News in brief

PWC's Indie details
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) will this week present details of the deal it is offering on the return of Independent Insurance premiums and commissions to brokers .

British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba) chief executive Mike Williams said PWC liquidator

Dan Schwarzmann was putting the finishing touches to the deal and was expected to present it to brokers by Friday(5 April).

Ockham chief goes
Lord Poole, chief executive of Ockham Holdings, has resigned with immediate effect.

The company has announced it is now looking for a successor.

The day-to-day running of the company will be carried out by the remaining executive directors, who will report to a management committee chaired by chairman Allen Thomas.

Ockham said it was considering reinforcing the non-executive component of the board.

It said this process was expected be concluded by 30 June.

The board said that following consultations with major institutional shareholders it was confident "the placing and open offer announced on 12 March 2002 will complete in accordance with its terms and timetable".

A1 Moody's rating
Moody's Investors Service has confirmed its A1 insurance financial strength rating on Wellington's Syndicate 2020.

The rating outlook is stable.The syndicate is managed by Wellington Underwriting agencies, the wholly-owned subsidary of Wellington Underwriting.

The review on the syndicate was initiated following the World Trade Centre (WTC) events last September.

Moody's said that its concerns over the syndicate in the wake of 11 September had now been mitigated, partly due to the quality of its reinsurance.