Latest Excess Surplus Headlines

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

Lloyd’s Statement on Asian Tidal Waves

Dec 31 2004 // Lloyd’s has issued a bulletin expressing the London market’s solidarity with the victims of the Indian Ocean tidal waves, stating: “Our thoughts are with the people who have been affected by this tragedy....

Fla.-Based Brown & Brown Acquiring American Specialty

Dec 28 2004 // Brown & Brown Inc. has announced an agreement to acquire the assets of American Specialty Cos. Inc. of Roanoke, Ind., for an undisclosed amount. The company has about $13 million in annual revenue.The deal...

Best Affirms Members of Quanta Capital Ratings

Dec 23 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A-” (Excellent) of Bermuda-based Quanta Reinsurance Ltd. (Quanta Re) and its three strategic pooled subsidiaries: Quanta...

Saunders to Head Navigators Excess Casualty Unit

Dec 22 2004 // Navigators Management Company, a subsidiary of The Navigators Group, Inc., announced the formation of a new unit to expand its excess casualty business, specializing in commercial excess and umbrella liability...

Specialty Underwriters’ Alliance Underwriters Exercise IPO Over-Allotment Option

Dec 21 2004 // Dallas-based Specialty Underwriters’ Alliance Inc. announced that Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc., William Blair & Company and Cochran, Caronia & Co., as managing underwriters and representatives of...

Industry Sees First 9-Month Net Gain on Underwriting in Nearly Two Decades

Dec 20 2004 // Benefiting from profits on underwriting, the U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s net income after taxes rose 28.3 percent to $26.7 billion in the first nine months of 2004 from $20.8 billion in the first nine...

Best Affirms Lloyd’s Syndicates 623 and 2623 Ratings; Beazley Group Ratings

Dec 17 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed its Syndicate Rating of “A “(Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+” of Lloyd’s Syndicate 623 and Lloyd’s Syndicate 2623, which...

Lloyd’s Announces $26.5 Billion Capacity for 2005

Dec 17 2004 // The Lloyd’s market announced that it expects to have the capacity to underwrite £13.7 billion ($26.5 billion) of business in 2005. The amount in pounds sterling represents a 9 percent overall decrease from last...

Best Affirms Lloyd’s Syndicate 958 ‘A’ Rating

Dec 17 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has affirmed its Syndicate Rating of “A” (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a+” of Lloyd’s Syndicate 958, which is managed by Omega Underwriting...

Best Assigns Ratings to United National’s Wind River Companies; Removes from Review Status

Dec 16 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has assigned financial strength ratings of “A-” (Excellent) to Wind River Insurance Company, Ltd. based in Hamilton, Bermuda, and “A” (Excellent) to Wind River...

Al Risk Updates ProgramConnect

Dec 16 2004 // The AI Risk division of Risk Specialists Companies Inc., a member company of American International Group Inc. (AIG), announced the expansion of AI Risk ProgramConnect (ProgramConnect), an online specialty lines quote and...

S&P Raises Endurance Specialty Outlook to Positive; Affirms Ratings; Company Comments

Dec 14 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries (Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd., Endurance Worldwide...

Cigna HealthCare Settles Lawsuits

Dec 14 2004 // Cigna HealthCare has settled lawsuits brought on behalf of a nationwide class of specialty health care providers and certain state and national associations by promising, among other things, to establish an $11.55 million...

Aspen Specialty Insurance CEO Out

Dec 13 2004 // Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. on Monday announced that it has accepted the resignation of Peter Coghlan, president and CEO of Boston-based Aspen Specialty Insurance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary.Coghlan resigned...

Singer to Lead CNA E&S

Dec 10 2004 // Chicago-based commercial insurer CNA Financial Corp. announced that Raye Singer has joined CNA insurance companies as vice president of CNA Excess & Surplus Lines. CNA E&S is written through Columbia Casualty...

Levene to Serve 2nd Term as Lloyd’s Chairman

Dec 8 2004 // Lloyd’s announced that Lord Peter Levene of Portsoken is to serve a second term as its Chairman. He became Lloyd’s 61st Chairman, for a minimum term of three years in November 2002, and has accepted an...

Prime Authorized to Write Surplus Lines in Washington

Dec 7 2004 // Sandy, Utah-based Prime Insurance Syndicate Inc. announced that it has received approval to write surplus lines insurance business in the state of Washington effective as of Nov. 1, 2004. Prime, which offers solutions for...

Partners Continue to Come and Go, But It’s a Great Time to Jump in the Game

Dec 6 2004 // Partners Continue to Come and Go, But It’s a Great Time to Jump in the GameProgram business over the past 10-15 years has been a rocky road for the insurance industry. Companies are in the game today, but gone...

Surplus Lines Liability Products

Dec 6 2004 // Nuts & Bolts: Noodle Specialty Brokers (NSB) has made available surplus lines liability products from a nonadmitted carrier rated “A+ XV.” The products are available via appointed wholesalers in 17 states...

S.D. Court Rules on When Umbrella Kicks in as Excess Coverage

Dec 6 2004 // Deciding an issue never settled before in South Dakota, the state Supreme Court said that secondary, umbrella insurance does not kick in until another insurer’s primary coverage has paid its full limit. The unanimous...