Novae results plus more news

Novae Group has posted its 2012 results. It made a pre-tax profit of £49.3 million compared with a loss of £6 million last year, its gross written premiums decreasing to £612 million from £624 million in 2011. Its combined ratio for the year was 90.5 per cent, a big improvement on the 101.5 per cent it posted in 2011. “Three years ago we set out our objectives for driving up the returns of the group by re-engineering  our business mix and by rigorously managing capital and costs. Three years on, this strategy has delivered a steadily improving group performance particularly in 2012 delivering a return on equity of 17.6 per cent,” said Matthew Fosh, group chief executive.

Ameritas Life Insurance, which just over a year ago completed its acquisition of Brokers National Life Assurance, has agreed to sell the company to Bermuda-based Aurigen Capital. Aurigen will use the acquisition as an entry into the US life reinsurance market, according to a company statement. “We believe our new company will provide US primary writers with a new reinsurance choice solely dedicated to the life insurance industry that will serve their needs well,” said Alan Ryder, president and CEO of Aurigen USA.

Peak Reinsurance, the newly formed reinsurer headquartered in Hong Kong, has selected AIR Worldwide’s catastrophe modelling solutions to manage its catastrophe risk. AIR’s Asia-Pacific tropical cyclone (typhoon) models feature a catalogue of simulated storms to provide a view of tropical cyclone risk affecting Japan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, South Korea, Australia, and India. AIR’s earthquake models assess seismic risk and building vulnerability in the region, including Japan, mainland China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand.

This year’s MultaQa Qatar conference attracted a record number of 500 delegates from more than 30 countries, who came together to discuss the regional and global developments which impact the MENA (re)insurance markets. The conference, which took place in Doha, Qatar from March 11-12, was organised by the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority. Shashank Srivastava, CEO and board member of the QFC Authority, said: “Delegates have examined the industry’s prospects in a truly comprehensive way, taking into account the relevant global context as well as senior views from major corporations, the original owners of risk.”