Annuity & Life Re

KPMG agrees to pay $10.5 m to settle lawsuit over audits of Bermuda reinsurer

March 10, 2008

KPMG (Bermuda) has agreed to pay $10.5 million to settle class action shareholder litigation concerning its audits of Bermuda-based Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) Ltd. An order approving a provisional settlement agreement was issued by U. S. District Judge Ellen Bree Burns, sitting at the U. S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, on February 19, 2008. The settlement amount was due to be paid by KPMG "within ten business days" of the date of the order. KPMG entered into the settlement without admitting any wrongdoing.

Thomas Carr ordered to appear for KPMG (Bermuda) deposition

October 13, 2007

Bermuda resident Thomas Carr has lost an attempt to avoid being deposed by KPMG (Bermuda), which is seeking to avoid liability in a class action lawsuit concerning its audits of Bermuda reinsurer Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) Ltd. Shortly after Carr's Midstream Investments Ltd. was served with a deposition notice on April 25, 2007, the company applied for a protection order to prevent the deposition and also sought to withdraw as lead plaintiff in the action, which was initiated in 2003.

KPMG (Bermuda) suspects class action plaintiff may have received illegal payment

July 12, 2007

Did a major U. S. law firm illegally pay a Bermuda-based investment firm to serve as lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against KPMG (Bermuda) regarding its audits of Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) Ltd.?That's what KPMG wants to know before discovery winds up in an action at the U. S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. However, rather than answer that and other questions, the investment firm, Midstream Investments Ltd., has filed an eleventh-hour motion to withdraw from the case entirely and for a protective order to avoid being forced to provide evidence.

Transamerica seeks $45 m in damages from Annuity & Life Re

September 7, 2006

Transamerica is seeking $45 million in damages from a subsidiary of Bermuda based Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) Ltd. concerning the novation of Annuity and Life Reassurance Ltd.'s reinsurance contract with fellow Bermuda firm, Scottish Re Group Ltd.In a press

Fidelity maintains position as ‘owner’ of Bermuda market

July 5, 2005

Fidelity - the largest mutual fund group in the United States - has maintained its position as the largest single investor group in the Bermuda insurance market.Fidelity owns at least five per cent of common shares in eight of the 14 Bermuda-based, publicly-listed insurers whose ownerships were reviewed by InsideBermuda. That is three more major investments than another Boston, Massachusetts-based fund group, Wellington Management, which was revealed as the second biggest ownership group in our review. Collectively, Fidelity's stakes have a market value of more than $2.7 billion, with Wellington just behind at $2.5 billion.

NYSE suspends trading in Annuity & Life, de-listing to follow

July 31, 2004

The New York Stock Exchange has suspended the shares of financially-troubled Annuity and Life Re (Holdings) Ltd. pending the completion of action to de-list them.The suspension was announced by NYSE on July 27, 2004 and became effective before the opening of trading on July 30. Annuity & Life has advised the Exchange that it will not challenge the action.

Annuity & Life Re proposes reverse stock split

June 30, 2004

Financially beleaguered Annuity & Life Re has sunk to the depths of proposing a reverse stock split in an attempt to maintain its listing on the New York Stock Exchange. A proposal to split the stock at a specified ratio within a range of one-for-two to one-for-twenty will be put to shareholders at the company's AGM that is due to be held in Bermuda on August 5, 2004.

New CFO for Annuity & Life

February 29, 2004

Beleaguered reinsurer Annuity & Life Re (Holdings), Ltd. announced on February 25 that it has promoted John W. Lockwood to Chief Financial Officer. Lockwood will maintain his responsibilities as Vice President of U.S. Operations for Annuity and Life Re (Holdings), Ltd.'s U.S. subsidiary, Annuity and Life Re America, Inc., and its operating subsidiary, Annuity and Life Reassurance America, Inc.

Annuity & Life Re shareholders bring class action against KPMG

November 30, 2003

KPMG's operations in Bermuda, the United States and the United Kingdom are defendants in a class action lawsuit filed by shareholders of financially troubled Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) Ltd., which it audited. The complaint was filed by Communications Workers of America, and Midstream Investments Ltd. at the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut on October 23, 2003.

Annuity & Life Re continues downsizing

August 31, 2003

Financially-troubled Annuity & Life Re continued its downsizing in August with the announcement that unnamed ceding companies had 'recaptured' a major contract that was draining its earnings.The recapture, which was effective June 30, 2003, involved Annuity & Life Re's largest guaranteed minimum death benefits reinsurance contract.

Auditor pessimistic about Annuity & Life Re

March 31, 2003

Auditor KPMG stated in an SEC filing on March 21 that there is "substantial doubt" about the ability of Annuity & Life Re to continue as a going concern. The comment was made in a note to the financial statements dated February 11, 2003 that was part of an amended annual report for fiscal 2001 that contained restated figures. The auditor cited "significant losses from operations and experienced liquidity demands".

Annuity & Life Re becomes penny stock, stops writing new business

February 28, 2003

Annuity & Life Re shares collapsed to penny stock status on February 25 - the days after the firm announced it had ceased writing new business and was expecting "significant losses" for the fourth quarter. Its shares closed at 76 cents, compared with $18 per share only seven months ago and $35 per share 11 months before that. The company went public in April, 1998 at $15 per share.

Overseas Partners reports $211 million quarterly loss

December 31, 2002

Bermuda-based Overseas Partners Ltd., which went into run off in February, 2002, has reported a net loss of $211 million, or $1.77 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2002.OPL's comprehensive loss, which also includes changes in unrealized gains and losses on its investment portfolios "classified as available for sale", was $95.7 million.

Six class action lawsuits filed against Annuity & Life Re

December 31, 2002

No fewer than six class action lawsuits were filed against Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) Ltd. in December, 2002 at federal court in Connecticut.The complaints, which will eventually be consolidated into one action, were filed less than a month after the firm announced it was re-stating its financial results for 2001, 2001 and the first half of 2002, causing its share price to plummet by as much as 44 per cent.

Only one of six Bermuda insurers reports Q3 profit

November 30, 2002

Only one of the six Bermuda based, publicly listed insurers which reported quarterly results in November made a profit. The fact that it was its arch rival, Scottish Annuity & Life Holdings, was salt in the massive wounds currently being

Trenwick & Annuity and Life dropped from Bermuda Insurance Index

October 31, 2002

Struggling Bermuda insurers the Trenwick Group and Annuity & Life Re have been dropped from the Bermuda Stock Exchange Bermuda Insurance Index, while Montpelier Re has been added."This announcement is made in accordance with Section 4.2 of the Ground Rules,

Annuity & Life Re extends credit facility

October 31, 2002

Annuity and Life Re, whose stock has plummeted from $26 to $4 per share this year, has reached an agreement with Citibank to extend its $49 million unsecured letter of credit facility into 2003.Under the agreement, Annuity and Life stated

Q4 2001 Results Round-Up for Bermuda insurers

February 28, 2002

Seven Bermuda insurers reported fourth quarter earnings in February, with Mutual Risk Management, XL Capital and Annuity and Life Re posting losses and ACE, IPC Holdings, PartnerRe and Scottish Annuity reporting profits.

Annuity & Life Re insiders buy prior to share price fall

January 31, 2002

Whatever investors in Annuity & Life Re think about the dramatic slump in the firm's stock price, they cannot justifiably accuse insiders of profiting from knowing something that the market did not. Filings with the SEC show that company insiders were buying stock in the last quarter of 2001 for prices significantly above the firm's current value of about $17.50 per share.

Bermuda Insurance Market Results Round-Up: Financial problems continue for ESG Re and Stirling Cooke

August 31, 2001

The financial woes of John Head's ESG Re and Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings continued in the second quarter ended June 30, 2001, with both companies reporting further losses. Mutual Risk Management, meanwhile, reported a much-needed profit and Annuity & Life Re and Scottish Annuity & Life both made money, as did market giants XL Capital and PartnerRe.

Annuity & Life Re/Scottish Annuity & Life comaprison

November 30, 1999

One decided to incorporate in Bermuda, the other chose the Cayman Islands. Both offer annuity and life insurance products, both opened for business in 1998 and both immediately went public. The similarities end there, though, as Annuity & Life Re, which is based in Bermuda and raised $370 million of start-up capital, and Scottish Annuity & Life Re Holdings, which is based in the Cayman Islands and raised $250 million, have enjoyed contrasting fortunes on NASDAQ since opening for business.

Plans to form Global Markets Access reinsurer are shelved

April 30, 1999

Plans to operate a new reinsurance company in Bermuda called Global Markets Access have been shelved. The company's organizers, who included several people involved in the successful launch last year of Annuity & Life Re, could not raise enough start-up capital, even though the original target was lowered from $350 million to $200 million last month.