Premium growth aids Validus 63% rise in profits保费增长使Validus集团利润上涨63%Validus Holdings Ltd.s profits for the first half of 2009 grew 63%, due mainly to strong premium growth and a near-absence of major loss events, the company said. Validus reported first-half net income of $232.5 million, compared with $142.4 million in the same period last year. For the second quarter, its net income was $137.6 million, up from $75.9 million a year earlier.Net premiums written for the first half totaled $900.1 million, a 10.4% increase. The company reported a combined ratio of 73.5%. Investment income for the first half totaled $53.7 million. Net realized investment losses for the first half were $26.1 million, compared with a $5.3 million gain a year earlier. In addition, Validus said it experienced an $11 million loss related to the Air France crash in the second quarter. “This has been an excellent quarter with very high earnings driven by growth in our noncatastrophe business globally,” Validus Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Noonan said in a conference call with investors Thursday. “We continue to see positive rate movements in the vast majority of the classes we underwrite,” he said. The Hamilton, Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer, which recently won a bitter battle to acquire fellow Bermuda-based reinsurer IPC Holdings Ltd., said it is “on pace” to close the transaction in the third quarter. For the second quarter, the company reported $15.9 million of nonrecurring expenses related to the IPC amalgamation. The $1.65 billion cash-and-stock deal raised concerns with some analysts about the combined entitys large concentration of catastrophe-exposed business as the U.S. hurricane season is under way.Mr. Noonan said Validus has done a “significant amount of hedging in anticipation of combining the two portfolios. As we approach wind season, in total we have $250 million of protection in place,” he said. As part of the deal, Validus has given up termination rights in the event of a catastrophe loss, meaning it cannot back out of the acquisition should a loss occur. IPC requested the provision. In an interview last week, Mr. Noonan said he was “not concerned” about completing a takeover during the hurricane season “because both companies are very conservative underwriters.” In addition, “IPC is extremely well-capitalized for the risks they take on,” he said. Mr. Noonan said Validus aims to reduce catastrophe exposures to roughly 25% of the combined Validus-IPC book of business. Currently on a pro-forma basis property catastrophe business accounts for roughly 40% of the combined entity. Validus集团2009年上半年利润增长63%，公司称这主要是因为保费大幅上涨和近期没有发生损失严重的事件Validus报告上半年的净收入是2.325亿美元，而去年同期这一数字仅为1.亿424万美元第二季度的净收入为1.亿376万美元，比去年同期多7590万美元。转载自：http:/www.asiainsurancereview.comRims targets global standards-setting role风险与保险管理协会致力于扮演全球标准制定者的角色THE Risk and Insurance Management Society (Rims) has set up a 10 man committee tasked with supporting global risk management and developing improved standards and processes.Rims hopes its new Standards and Practices Committee will enable it to increase its profile in the standards and practices arena and make it the primary resource in shaping and developing global risk management standards. The committees primary role will be to educate risk managers and organisations on various risk management standards. It will also work with the US Department of Homeland Security on voluntary preparedness and business continuity.Wayne Salen, a member of Rims board of directors and director of risk management at Labor Finders International, will serve as the first board liaison for the committee. The committee is chaired by Carol Fox, former chair of Rims Enterprise Risk Management development committee and senior director of risk management at Convergys Corp. She will be supported by Manus ODonnell, administrative vice president and director of corporate insurance and risk at M&T Bank. The other members of the Standards and Practices Committee all have strong risk management backgrounds. They are: Nathan Bacchus, Rims state and regulatory affairs associate; Susan Barry, director of risk management at DRS Technologies; Sandra Bodensteiner, claims manager at the City of St Paul, Minnesota; Kristen Drobnis, senior vice president of risk management at MassDevelopment; Lois Gardiner, director of risk management at Canadian Pacific Railway; Yvette Ho Sang, risk management analyst at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; and Paul Piazza, risk manager at Honeywell International Inc.风险与保险管理协会已组成10人委员会，主要任务是支持全球风险管理并完善改良后的标准和过程转载自：http:/www.insuranceday.comAIG finance arm cuts 900 jobs, sees sixth straight loss由于连续六个季度亏损，美国国际集团消费金融部裁员900人Posted On: Aug. 13, 2009 2:00 PM CSTNEW YORK (Reuters)American International Group Inc.s money-losing consumer finance unit on Thursday said it eliminated 900 jobs and closed 145 bra