Odyssey Re

Assurant sues Inter-Ocean Re for $20 million

March 19, 2009

Bermuda based finite risk reinsurer Inter Ocean Reinsurance Company Ltd., which has been in run off since 2005, is being sued for $20 million by four subsidiaries of U. S. Fortune 500 company Assurant, Inc. The complaint against Inter Ocean

Stirling Cooke Bankruptcy Trustee settles with Clarendon Insurance for $42 m

December 11, 2007

The now-defunct, Bermuda-based insurance broker best-known as Stirling Cooke Brown has agreed to pay up to $42.3 million to settle claims with its one-time business partner, Clarendon Insurance Group. A motion to approve the settlement was filed by Stirling Cooke's Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee, Richard E. O'Connell, at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on November 30, 2007.

Insolvencies of ex-MRM subsidiaries balloon in 2006

March 9, 2007

The net insolvencies of two former operating subsidiaries of Bermuda-based Mutual Risk Management Ltd. rocketed from $334.3 million to $852.6 million in 2006, according to their liquidator. The deficits of Legion Insurance Company and Villanova Insurance Company increased from $225.3 million to $614 million and from $109 million to $238.6 million, respectively, during the year.

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.

Willis Group enters Odyssey Re-Stirling Cooke lawsuit

July 31, 2001

Bermuda-registered broker/risk manager Willis Group Holdings has applied to intervene in a civil lawsuit filed by Odyssey Re against Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings and others at the High Court in London. Willis, which is effectively seeking to become a defendant, is also believed to have filed a separate lawsuit against Stirling Cooke, apparently in order to cover all liability scenarios.

Trial date set for Sphere Drake-Odyssey Re lawsuit

August 31, 2000

The London Commercial Court has scheduled October, 2001 for the start of a trial relating to a civil lawsuit filed by Sphere Drake Insurance (formerly Odyssey Re-London) against two UK-based subsidiaries of Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, two former officers of those subsidiaries, and others on February 29, 2000.

Stirling Cooke lawsuit moved from New York to UK

February 29, 2000

Stirling Cooke's share price hit its highest level in several months following the decision of a New York judge to dismiss Odyssey Re's racketeering lawsuit against the company. Stirling Cooke's stock closed at $3.69 on February 29 - up by 47 per cent on the month. The major rise occurred after Judge Naomi Reice's decision on February 28 to dismiss Odyssey Re's lawsuit on the grounds that the United Kingdom was a more appropriate forum.

Odyssey Re files amended complaint against Stirling Cooke et al

August 31, 1999

Odyssey Re (London) Limited has filed an amended complaint against Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, several of its subsidiaries and other parties at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Stirling Cooke files to dismiss Odyssey Re lawsuit

April 30, 1999

Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings has filed a motion for early dismissal of the lawsuit brought in New York last month by Odyssey Re (London) Ltd. alleging racketeering and fraud."Our motion for early dismissal is Stirling Cooke's next step in aggressively

Stirling Cooke might be up for sale

April 30, 1999

April was yet another disastrous month for Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings as its share price fell by 60 per cent and KPMG Peat Marwick resigned as its auditor after just two years. The company also announced it planned to hire a financial adviser to "explore ways to boost shareholder value", a move which often signals that a company is considering putting itself up for sale.

Stirling Cooke accused of racketeering and fraud in US lawsuit

March 31, 1999

Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings and some of its subsidiaries, affiliates and officers have been accused of engaging in widespread fraud to the detriment of mostly US insurers and reinsurers in a lawsuit filed by Odyssey Re (London) on March 29 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. As with lawsuits and arbitration proceedings involving Stirling Cooke in London, the company has been accused of running reinsurance spirals purely to generate brokerage commissions and underwriting management fees for itself regardless of the consequences to insureds and reinsureds.