QBE scales back Evergreen as staff face axe

QBE in redundancy talks with four staff as it stops renewing proportion of business.

QBE Europe is scaling back business at its SME underwriting business Evergreen, while four staff are in redundancy talks, Insurance Times understands.

The insurer is winding down some of its business, although a spokesman would not say how much business was being scaled back. QBE said it had no plans to put Evergreen into run-off.

Ataraxia acquisitions get own Lloyd’s insurer

New Lloyd's insurer, Ataraxia Markets, to underwrite for acquired businesses.

Ataraxia Broking, the brainchild of former Brokerbility chief executive Stuart Randall, is setting up a Lloyd’s insurer to exclusively underwrite business for its acquisitions, Insurance Times reveals this week
The new insurer arm, which will be called Ataraxia Markets, will begin underwriting from the Lloyd’s building next month.

Resolution buys Bupa - £102m

Bupa Health Assurance becomes part of Friends Provident

Resolution has bought the entire issued share capital and business of Bupa Health Assurance for £102m, funded from surplus capital held within Friends Provident’s life operating businesses.

BHA will be run as a stand-alone business within the Friends group for a period of up to a year. After that Resolution expects £22m of savings through synergies.

Chaucer in takeover rumours

The buy-out division of Goldman Sachs is rumoured to have teamed up with TPG Capital to bid to takeover Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer, the Telegraph reports.

But is said people familiar with the matter said Goldman Sachs and TPG are not in takeover talks at the moment and that the buy-out tittle-tattle is "wide of the mark".

Cost of piracy still uncertain, says Actuarial Profession

The true cost of maritime piracy is still uncertain, according to a report by the Actuarial Profession.
The report states that the relative lack of statistics on maritime piracy makes risk estimation difficult.

Neil Hilary, a staff actuary with the Profession and one of the authors of the report, said: "Piracy attacks have been on the increase in the last 15 years. But since 2006, the level of attacks has increased by an average of 125%, and this is almost entirely due to the attacks by Somali pirates.

Insurers to challenge EL trigger litigation ruling

Insurers are set to challenge a landmark court judgment handed down today that could dramatically increase their exposure to mesothelioma claims.
In a series of cases known as the Employer’s Liability Policy Trigger Litigation, the Court of Appeal upheld a high court ruling that employer’s liability policies should respond to claims that were in force at the time of the claimant’s exposure to the harmful cancer causing material instead of those in place when the disease actually developed. However, it ruled that this may not to apply to all policies.

Aon warns on Hungary sludge disaster

Firm facing toxic sludge clean up bill under environmental liablity laws

A toxic sludge pollution scare in Hungary should serve as a warning that companies need insurance against the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD), warns Aon Risk Solutions.