GLOBAL BRIEFS

Bermuda insurer ACE Ltd. has signed a quota share treaty reinsurance agreement with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, a unit of the World Bank Group set up to encourage investment in developing countries. The agreement will "significantly" extend the ability of MIGA and ACE to meet increased demand for political risk insurance and will allow MIGA to provide private investors and developing countries with additional capacity to support investment projects. . . .Lloyd's of London has appointed Richard Summers as marketing manager of its recently formed Insurance Services business unit. Mr. Summers, who has worked as an underwriter both with Lloyd's and in the London company market, will be responsible for marketing a range of technology, information and business support services. . . .The London Processing Centre Ltd., jointly owned by the Institute of London Underwriters and the London International Insurance & Reinsurance Market Assn., processed 678,000 transactions in 1996, down from 737,000 in 1995. The overall value of premiums processed declined to (British pounds) 4.1 billion ($7.02 billion) from (British pounds) 4.5 billion ($6.99 billion), though the LPC said the decline in transaction numbers was largely owing to a welcomed 7% fall in the number of claims processed. . . .Wellington Underwriting P.L.C., one of the largest syndicate managers at Lloyd's of London, reported a 1996 pre-tax profit of (British pounds) 10.5 million ($17.9 million), up nearly four-fold from (British pounds) 2.2 million ($3.4 million) in 1995. The rise was helped by profit commission on the "very strong underwriting performance" for the 1994 year of account on syndicates it manages. Total underwriting profits of Wellington syndicates for 1994 were (British pounds) 96 million ($164.4 million), against (British pounds) 110.8 million ($172.1 million) for 1993, which benefited from (British pounds) 13.6 million ($20.4 million) that had been overreserved for Equitas Ltd. . . .VELO Group, the U.K. fleet management services company, reports in its sixth Fleet Insurance Statistics Report that the cost to insurance companies of vehicle thefts-which account for the biggest single item of auto insurance claims-fell by 3.5% in April compared with three months earlier. VELO says the change results from a continuing fall in car crime, though this is the first time it was reflected in a genuine fall in the cost of crime per fleet vehicle. . . .Zurich International (U.K.) Ltd., part of the Zurich Insurance Group, has launched a specialist protection and risk management service to the financial services sector. Employing a dedicated department of specialist underwriters, risk engineers and claims handlers, the service will offer conventional insurance alongside products designed specifically for banks, building societies, institutional fund managers and financial services providers.