GLOBAL BRIEFS

Bermuda-based reinsurer Mid Ocean Ltd. has offered to acquire the 49% it does not already own of Brockbank Group P.L.C., owner of one of the largest managing agencies at Lloyd's of London. The offer, at 696 pence per share, values Brockbank at 85.5 million pounds ($142.4 million) and values the 22% stake of Chief Executive Mark Brockbank at about 19 million pounds ($31.6 million). . . .U.S. medical malpractice insurer MMI Cos. Inc. is acquiring Unionamerica Holdings P.L.C., which through its London company, Unionamerica Insurance Co. Ltd., is a specialty property/casualty reinsurer and insurer. The share-for-share offer, which has been approved by the boards of both companies, values Unionamerica at about $165 million. After the acquisition announcement, Standard & Poor's Corp. affirmed its "A" claims-paying ability rating on Unionamerica Insurance Co. Ltd. . . .Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Group P.L.C. is acquiring AMEV (General), an Irish non-life subsidiary of Fortis Group, for 12 million pounds ($20 million). The takeover of AMEV (General), which in 1996 had net premiums written of 23 million pounds ($38.3 million), will raise Royal & SunAlliance's share of the Irish non-life market to around 15% . . . .The British government last week (June 24)rebuked 24 pension providers or sellers for failing to compensate victims whom they allegedly wrongly advised to switch to individual pension plans from company pensions. The government singled out Sedgwick Group P.L.C. and Legal & General Group P.L.C. as the worst offenders in failing to meet its timetable. . . .Liberty ART, the Argentinian workers compensation subsidiary of Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group, has acquired Argentinian commercial lines insurer Sul America ART from its parent company, Sul America of Brazil. Acquisition of Sul America ART, the sixth-largest workers compensation insurer in Argentina, will make Liberty ART the third-biggest writer of workers compensation in Argentina. . . .Commercial Union P.L.C. has doubled to 2 million pounds ($3.3 million) its standard limit for most public liability and product liability policies without increasing rates for policyholders. The increased limit will apply to both existing and new business. . . .The Institute of London Underwriters, which represents non-Lloyd's marine insurers operating in the United Kingdom, has tightened its financial requirements for membership. Saying it also would like "universally recognized" membership criteria, the ILU has ruled that members must achieve a Standard & Poor's Corp. credit rating of "BBB" or better, or its equivalent from another credit rating agency. . . .British lawyers face an 80% increase in annual premiums payable to their mutual indemnity insurer, the Solicitors Indemnity Fund, because of a fund shortfall estimated at almost 454 million pounds ($755.9 million). The SIF provides all solicitors with at least the first 1 million pounds ($1.7 million) of their indemnity cover, but ended with a shortfall after apparently underreserving for exposures facing some law firms. . . .London-based specialist loss adjusting company IRISC Technical Services has expanded further into North America with the opening of regional offices in Houston and Pittsburgh. Simon Severne, ITS business development director, said the opening of the U.S. offices is part of the company's strategy "of providing adjusting services in regions with strategic importance to the product lines in which we oper-ate." . . .Standard & Poor's Corp. has said the impact of Japan's "Big Bang" financial liberalization should be "generally positive for the insurance sector over the long term." However, over the short term there is likely to be considerable pressure on some companies, its analysts said at a press conference in Tokyo last week.