financials as Internal Audit Continues; Acknowledges Lack of Internal Controls

May 2 2005 // American International Group Inc. said that it has decided to restate financials from several previous years and that preliminary results of its internal audit show its 2004 results should be reduced by $2.7 billion, or...

Lloyd’s Chairman to Address AAMGA, Discuss Challenges Facing the U.S. Market

May 2 2005 // Lloyd’s view of challenges facing the U.S. insurance market will be discussed by Lord Levene of Portsoken KBE and chairman of Lloyd’s of London in the keynote speech during the May 3 American Association of...

AAMGA Ethics Workshop Topic: Insurance Industry Pressures

May 2 2005 // “Ethics in the Wholesale Insurance Marketplace” workshops concluded on Saturday afternoon with a round-table discussion, led by Ernest Csiszar, president of the Property and Casualty Insurance Association of...

Ethics Today, Charity Motorcycle Rally Kick-off AAMGA Annual Meeting in Orlando

Apr 29 2005 // A day-long presentation and discussion about Ethics in Today’s Insurance Environment, sponsored by the R. Max Williamson Chair of Insurance and Business Ethics, kicked-off the American Association of Managing General...

Unitrin Sees Improved Q1 Numbers

Apr 28 2005 // Chicago-based Unitrin Inc. reported net income of $67.9 million ($0.99 per common share) for the first quarter of 2005, compared to net income of $48.0 million ($0.71 per common share) for the same period in 2004. Net...

The Hartford Notes 17% Gain in Q1 Net Income

Apr 28 2005 // The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. set a new quarterly record with net income of $666 million, or $2.21 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2005, a 17-percent increase over the prior-year period.Net income...

Lloyd’s Levene to Leave Deutsche Boerse Board

Apr 27 2005 // Deutsche Boerse, the German stock market operator, announced that Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Peter Levene would be giving up his seat on the company’s supervisory board. Levene originally agreed to take a seat on...

New Wholesale Broker Out of Houston, Texas

Apr 25 2005 // Lawrence Mennes and Stephen Vallender in association with Burnett Holdings, Inc. have announced they will form a new insurance broker -IMS Insurance Market Solutions based in Houston, Texas. IMS will be a full service,...