The Deal’s M&A Outlook event December 1

Attend this full-day event and you will:

- Discover lessons learned from China deals

- Find out what new cross border opportunities are on the horizon

- Get the latest on regulatory compliance from Washington

- Focus on sectors from healthcare to technology

- Gain insight into the economic forecast and outlook for M&A, LBOs and Private Equity

- Network with corporate and financial leaders in M&A

For additional details and to register for this conference, go to:

http://www.thedeal.com/outlookevent

Join M&A leaders in the only year-end event dedicated to exploring trends, real-time strategies and case studies for achieving successful mergers and acquisitions in 2006. Visit

http://www.thedeal.com/outlookevent to register!

From Insurance Journal

HCC Insurance Holdings Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Missouri-based Perico Ltd. for an undisclosed consideration consisting of cash and HCC shares. The transaction is expected to close shortly

Perico is an insurance underwriting agency located in St. Louis, Mo., and is recognized as one of the premier underwriters in medical stop loss insurance. The founding management team of Carl C. Petty, Erwin F. Rittinger and Larry G. Cook will remain with the company following closing. Perico has been in business since 1988 and currently writes more than $50 million in premium.

From Business Plan master

Here’s the latest update on upcoming conferences for venture capital funding:

Nov. 16, 2005
Private Equity 2005 Year End Venture Forum, New York
Organizers are expecting over 100 private equity funds, angel investors, venture capitalists, high net worth individuals and other financial institutions.

Nov. 17 - 18, 2005
Springboard Enterprises Conference at Harvard Business School, Boston, MA
The premier organization for emerging women-led companies hosts this Venture Capital Forum to showcase 20-25 of the region’s most innovative companies.

Nov. 30, 2005
Arizona Angel Investment Conference
Last year over 150 of the region’s top angel investors participated — look for even more this year as this conference gains momentum. Originally targeted at venture capital, the need for start up funding has shifted the focus to angel investors.

Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 2005
7th Anual Southeastern BIO Investor Forum in Charleston, S. Carolina
Southeast BIO’s mission is to foster the growth of the life sciences industry in the Southerastern US through efforts that pr9mote entrepreneurship and bring together companies, investor, universities and support organizations active in the development of the industry.

January 31 - February 1, 2006
Nanotech Investing Forum, presented by International Business Forum Conference in Rancho Mirage, CA
Designed for nanotech businesses on all levels. Features funding from government, universities/labs, and corporation.

April 26-27, 2006
CrossRoads Venture Fair in New Haven, Ct.
Features 75 hot growth companies, from seed to pre-IPO, along with sharply-focused programming. Geared to high tech, high growth entrepreneur and investor.

From NewIndPress

BANGALORE: Pinning its faith on the emerging sectors in the country like IT, ITES, BPO, telcom, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, the Canbank Venture Capital Fund on Monday launched the ‘Bharat Nirman Fund’.

CMD of Canara Bank M B N Rao said over 100 years of experience of CanBank and 600 years of collective wisdom of these six banks and a development bank would take the effort to new heights.

(more…)

From Wall Stree Journal

As the ranks of the rich have grown, insurers are introducing new products designed to cover the vacation homes, yachts, art collections and other concerns of wealthy individuals.

Among the latest coverage options: Fireman’s Fund recently launched an insurance policy that covers insured family members serving as trustees against allegations that they bungled the family trust funds. Chubb is launching a new set of free services targeted at policyholders with a net worth of at least $5 million. The offering, called "Signature Suite," includes extensive background checks on cooks, nannies, drivers, yacht captains and other household staffers; screenings to determine policyholders’ susceptibility to kidnapping and identity theft; and special software to help customers keep track of their art and antiques collections.

Insurance companies say providing coverage to the rich is a fast-growing business that is benefiting in part from a trend to build large houses filled with costly fixtures and specialized collections, such as jewels, antique guns and wine. Specialized insurers typically have higher coverage limits and cover more events — often paying the entire cost of rebuilding a luxury home. And as individuals’ net worths increase, so does their demand for excess liability coverage, which protects assets from personal-injury or property-damage lawsuits, above the liability limits set by home and auto policies.

For insurance companies, the rich are an expanding client base. The number of people in the U.S. with more than $1 million in financial assets grew nearly 10% last year to about 2.5 million, according to a report by Merrill Lynch & Co. and consulting firm Capgemini.

Still, consumers should steer clear of policies that are loaded with coverage lines that might be irrelevant to their situations. Indeed, some wealthy people live frugally and don’t need all the additional coverage. Gary Pasternack, director of property and casualty insurance advisory services at Bessemer Trust in New York, says that he has seen some clients pay 20% to 30% more in premiums after switching to insurers that specialize in the high-net-worth sector. But, he says, benefits are often superior, including broader coverage and more-personalized claims service.

Insurers who are targeting high-net-worth households include Chubb Corp.; American International Group Inc.’s six-year-old Private Client Group; Fireman’s Fund, a unit of Allianz AG; and Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co.

Wealth-management firms are also jumping into the insurance advisory game to help clients figure out what their risks are and navigate the thicket of insurance options. In recent years Bessemer Trust, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Wachovia Wealth Management and Harris myCFO have all launched or expanded their insurance advisory services. (The advisory services are generally free if clients already have assets under management, but J.P. Morgan and Wachovia also provide insurance brokerage services.)

Business is booming for high-end insurers. AIG Private Client Group, whose average policyholder pays some $18,000 in total annual premiums, says its net premium underwritings grew by about 40% in the first seven months of this year. Fireman’s gross personal insurance premiums — which average $3,749 annually per policyholder — totaled $900 million in 2004, up more than $100 million from two years earlier. And Chubb wrote $2.83 billion in net personal insurance premiums last year, up 22% from 2002. High-end insurers say it is still too early to tell whether the devastation wrought by hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma will have an effect on premium pricing.

To qualify for a specialty insurance policy, a person typically must start by insuring a house for at least $500,000. AIG Private Client Group generally requires homes to be insured for at least $1 million. The costs of high-net-worth coverage can vary greatly depending on factors including the value of the assets being insured and where the policyholder lives. Not all policies are available in all states, since insurance is regulated by state. Bundling all insurance coverage with one provider, and taking a higher deductible, can reduce premium costs significantly.

Nationwide, the property and casualty insurance industry wrote a total of $216.7 billion in personal homeowners and car insurance premiums in 2004, a 5% increase from a year earlier and a 15% increase from 2002, according to an analysis by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. The typical American homeowner is expected to pay $677 for home insurance and $870 for auto insurance in 2005, according to estimates from the Insurance Information Institute.

Read more at http://www.rcps.com/news_art7.html

From Insurance Journal

Derek Borisoff, CEO and president of Monarch E&S Insurance Services, a specialty insurance wholesaler, licensed surplus lines broker and managing general agency, has announced the opening of a northern California branch office in Novato, Calif. Monarchs Novato team is headed by Ron Hughes, branch manager; Lisa Matrone, underwriting manager; and Briana Griffin, underwriter. Hughes brings more than 28 years of wholesale insurance experience along with various new markets.

Monarch E&S Insurance Services, based in La Crescenta, Calif., is a full-service, family owned, MGA/Surplus Lines Wholesaler with five offices throughout California.

The Monarch E&S Novato office is located at 10 Commercial Boulevard, Ste. 100, Novato, CA 94949. For more information contact Ron Hughes at (415) 883-1411 ext.104 or ronh@monarchexcess.com.