What’s New: In Brief (November 30, 2009)

Rick Patina will retire as the head of Lombard Canada, and Fabian Richenberger will serve as his successor.The role change is effective Jan. 1, 2010.Richenberger joined Northbridge Financial, Lombard’s parent company, in May 2009. He currently leads the distribution management function for the Northbridge Group of Companies. Prior to joining Northbridge, he held senior executive positions — including chief underwriting officer, chief marketing and sales officer, and head of planning and operational management — with Zurich Financial Services in Canada, the US and Europe.

A group of 19 U.S. property/casualty reinsurers wrote US$18.7 billion of net premiums during the nine-months ended Sept. 30, 2009, compared to US$19.0 billion for the same period in 2008, reports the Reinsurance Association of America (RAA).The combined ratio for the group was 95.1%, an improvement over the 104.2% combined ratio reported for the same period in 2008.The RAA attributes the combined ratio to a 64.8% loss ratio and an expense ratio of 30.2%.