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M & A, Alliances

Marsh and Lexington Address Supply Chain Disruption

July 22, 2008

New York — Insurance broker and risk advisor Marsh Inc., and Lexington Insurance Co., a unit of AIG Commercial Insurance, have developed an insurance program that can help companies manage the financial consequences of a disruption to their critical supply chains.

Marsh developed the program, known as Global Supply Secure, in conjunction with Lexington Insurance, which will underwrite the insurance coverage through its offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Bermuda. The coverage requires a supply chain risk assessment from Marsh's risk consulting practice.

Global Supply Secure is designed to protect companies whose operations rely on critical supplies of goods or raw materials. Under the program, businesses may be able to obtain broad coverage throughout a company's supply chain, including loss of a supplier, stoppage of the supply itself or a related interruption in service. The coverage can apply to supply chain interruptions stemming from a wide range of perils, such as strikes, political risks, the outbreak of a pandemic or delay in supply from a variety of causes.

"As businesses in nearly all industry sectors take advantage of globalization to reduce costs and achieve efficiencies, their supply chains have become the lifeblood of many of their production, manufacturing and distribution activities," says Robert Howe, leader of Marsh's global property practice. "While the economic benefits of such supply networks are clear, the risks have become more acute and a supply chain interruption can have potentially devastating effects on a business. Our new program approaches business interruption on a broad basis to help companies address a wide range of potential disruptions."

Source: Marsh Inc.

Pacific Life to Purchase International Segment from Scottish Re

July 21, 2008

Newport Beach, Calif. — Pacific Life Insurance Co. and Bermuda-based Scottish Re Group Ltd. signed a definitive agreement whereby Pacific LifeCorp, the parent company of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Pacific Life, will purchase the International Life Reinsurance segment of Scottish Re Group Ltd. The new operation, to be called Pacific Life Re, provides reinsurance solutions to insurance and annuity providers in the United Kingdom and Ireland and to insurers in selected markets in Asia. The purchase price is $71.2 million, subject to certain potential downward adjustments. Other terms of the purchase agreement were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions—both of which are expected during the third quarter of 2008.
 
“The purchase of Scottish Re’s international business is a great opportunity for Pacific Life,” says Pacific Life Chairman, President and CEO Jim Morris. “Scottish Re’s international business has great growth potential, and this transaction provides Pacific Life a practical way to access the growing UK and Asian markets. I am very impressed with the current management team and believe that their expertise, with the support of Pacific Life, will allow us to realize the growth potential that exists.”

Through this purchase, Pacific LifeCorp will acquire the following assets:

•  Scottish Re Limited (SRL), a London-based life reinsurer
•  Scottish Re Holdings Limited, the holding company of Scottish Re Limited
•  International segment business written by Scottish Annuity & Life Insurance Company (Cayman) Ltd. together with certain business retroceded within the Scottish Re group
•  The staff and physical assets, based in Singapore and Japan

“The sale of the International Life Reinsurance segment is a positive outcome for Scottish Re, and is consistent with the revised strategic direction that we announced in February of this year,” says George Zippel, president and CEO of Scottish Re Group Ltd. “Under Pacific Life’s ownership, David Howell and his talented team of professionals will have the opportunity to provide significant value to clients and deliver strong financial results to Pacific Life. We wish the entire Pacific Life Re team all the best.”

As part of the agreement, the current management of the acquired companies will remain intact. Pacific Life Re, which will report to Mary Ann Brown, Pacific Life’s SVP of corporate development, will be headed by David Howell and an executive team of seven professionals with a combined 160 years of insurance and reinsurance experience in the UK, Canada and Asia.  The executive team will be:

•  David Howell, FSA – CEO
•  Warren Copp – Chief Underwriter
•  Duncan Hayward, ACA – CFO
•  David Heeney, FIA – CMO, UK and Ireland
•  Andrew Linfoot, FIAA – Regional Director, Asia
•  Steve Nuttall, FIA – Chief Pricing Officer
•  George Scott, Solicitor – Legal Counsel and Chief Risk Officer
•  Jerry Staffurth, FIA – Chief Actuary

The headquarters of Pacific Life Re will remain in London, with approximately 80 employees in the UK and 15 employees in Singapore and Tokyo.

“This transaction is excellent news for our business and for our clients,” says David Howell, future CEO of Pacific Life Re. “Pacific Life has an outstanding reputation for corporate excellence, customer focus, and financial strength and we are delighted to be joining such a highly regarded company. The formation of Pacific Life Re will create exciting growth opportunities for our newly combined businesses and will provide our clients with the confidence and security they seek from a market-leading reinsurance partner.” 

Source: Pacific Life

Ironshore Intends to Enter the Lloyd’s Market

July 14, 2008

Bermuda — Ironshore Inc. has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Chaucer Holdings PLC, and the management of Pembroke, for the £17 million cash purchase of Pembroke Managing Agency Ltd., which manages Lloyd's Syndicate 4000. The transaction is subject to approval from Lloyd's and the UK's Financial Services Authority. Mark Wheeler serves as active underwriter for the Syndicate.

The Syndicate underwrites a portfolio of specialist lines products including financial institutions, professional liability, marine and other select specialist lines. Ironshore will take over the 2009 underwriting year of account onwards, and Chaucer will retain the 2008 and prior underwriting years of account.

"We are very excited about the acquisition of Pembroke and Ironshore's entry into the Lloyd's marketplace,” says Bob Deutsch, CEO of Ironshore. “We will work closely with Lloyd's and the FSA to gain regulatory approval. The addition of Pembroke completes Ironshore's strategic goal to have three central underwriting platforms: Bermuda, the U.S. and Lloyd's. Ironshore is pleased to have found such a talented group with Mark Wheeler and his experienced team. Pembroke offers Ironshore a diverse spread of international financial institutions and professional liability risks, as well as an ideal Lloyd's platform poised for future growth focused on underwriting profits."
 
"Pembroke is an excellent fit within Ironshore,” says Wheeler. “Our business is complementary, and our underwriting approach like-minded. We are excited about this opportunity to join forces and further develop our existing business, whilst expanding into targeted lines of business where additional expertise is brought to bear. This natural evolution will enable us to enhance our offering to clients, and we believe provides the right platform to grow the business successfully."

Source: Ironshore Inc.

SAS Platform to Support ISO’s Growth

July 8, 2008

Jersey City, N.J. – ISO is including business intelligence technology provider SAS in its growth strategy. The Jersey City, N.J., provider of risk information to property/casualty insurers will use the SAS Enterprise Intelligence Platform to help create more accurate analytic models, the company reports.

The relationship with SAS brings advanced analytic techniques and data management skills to the table, and ISO predicts its clients will ultimately better assess risk in the property/casualty insurance industry with additional predictive modeling.

“ISO has a vast and unprecedented amount of insurance data and a large staff of analysts,” says Marty Ellingsworth, president of the ISO Innovative Analytics unit. “Our team needs the best tools to effectively mine that data, visually explore new features, and track models through production for feedback and improvement. We found SAS to be the best solution to satisfy our needs.”

A grid-enabled SAS Enterprise Intelligence Platform will help ISO build robust analytic models more rapidly, giving simultaneous users increased computing bandwidth. The companies also predict that SAS’s visualization capabilities will significantly reduce data exploration timelines.

ISO reports that it will deploy the SAS GRID computing infrastructure for diagonal scalability to support future growth. ISO will draw on grid technology to extend and increase the lifespan of its investment in hardware resources.

Source: SAS

SunGard Acquires Delphi Technologies Ltd.

July 7, 2008

Dublin – SunGard, Wayne, Pa., acquired Delphi Technologies Ltd., a Dublin-based provider of consulting services and managed professional services to Ireland’s financial services, insurance and telecommunications industries. Delphi will become part of SunGard’s European Consulting Services business. The transaction, the terms of which were not disclosed, is not expected to have a material impact on SunGard’s financial results.
 
Delphi was founded in 1988. It delivers consultancy services and managed professional services to many Ireland-based financial services and telecommunications companies. With more than 140 staff and contractors, Delphi has two main operating divisions: managed professional services, which offers project management, business analysis and testing skills; and consultancy services, which offers outsourced project management and best practice services.
 
“SunGard’s acquisition of Delphi serves three key purposes: it further extends our consulting capabilities in Europe growing our number of consultants to more than 700; it broadens our solution set to cover specific quality and testing skills; and it helps to build our infrastructure in a country where SunGard has more than 50 customers,” says Didier Neyrat, president of SunGard’s European Consulting Services business. Delphi has a good reputation and an excellent customer base, and we look forward to integrating it with SunGard Consulting Services over the coming months.”

Source: SunGard

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