Orascom Inv Regulatory News (OIH)

16 Jan 2007 07:00

Omega Insurance Holdings Limited16 January 2007 OMEGA INSURANCE HOLDINGS LIMITED TRADING UPDATE, APPOINTMENT AND SYNDICATE 958 CAPACITY INCREASE Omega Insurance Holdings Limited ("Omega" or "the Group") is pleased to providean update as set out below. The Group is very pleased with its experience in the January 2007 renewalseason. Written income is up on last year and rates, terms and conditions inOmega's key areas of short-tail, small to medium sized, commercial propertyinsurance and reinsurance continue to be particularly robust. This is especiallytrue of US business which forms a majority of the Group's income. Lossexperience in 2006 was benign and Omega's results for 2006 are expected to be inline with market expectations. Omega is also pleased to announce that later this month Philip Thorpe-Apps willbe joining Omega Underwriting Agents Limited, Omega's managing agency, todevelop an account for Syndicate 958, Omega's managed syndicate, focusedprincipally on offshore energy. As a consequence, the Syndicate's forecastincome for the 2007 year of account, gross of reinsurance but net of brokerageand commissions, has been increased to £264.4 million from the originallyplanned £227.7 million. Mr Thorpe-Apps has 29 years' experience in the marineinsurance industry and has held a number of senior positions, most recently asdirector of underwriting for Aegis Managing Agency Limited at Lloyd's. The Syndicate's capacity for the 2007 year of account is being increased from£250 million to £275 million by means of a qualifying quota share reinsurancecontract in respect of 10% of its gross whole account. The contract will beunderwritten by Omega Specialty Insurance Company Limited ("Omega Specialty").Syndicate 958's revised business plan incorporating the marine and energyaccount and the qualifying quota share has been approved by Lloyd's. In addition to the qualifying quota share, Omega Specialty has renewed a 10%quota share reinsurance of Syndicate 958's gross whole account for the 2007account. Omega Specialty has also renewed its reinsurance of Omega DedicatedLimited, Omega's corporate member at Lloyd's. Omega Specialty protects that partof Omega Dedicated Limited's share of Syndicate 958's capacity that is directlysupported by the Group. For the 2007 year of account, that share protected byOmega Specialty is 15.2% of the Syndicate's capacity. Richard Tolliday, Chief Executive of Omega, commented: "We are very pleased thatPhilip Thorpe-Apps is joining Omega to develop an account that is complementaryto our existing classes of business and entirely consistent with Omega'sestablished focus on smaller to medium sized, short-tail, physical damage risks.2006 has been a year of very considerable accomplishments for Omega. Our strongunderwriting performance and benign claims experience have been coupled with asuccessful corporate reorganisation of the Group. We are pleased with ourexperience in the 1 January renewal season and consider Omega very well placedto take advantage of a market that continues to offer the prospect of goodreturns." Omega will be announcing its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December2006 on Wednesday 28 March 2007. Enquiries: Omega Insurance Holdings Limited Richard Tolliday, CEO +1 441 294 6610 Threadneedle CommunicationsJohn Coles 020 7936 9604 Notes to Editors • Omega became the new holding company of the Omega group on 9 November 2006when the scheme of arrangement of Omega Underwriting Holdings PLC (the Omegagroup's previous holding company and now wholly owned by Omega) ("OUH") becameeffective. On the same day the common shares of Omega were admitted to tradingon AIM, the admission of OUH's shares to trading on AIM was cancelled and OUHwas re-registered as a private limited liability company. Omega, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Omega Underwriting Agents Limited,acts as a Lloyd's managing agent for Syndicate 958 and in February 2006established a new insurance and reinsurance business, Omega Specialty InsuranceCompany Limited, based in Bermuda. • Syndicate 958 Syndicate 958 had a capacity for the 2006 year of account of £249 million andcapacity for the 2007 year of account is being increased to £275 million. TheSyndicate has made an underwriting profit in every closed year of account sinceits inception in the 1980 year of account. The Syndicate has focusedpredominantly on short-tail property insurance and reinsurance, insuring smallto medium sized insureds and reinsuring the smaller insurance companies. The Syndicate's financial strength rating from A.M. Best Company, Inc. of "A"(Excellent) and an Issuer Credit Rating of "a+" (Excellent) were reaffirmed on 7February 2006. • Omega Specialty Insurance Omega Specialty is authorised by the Bermuda Monetary Authority as a Class 3insurer, underwriting its targeted classes of insurance and reinsurance, key inwhich are non-marine property insurance, professional indemnity insurance,property catastrophe treaty reinsurance and property per risk treatyreinsurance. Omega Specialty is capitalised at $172 million. On 4 April 2006, Omega Specialty was assigned a financial strengthrating by A.M. Best of "A-" (Excellent). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange