Fagan goes as syndicatesinks

After months of speculation about the future of GoshawK, the plug was finally pulled on its Lloyd's operations. Syndicate 102 was placed into run-off amid doubts about the "operational management" at GoshawK.

The resignation of chief executive Chris Fagan followed swiftly after.

The syndicate had taken large financial hits from the collapse of ambulance chaser The Accident Group (TAG) - estimated to amount to £30m - and the Columbia space shuttle disaster. Senior Lloyd's sources said that the GoshawK management had been under the watch of the franchise board since March.

Lloyd's is now angling for the FSA to take over the investigation and decide whether action should be taken against GoshawK's management. The FSA is understood to be in "bullish" mood on the matter.

Zurich is also in combative spirit and it has Royal & SunAlliance in its sights. Its aim is to become the third largest personal lines insurer behind Norwich Union and Royal Bank Insurance Services, formed by Direct Line and Churchill.

Brokers will be relieved to hear that the leap-frogging manoeuvre is to be achieved through intermediated channels rather than direct. And Zurich is prepared to put its money where its mouth is by launching a major advertising campaign in local newspapers encouraging customers to use local brokers.

It seems that Enron and Worldcom are still making waves months after their relegation to American corporate history. Actuaries are predicting that over $15bn of claims arising from these and other high profile corporate collapses will soon be hitting the Lloyd's and London markets.

The claims will hit underwriters with large books of US directors' and officers' insurance the hardest. A senior market source said that the impact would be "worse than the World Trade Center". The market will be bracing itself for the storm ahead.

The lustre of the SME sector is showing no sign of diminishing, with more insurers looking to gain from its apparent wealth. Lloyd's broker Sterling Hamilton Wright is soon to launch an FSA-regulated insurer focusing on the SME market. Operating under the name Minerva, the company is looking to write £80m in its first year through a network of about 150 brokers.

Brit is also looking to beef up its income from the SME sector, forecasting an increase of 40% in its UK SME premium income. The insurer is looking to write £430m gross premium in 2004. But with so many insurers battling for the riches of the SME market one has to ask whether the treasure will turn out to be merely fool's gold for some.

The release of the Depart-ment for Work and Pensions' (DWP) second report on the employers' liability crisis draws closer, and the NHS looks to be given responsibility for providing rehabilitation.

Lawyers expect that the NHS will outsource the provision to private providers and recoup the costs from insurers where possible. But funding could still be a sticking point, as apparently the government is not keen to provide the resources.

Perception may have a solution. The company, associated to personal injury law firm Blakemores, has launched what is thought to be the first after-the-event (ATE) rehabilitation insurance product.

The cover will pay for 10 to 20 rehabilitation sessions which the claimant can use regardless of how the personal injury claim is going. Other ATE policy providers are aiming for similar products.

And finally, Biba's hunt for a chief executive is now over. After months of searching, Eric Galbraith, former managing director of Hill House Hammond, has been appointed to the top job. Rumours abounded that, despite numerous applications, Biba was having difficulty in finding a suitable replacement for the loquacious Mike Williams.