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Lloyd's of London profit up; Just Group names permanent CEO; insurtech launch

S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of insurance news stories and more published throughout the week.

Deals corner

* Charles Taylor PLC accepted a £261 million takeover bid from Jewel Bidco Ltd., which is backed by U.S. private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners LLC. The deal is subject to shareholder approval. The offer was 315 pence per Charles Taylor share, a 34% premium on the stock's Sept. 18 closing price of 235 pence, and a 39.5% premium to the three-month volume-weighted average share price to Sept. 18.

* AXA SA unit AXA Liabilities Managers SAS completed the purchase of the nonlife legacy portfolio of Munich Re Malaysia.

* Legal & General Assurance Society Ltd. completed a £930 million full buy-in for the members of the Tate & Lyle Pension Scheme. The transaction covers approximately 4,800 members, which means that, in addition to a £350 million transaction in 2012, about 6,700 members are now covered by Legal & General.

* French insurer CNP Assurances SA and Brazil's Caixa Seguridade Participações SA closed a partnership deal that will grant Caixa Econômica Federal exclusive distribution of insurance products throughout its branch network.

Lloyd's of London results

* Lloyd's of London's pretax profit rose to £2.33 billion in the first half from £588 million a year earlier, as the investment return jumped year over year to £2.32 billion from £204 million.

Executive changes

* Direct Line Insurance Group PLC made Tim Harris CFO and executive director, effective Oct. 1.

* Just Group PLC appointed David Richardson its permanent CEO, with immediate effect. He will also be CEO of the group's insurance subsidiaries, Just Retirement Ltd. and Partnership Life Assurance Co. Ltd., while retaining his roles as interim CFO and managing director of U.K. corporate business.

* Lloyd's of London's regional director, Daniel Revilla, said Yelhis Hernández will be appointed country manager for Mexico, subject to regulatory approval. The move is part of the U.K. marketplace's expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean.

* BMS Group Ltd. promoted Kirk Conrad to the newly created role of chief analytics officer. He will oversee the U.S. reinsurance catastrophe analytics and actuarial divisions.

* U.K.'s Ascent Underwriting LLP and U.S.-based Cove Programs made Paul Western group chief underwriting officer, effective Oct. 7. The appointment comes after Cove Programs' merger with Ascent Underwriting in March.

* In Malta, DARAG Group Ltd. named Andrew Hill COO. He was most recently head of the restructuring team in North America at Zurich Insurance Group AG's Zurich Legacy Solutions.

Bond offerings and a buyback

* Generali is offering to buy back about €1 billion aggregate principal amount of three series of its subordinated notes. The Italian insurer will issue its first-ever green bond in the form of euro-denominated fixed-rate Tier 2 notes due 2030 under its €15 billion euro medium-term note program.

* Allianz Group's holding company, Allianz SE, issued a €1 billion hybrid subordinated bond.

* ASR Nederland NV will issue restricted Tier 1 capital notes worth €200 million.

In other news

* Aviva Investors Global Services Ltd. established a new fund with €100 million in seed capital from AVIVA France SA, designed to support the shift to a low-carbon economy. The Aviva Investors Climate Transition European Equity Fund will be managed by portfolio manager Francoise Cespedes alongside senior global responsible investment analyst and climate change specialist Rick Stathers.

* Lloyd's of London will open an office in Miami to enhance its presence in Latin America and the Caribbean.

* Tech startup-focused insurance company Vouch Insurance launched Sept. 17 to offer general liability, property, cyber, errors and omissions and directors and officers coverage. By the end of 2019, the company expects to be selling in ten states, and spread across all other U.S. states by 2020.

Featured during the week on S&P Global Market Intelligence

Brexit is an expensive but manageable annoyance for the insurance industry: One broker called Brexit uncertainty "incredibly unhelpful," and a rating analyst noted that the separation could be "somewhat traumatic" but many point to the industry's preparedness and general resilience as positives.

More to be done on Lloyd's underwriting profitability, says performance boss: The market is targeting a combined ratio in the low-to-mid 90s, according to Performance Management Director Jon Hancock, who said: "To get to that you need a majority of your classes [of business] performing well."