Latest Excess Surplus Headlines

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

Lloyd’s to Reexamine Names Buy Out Plan

May 9 2002 // When Lloyd’s Chairman Sax Riley first announced wide ranging plans to reform the 300-year old institution, easing out the remaining individual “Names” was one of the most radical, and controversial,...

W.R.Berkley Confirms Increased Stake in Lloyd’s Kiln

May 3 2002 // Confirming earlier reports (See IJ Website April 26), Connecticut-based W. R. Berkley Corp. announced that it has agreed to increase its ownership in U.K.-based Kiln plc, a leading Lloyd’s insurer, to 20.1...

Caliber One Exiting Excess and Surplus Lines Marketplace

May 3 2002 // PMA Capital has decided to withdraw from the excess and surplus (E&S) lines marketplace served by its Caliber One business segment, even though PMA Capital shows strong growth and operating income for PMA Re and The...

Lloyd’s Riley Urges Passage of Terrorist Insurance Bill

May 2 2002 // Following recent meetings with policy makers in Washington D.C., Lloyd’s Chairman Sax Riley issued a statement urging U.S. lawmakers to pass the stalled terrorist coverage bill. “Lloyd’s was one of the...

State National Specialty Approved for Business in W.Va., Iowa

May 2 2002 // State National Specialty Insurance Company, a Fort Worth, Texas-based unit of State National Companies, has received authorization to write multiple lines of insurance in West Virginia and Iowa. The West Virginia...

Michael Wade’s Appointment as Brit Director May Signal Consolidations at Lloyd’s

Apr 30 2002 // According to a report in London’s Financial Times the appointment of Michael Wade, the CEO of Rostrum, an investment management group, as a director of Brit Insurance may be a signal that further consolidation in the...

News Analysis: Commentary on Full Year 2001

Apr 29 2002 // The property/casualty insurance industry reported a statutory rate of return of negative 2.7 percent in 2001, down from 6.5 percent return for the year 2000. The results were released by the Insurance Services Office, Inc....

W.R. Berkley to Acquire 20% Stake in Lloyd’s Market Insurer Kiln

Apr 26 2002 // W.R. Berkley will up its share in Lloyd’s insurer Kiln to 20 percent by acquiring 32.8 million newly offered shares in the company at 47 pence (68 cents) and the acceptance of a two-for-three rights issue at the same...

A.M. Best Affirms Lloyd’s ‘A- (Excellent)’ Rating

Apr 23 2002 // A.M. Best announced that it has maintained the A- (Excellent) financial strength rating of the Lloyd’s market “after the recent announcement of a 2001 loss of GBP 3.11 billion [$4.5 billion], on an annually...

U.S. Regulators Give Approval on Lloyd’s Estimate

Apr 18 2002 // Following the initial portion of a review of the market, U.S. regulators have given Lloyd’s of London approval on the company’s estimate of $8 billion for gross claims in the Sept. 11 destruction of the World...

PIANJ Applauds Surplus Lines Proposals

Apr 17 2002 // The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey has commended the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) for proposing standards and procedures for surplus lines insurance procurement. In a letter sent last...

Fitch Lowers Ratings of Members of Kemper Insurance Cos.

Apr 17 2002 // Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Insurer Financial Strength ratings of the Kemper Insurance Companies (KIC) from ‘A-‘ to ‘BBB’. Additionally, Fitch has downgraded the surplus notes rating of...

Argonaut Obtains Renewal Rights to Fulcrum Excess and Surplus Lines from SCOR

Apr 17 2002 // Argonaut Group, Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement with SCOR Group to acquire the renewal rights and certain other assets of SCOR subsidiary Fulcrum Insurance Company, an excess and surplus lines’...

Cattle Loom Large on the Farm & Ranch Scene

Apr 15 2002 // Whoopee ti yi yo, git along little dogies It’s your misfortune, and none of my own.Whoopee ti yi yo, git along little dogies, For you know Wyoming will be your new home. That trail song, used by historian Walter...

Cattle Loom Large on the Farm & Ranch Scene

Apr 15 2002 // Whoopee ti yi yo, git along little dogies It’s your misfortune, and none of my own.Whoopee ti yi yo, git along little dogies, For you know Wyoming will be your new home. That trail song, used by historian Walter...

Australia Extends Aviation Excess Coverage

Apr 12 2002 // The Australian government has joined the U.S., the European Union and other countries in extending excess coverage for terrorist and war risk to the country’s airline industry and related infrastructure. The...

Lloyd’s Change to Annual Accounting Creates $4.45 Billion Loss Estimate for 2001

Apr 11 2002 // Lloyd’s decision to begin reporting the profits and losses of its syndicates on an annual basis, rather than over three years, produced some costly results, with last year’s losses estimated at £3.11...

Endurance Specialty CEO Sees Market Challenges

Apr 3 2002 // In a recent discussion of the state of the p/c insurance and reinsurance market Kenneth J. LeStrange, Chairman, CEO and President of Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Insurance, Ltd. saw continuing challenges, but also...

Lloyd’s Kiln Covers Drug Company Patents

Apr 1 2002 // London’s Financial Times carries a report that Lloyd’s underwriter Kiln has written policies insuring an unidentified “multinational pharmaceutical group” against challenges to some of its...

Lloyd’s Completes $5 Billion Trust Fund Transfer

Mar 29 2002 // Lloyd’s of London announced that it has completed the transfer of over $5 billion to its trust funds in the United States since September 2001, and has fulfilled the arrangement made with the National Association of...