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

By the numbers

* Spanish insurer Mapfre SA booked a second-quarter net result of €198.7 million, a 4.9% decrease from the €208.9 million recorded a year ago. The first-half net result was down 7.1% to €385.7 million, which Mapfre attributed primarily to falls in the U.S. dollar, Brazilian real and Turkish lira against the euro.

* French reinsurer Scor SE's net profit fell 37.3% in the second quarter to €96 million from the year-ago €153 million, driven by a €62 million hit related to tax reforms in the U.S. For the first half, profit was down 10.3% to €262 million from €292 million.

* U.K.-based insurer Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group PLC's first-half profit attributable to owners of the group stood at £59.5 million, down from a restated £67.2 million a year earlier due to costs incurred from its global transformation program. CEO Dominic Burke said the company is preparing for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

* Aon PLC reported second-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of $48 million, down from $769 million a year earlier.

* Just Group PLC's retirement sales rose 62% in the first half to £1.20 billion compared to the year-ago period, but the insurer warned of a potential hit to its regulatory capital position from mortgage rules proposed by the U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority.

M&A deals

* Fosun International Ltd. is reportedly in talks with advisers as it considers acquiring all or parts of Ageas SA/NV. The Chinese firm is said to be considering a number of options, including partnering with another entity to split Ageas or raising its current 3% stake in the Belgian insurer.

* French insurer Crédit Agricole Assurances SA agreed to acquire a 5% stake in Italian lender Credito Valtellinese SpA as part of a long-term life insurance business partnership.

* Prudential PLC's Asian asset management business, Eastspring Investments, agreed to initially purchase a 65% stake in Thailand-based TMB Asset Management Co. Ltd. from TMB Bank PCL for an undisclosed amount. Prudential PLC operates in Thailand through Prudential Life Assurance (Thailand) PCL.

* Zurich Insurance Group AG-owned Australia-based Cover-More Group Ltd. has acquired Blue Insurance's operations and websites in the U.K. and Ireland in a deal reportedly valued at about €70 million, the Irish Independent wrote.

Brexit impact

* Insurance brokers serving Lloyd's of London and the wider London market need to prepare for the U.K. leaving the European Union without a trade deal, the London Insurance and International Brokers Association, or LIIBA, said in its midyear report.

* U.K.-based ship insurer London Steam Ship Owners Mutual Insurance Association Ltd. has picked Cyprus as its post-Brexit base.

Personnel moves

* Anne Richards will resign from Prudential PLC's board and as CEO of unit M&G Investment Management Ltd. to become CEO of asset management firm Fidelity International Ltd. Clare Bousfield, CEO of Prudential UK, will become CFO of M&G Prudential, while M&G Prudential CEO John Foley will take on additional responsibilities as CEO of the key regulated entities of M&G and Prudential UK.

* Hyperion Insurance Group Ltd. CFO Oliver Corbett will leave the company Dec. 31.

* Matthias Baltin will become management board president at T.U. Allianz Polska S.A. and TU Allianz Zycie Polska S.A. in September. He replaces Veit Stutz, who was promoted to head of business transformation at parent company Allianz Group.

In other news

* The U.K.'s Motor Insurers' Bureau said it will compensate victims of vehicle-related terrorist attacks that take place on or after Jan. 1, 2019, after more than 75% of its members voted in favor of the new policy in a 28-day ballot that closed July 19.

* U.K.-based Pension Insurance Corp. PLC completed a pension insurance buy-in covering £60 million of Civil Aviation Authority Pension Scheme's liabilities.

* Insurance-linked securities manager Securis Investment Partners LLP has reportedly tapped managing agent Asta Managing Agency Ltd. to help it in its effort to continue operating at Lloyd's of London in 2019.

* London-based private equity and venture capital firm ECI Partners LLP is investing an undisclosed sum in independent insurance broker Clear Group Ltd.

Featured during the week on S&P Global Market Intelligence

Lloyd's of London profit crackdown will lead to pricing 'disconnect': JLT CEO: CEO Dominic Burke praises efforts to improve performance at Lloyd's but says his company needs to be vigilant in tracking the resulting differences between Lloyd's and the wider market.

Scor execs: London restructure aimed at spurring growth, not fixing problems: The CEO and deputy CEO of Scor's P&C business put a positive spin on the decision to offer the group's Lloyd's and London market specialty products through a single platform.