Articles by Devin Banerjee and Sonali Basak

Oaktree-Backed Insurer Seeks to Raise $2 Billion, Plans IPO Within Five Years

Oaktree Capital Group LLC is among investors backing a Bermuda insurance venture that’s seeking to raise $2 billion with plans for an initial public offering within five years. Fidelis Insurance Holdings Ltd. is led by Richard Brindle, the former chief …

Progressive to Risk Raising Rates on Risky Snapshot Drivers

Progressive Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. auto insurer, said it will begin increasing rates for some risky customers who participate in a program that allows the company to electronically monitor driving habits. The decision to lift premiums is a shift for …

ACE, Blackrock Seek Up to $1.3 Billion for Bermuda Reinsurance Venture

BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager, and Evan Greenberg’s ACE Ltd. are forming a reinsurance venture that is seeking to raise $800 million to $1.3 billion. The business is named ABR Reinsurance Capital Holdings Ltd. and is based in …

Willis to Keep Name on Chicago Tower

Insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Plc plans to keep its name on the Chicago tower that is being sold to Blackstone Group LP. The broker “is involved in a long-term contract for its naming rights for Willis Tower,” Colleen McCarthy, …

Third Point Re Says It’s a Real Insurer as IRS Weighs Tightening Tax Rules

Third Point Reinsurance Ltd., which counts Dan Loeb as a founder, said it’s more than just a hedge fund investing vehicle as the Internal Revenue Service weighs tightening regulation for offshore companies. “Anyone that spent a day in our office …

Hedge Fund, Sandell Asset Management, Forms Bermuda Reinsurer

Sandell Asset Management Corp., the activist hedge-fund firm run by Tom Sandell, started a Bermuda-based reinsurer to support its investing strategy. Sandell Re will rely on the hedge fund to oversee the reinsurer’s assets, the New York-based firm said Thursday …

Man Who Sold BoatUS to Buffett Dies at 85

Richard Schwartz, the lawyer who founded a boat insurance and towing operation and then sold it to Warren Buffett, has died. He was 85. Schwartz died on Feb. 11 after a short illness, according to Scott Croft, a spokesman for …

Loeb’s Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. Shuns Acquisitions in U.S., Europe

Third Point Reinsurance Ltd., the Bermuda-based company co-founded by hedge-fund manager Dan Loeb, said buying a competitor in the U.S. or Europe could clash with its business model. “One of our strengths is we can tell people that our money …

P/C-Focused Hartford Sees Profit Rise 22% in Q4

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., the insurer that sold life units to focus on property/casualty coverage, said fourth-quarter profit rose 22 percent as sales climbed at its main unit and margins improved. Net income advanced to $382 million, or 86 …

PartnerRe Stock Jumps on Report That SCOR, Alleghany Are Weighing Bids

PartnerRe Ltd. jumped in New York trading after “Insurance Insider” reported that the reinsurer, which agreed last month to merge with Axis Capital Holdings Ltd., might draw bids from rivals to break up the deal. Alleghany Corp. and France’s SCOR …