GLOBAL BRIEFS

The International Underwriting Assn. expects to be up and running by the end of the year, as originally scheduled. Members of the London International Insurance & Reinsurance Assn. and the Institute of London Underwriters are expected to give their approval for the merger of the two organizations at extraordinary general meetings on Nov. 10 and 11. Earlier approval was delayed because of complications faced by the ILU in connection with the lease on its current London premises. . . .Mark Boleat, director general of the Assn. of British Insurers since 1993, is stepping down next year to pursue other interests. The association plans to appoint executive search consultants to advise on selecting his successor. . . .Towers Perrin Reinsurance is opening an office in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 1. Richard Martin, formerly of Aon Re, will serve as managing director of Towers Perrin Reinsurance Australia. . . .The Global Financial Risks division of Willis Corroon Group P.L.C. has formed Media-TEC, a team to serve the insurance and risk management needs of the media, publishing, communications, entertainment and information technology industries. Media-TEC will serve clients internationally through offices in London and New York. . . .Moody's Investors Service Inc. has assigned its Aa2 insurance financial strength rating to Hannover Rueckversicherungs-A.G. and its subsidiary, E&S Rueckversicherungs-A.G. The ratings, Moody's first for Hannover Re, reflect the German reinsurer's "strong management and excellent technical underwriting team, which has established a strong global franchise and excellent capitalization levels achieved through successful underwriting practices." . . .Clive Washbourn will join the underwriting team on Lloyd's of London's syndicate 623, managed by Beazley Furlonge Ltd., on Dec. 1. Mr. Washbourn, former underwriter for syndicate 375, will lead a new department writing a marine-based account, and a Beazley announcement said it expects two of Mr. Washbourn's former colleagues to join the syndicate shortly. . . .Also at Lloyd's, syndicate 1156, managed by Bankside Syndicates Ltd., has appointed Lesley Kelly and Keith Morris to its multinational department. Ms. Kelly will manage the department. Previously, Ms. Kelly was casualty manager-vp major accounts division and Mr. Morris was casualty technical manager for AIG Europe (UK) Ltd. . . .Almost one-third of U.K. insurers admit to uncertainties about handling business in the euro when the common European currency comes into use in some European countries other than the United Kingdom starting Jan. 1. A survey by KPMG Management Consulting found that 14% of U.K. insurers and reinsurers admit to being "not at all confident" and 18% declare themselves only "reasonably confident" of handling euro business. . . . Berry Palmer & Lyle Ltd., a London-based trade credit and political risk insurance broker, has appointed Edward Watson as a director to head a new reinsurance team to specialize in these areas. Mr. Watson previously was with Watson Robinson & Associates Ltd., an insurance consulting division of BPL. . . .Marine Insurance Co. Ltd., a unit of CNA Financial Corp., has developed a software product for marine cargo insurance certificates that it says will dramatically reduce paperwork in cargo insurance transactions. The new product, called e-cert, produces sequentially numbered certificates and copies only as needed, rather than the typical five copies normally produced for marine insurance contracts. It is available for free only to Marine Insurance customers and is compatible with most office computers.