Broking giant set to upset Benfield bid.
Marsh may counter bid for Benfield
Marsh & Mclennan, which owns broking giant Marsh, could attempt to gatecrash Aon’s agreed £844m ($1.6bn) takeover apporach of Benfield, according to reports.
Ntegrity nabs Bracher
Bristol based broker Ntegrity Insurance Solutions has appointed Mark Bracher, the former managing director of the Bristol office of Lockton Professions division, as a new director, as predicted by Insurance Times two weeks ago.
imarket registrations
Polaris said 3,000 broker firms had registered with imarket, the commercial insurance trading portal. It said this was a recognition of imarket’s increasing range of products and ongoing improvements to the user experience. Volumes of business transacted by imarket had also increased to more than 67,000 a month,
Fairfax to aquire Advent
Fairfax, the American financial services company, is set to acquire Lloyd’s insurer Advent after 58% of shareholders approved its offer for the business.
Hardy reports premium rise
Hardy Underwriting Bermuda reported a rise in gross written premium to £97.0m (H1 2007: £88.8m) in the first half of 2008. Pre-tax profits fell slightly to £8.7m (2007: £9.1m) and the combined ratio deteriorated to 83.3% (H1 2007: 79.5%).
