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Japanese insurer awarded $1 b against Fortress Re

December 31, 2003
An arbitration panel sitting in New York has awarded more than $1 billion against failed aviation reinsurance pool manager Fortress Re Inc., of North Carolina. In a decision issued on December 16, 2003, the panel found that Fortress Re and its principals, Maurice Sabbah and Kenneth Kornfeld perpetrated a massive fraud against Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

CNA sues former executives who left to join rival firm

October 31, 2003
Continental Casualty Company, d.b.a. CNA, has accused four former executives of stealing trade secrets and breaching confidentiality agreements by helping to start a rival insurer in Bermuda.The civil lawsuit was filed by Chicago-based CNA at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on September 30, 2003.

Court of Appeals upholds $9.8 m Terra Nova award

October 31, 2003
Reinsurer PXRE Group Ltd. announced on October 9 that the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit had affirmed a $9.8 million judgment awarded in June 2002 after a jury trial of its dispute against fellow Bermuda firm Terra Nova Insurance Company.

Bank syndicate owed $183 million by Trenwick Group

August 31, 2003
A syndicate of banks led by JPMorgan Chase Bank is the biggest creditor of ailing Bermuda-based specialty insurer Trenwick Group Ltd., with an outstanding claim of $183 million at August 20, 2003.The syndicate also includes Wachovia Bank, Credit Lyonnais (New York), Dresdner Bank (New York and Grand Cayman), Fleet National Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, ING Bank (London), Citibank, The Bank of Nova Scotia, State Street Bank and Trust Company, and Mizuho Corporate Bank.

MRM in class action settlement talks

August 31, 2003
Negotiations are underway to settle a class action lawsuit filed by shareholders against Mutual Risk Management and several of its former officers and directors.Details are contained in a filing at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of California on July 30, 2003 in which the defendants agreed to withdraw their motion to dismiss the complaint.

Zurich Financial Services strengthens Centre’s reserves

August 31, 2003
The balance sheet of the Bermuda-based Centre group was strengthened by $474 million during the six months ended June 30, 2003."Reserve strengthening of USD474 million impacted the result at Centre," disclosed Centre's parent, Zurich Financial Services, Europe's third-largest insurer.

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.

Stirling Cooke Brown Insurance Brokers Ltd. goes into administration

July 31, 2003
After the loss of a major lawsuit, Stirling Cooke Brown Insurance Brokers Ltd. has gone into administration in the United Kingdom.Paul Evans and Dan Schwarzmann, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, were appointed joint administrators on July 17, 2003 - nine days after a judgment in a U. K. High Court action filed by Sphere Drake Insurance.

XL Specialty seeks to avoid claims regarding deaths on San Francisco Bay Bridge Project

July 31, 2003
XL Specialty Insurance Co. has issued legal proceedings in the United States in an attempt to avoid paying claims for two people killed while working on the San Francisco Bay Bridge Project.The Illinois-based company filed a lawsuit against Kiewit Offshore Services Ltd., of Texas, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on July 3, 2003.

Stirling Cooke loses High Court judgment to Sphere Drake Insurance

July 8, 2003
Two UK subsidiaries of the Bermuda-based AlphaStar Insurance Group, formerly Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, have lost a UK High Court judgment that has implications for many related reinsurance lawsuits and arbitrations around the world.AlphaStar's share price fell from 13 cents to seven cents per share after the judgment was released today and many in the industry expect the decision to render the long-troubled firm insolvent.

MRM subsidiaries to go into liquidation, judge criticizes Pennsylvania regulator

June 30, 2003
A Pennsylvania judge has criticized state insurance regulators in the United States and reinsurers for failing to save two property and casualty subsidiaries of Bermuda-based Mutual Risk Management. On June 26, Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt granted petitions from Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Diane Koken to liquidate Legion Insurance Co. and Villanova Insurance Co.

ESG Re attempts to block arbitration by Reinsurance Services of Princeton

June 30, 2003
An underwriting subsidiary of Bermuda-based ESG Re has taken legal action in the United States in an attempt to prevent Reinsurance Services of Princeton from initiating arbitration proceedings against it. ESG Reinsurance Ireland Ltd., formerly known as European Specialty Reinsurance (Ireland) Ltd., filed a motion to enjoin arbitration against RSP at the U. S. District Court in New Jersey on April 11, 2003.

Bermuda captive is defendant in four class action lawsuits in US

June 30, 2003
Bermuda-based captive First Virginia Reinsurance Ltd. has been named as a defendant in four class action lawsuits filed in the United States on behalf of thousands of physicians, hospitals, clinics and attorneys. The lawsuits are on behalf of all parties in the U. S. who bought malpractice liability insurance coverage through Reciprocal of America, now in receivership, and/or affiliated parties from January 1, 1991 to January 31, 2003.

Steamship Mutual seeks to attach assets of allegedly delinquent member

April 30, 2003
A Bermuda-based P&I Club is seeking to garnish $303,936 of assets belonging to a Connecticut-based marine vessel owner which has allegedly failed to pay its membership premiums.The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Bermuda) Ltd. filed a complaint for garnishment against Sea Oil Shipping Ltd., of Greenwich, Connecticut, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on February 24, 2003.

S.E.C.U.R.E. (Bermuda) sued over termite damage claim

April 30, 2003
A Bermuda-registered insurer is being sued in the United States for alleged failure to pay $419,000 to cover a judgment awarded against one of its insureds.S.E.C.U.R.E (Bermuda) Ltd., which is managed by Bermuda-based Symphony Management Ltd., is a defendant in two related lawsuits filed at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

Tamil Tigers terrorist attack leads to insurance claim against Hellenic Mutual

April 30, 2003
A Bermuda-based mutual insurer is involved in a claims dispute with a member whose freight vessel M/S Athena was blown up in Sri Lanka in a suspected attack by Tamil Tiger terrorists.Hellenic Mutual War Risks Association (Bermuda) Ltd., its manager, Thomas Miller; brokers and others are being sued in New York by Sea Trade Maritime Corp. after its claim was only partially satisfied.

ESG Re officers buy stock

April 30, 2003
ESG Re senior officers have been buying the firm's shares recently, notwithstanding its awful performance, culminating in its de-listing by Nasdaq effective February 3.

Centre Solutions/Zurich Insurance Group accused of fraud

April 30, 2003
Not for the first time, the Centre Solutions/Zurich Insurance Group has been accused of ripping off insolvent insurers not long before they went bust, allegedly enriching itself at the expense of creditors.Several entities and individuals within the group are involved in litigation with the California State Insurance Commissioner.The Commissioner is seeking to void and recover $202 million of allegedly fraudulent transfers and recover damages for losses suffered under the commutation of a reinsurance agreement.

Texas broker sues The Imagine Group

March 31, 2003
A Texas-based reinsurance broker has filed a lawsuit alleging trademark infringement against The Imagine Group, a Bermuda-based finite risk reinsurer. Vision Reinsurance Intermediaries Inc., of Dallas, brought the action at the U. S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on January 17, 2003.

Trenwick shares begin trading on OTCBB after NYSE de-listing

March 31, 2003
The shares of Trenwick Group Ltd., whose legal headquarters are in Bermuda, have begun trading on the over-the-counter bulletin board market after being suspended by the New York Stock Exchange. Both its common shares and the Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock of its Bermuda-based subsidiary LaSalle Holdings Ltd. are listed, under the symbols "TWKGF" and "LSRAF", respectively.

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".

AlphaStar Insurance agrees to sell Realm National Insurance

March 31, 2003
Two months after talks were disclosed in InsideBermuda, AlphaStar Insurance Group Ltd. announced on March 25 that it has agreed to sell three of its subsidiaries for approximately $9 million. AlphaStar, formerly Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, has entered into a "definitive agreement" with American Insurance Managers Inc., of Atlanta, Georgia.

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.

MRM seeks protection at US Bankruptcy Court

February 28, 2003
Mutual Risk Management has filed a bankruptcy petition in the United States and is seeking an automatic stay of all of the legal proceedings that have been filed against it and a ban on new actions.

Cayman-based businessman takes stake in distressed Bermuda insurance firm

February 28, 2003
Cayman Islands-based businessman Kenneth B. Dart, whose family made a fortune in the Styrofoam cup business, has acquired a 5.7 per cent stake in financially crippled Mutual Risk Management. Dart's firm Ross Financial Corporation, which is domiciled in Cayman, has acquired 2,377,600 common shares, according to a Dart-signed document dated February 13, 2003 that was filed with the SEC.

Stirling Cooke accuses US firm of trying to steal subsidiary

January 31, 2003
A U. S.-based insurance manager has been accused of trying to "steal" an underwriting subsidiary of AlphaStar Insurance Group Ltd., previously known as Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings. American Insurance Managers Inc. entered into a "non-binding" agreement on October 2, 2002 to buy AlphaStar's New York-based underwriter Realm National Insurance, for $12 million.

Goldman Sachs sells AlphaStar shares for one-third of market price

January 31, 2003
Goldman Sachs has sold its entire 22.9 per cent stake in AlphaStar Insurance, formerly Stirling Cooke, back to the company for five cents per share - about one third of its current trading price. Goldman was keen to sell so that its investment vehicles could take a write off before the end of the tax year and agreed to buy at a discount to avoid creating the appearance of self-dealing, AlphaStar's CEO, Stephen Crane, told InsideBermuda.

GenStar v. Platinum Indemnity lawsuit settled

January 31, 2003
A civil lawsuit filed by General Star Indemnity Company against Bank of America and Bermuda-based rent-a-captive Platinum Indemnity Ltd. has been settled. The settlement was registered with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on October 29, 2002.

Centre stops writing credit enhancement business

December 31, 2002
Zurich Financial Services has announced that its subsidiary group of companies, Bermuda-based Centre will no longer write new credit enhancement business."The structured finite risk insurance and reinsurance business of Centre, however, will continue to be a core function of the Zurich Group," stated a press release dated December 4, 2002.

Sovereign Risk signs agreement with Asian Development Bank

December 31, 2002
Sovereign Risk Insurance Ltd. has signed what it is proclaiming as "a landmark political risk insurance agreement" with the Asian Development Bank for a project in Vietnam.Sovereign is supporting ADB's Political Risk Guarantee that covers a commercial financing tranche for the Phu My 2.2 gas-fired power project, stated a press release dated December 17, 2002.

Suncor Energy joins sEnergy Insurance

December 31, 2002
Canada-based Suncor Energy is to become a member of Bermuda-registered sEnergy Insurance Ltd., effective January 1, 2003.sEnergy was established in Bermuda in May, 2002 to provide large limits of coverage for business interruption and excess physical damage insurance.

PXRE enters into quota share reinsurance agreement

December 31, 2002
PXRE Group Ltd. has entered into a quota share reinsurance agreement with P-1 Re Ltd., a newly formed special purpose Bermuda reinsurer capitalized by a group of private institutional investors.This reinsurance agreement provides PXRE with $194 million in funded reinsurance protection against property catastrophe, marine, aviation, satellite and per-risk losses over the next two years.

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.

Aspen Insurance forms in Bermuda with $200 million of capital

December 31, 2002
Aspen Insurance Ltd. became the latest Class 4 insurer - the category for the biggest entities - to form in Bermuda on November 6, 2002.Aspen Insurance Ltd. has been capitalized at $200 million, a small number compared with its contemporaries, and will specialize in property and casualty reinsurance.

Meeting for MRM creditors to discuss Scheme of Arrnagement

December 31, 2002
Major creditors of Mutual Risk Management Ltd. are scheduled to meet in Bermuda on February 5, 2003 at which they will be asked to approve a proposed Scheme of Arrangement for the financially-troubled firm.Under the proposals, senior debt-holders would become the majority owners of current MRM-subsidiary MRM Services Ltd., doing business as IAS Park.

Stirling Cooke sues American Insurance Managers, et al

December 31, 2002
Stirling Cooke North American Holdings Inc., AlphaStar Insurance Group Ltd. and Realm National Insurance Company filed a civil lawsuit at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on December 27, 2002 alleging breach of contract against American Insurance Managers Inc., American Insurance Management Group Inc. and Atlanta Insurance Marketing Inc.

Endurance Specialty announces $200 million IPO

December 31, 2002
Almost 12 months to the day after it began operations, Bermuda-based Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. filed a registration statement with the SEC to raise up to $200 million in an initial public offering.Endurance Specialty, which provides property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker 'ENH'.

Carolina Re insiders sued over $485 m dividend payouts

December 31, 2002
The Joint Liquidators of Bermuda-registered Carolina Reinsurance Ltd. have filed a civil lawsuit in the United States against the firm's shareholders and auditor.They are seeking damages for tens of millions of dollars of dividends they claim were taken out of the company when it was insolvent.

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.

ACE announces Lloyd’s of London capacity cutback

December 31, 2002
ACE Ltd. announced on December 4 that it is to cut its underwriting at the Lloyd's of London insurance market by more than a third next year.ACE, which is one of the largest investors at Lloyd's, will cut its capacity to approximately $1 billion (£650 million) in 2003 from about $1.4 billion this year.

More problems for ESG Re as auditor resigns

December 31, 2002
John Head's ESG Re announced in December that Deloitte & Touche had resigned as its auditor and withdrawn its audit for fiscal 2001 and review reports for three quarters, including the first half of 2002.