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Easy come, easy go

Dear friend,

Poor old Benfield – no sooner has it won $19m from Aon in the Elliot Richardson defection case is it handing the lion’s share of that windfall over to Lloyd’s to settle the Central Fund reinsurance case.

I keep asking, (but no-one will tell me) which of the two was the lead co-broker was on this deal and what shares each broker placed. Apparently it’s confidential or something, though quite why such basic facts should be is beyond me.

Just imagine being the junior co-broker on a deal that goes this sour?

Getting it in the neck is one thing, but when it wasn't even your idea to place it that way and you weren't getting paid the big bucks, that must be a killer!

And I wonder what Benfield's E&O deductible is?

But anyway the settlement is a lot less than the approximate $650m shortfall Lloyd’s had on the Central fund cover, so Benfield and Aon might be feeling thankful that they have got off relatively lightly.

Still, it seems a bit harsh — after all, we are not talking about an unsophisticated buyer who needs a lot of protection here — this was a contract presumably negotiated by the highest-ranking executives at Lloyd’s at the time.

But as we know there isn’t a reinsurance broker in the world who wouldn’t bend over backwards for his client.

Especially if that client is as big as Lloyd’s.

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