Stockwatch

It’s been a tough week for Amlin. After being criticised for changing its stance by not writing more cat business for 2009 it has now been shifted out of the FTSE 100 and into the FTSE 250 after the exchanges’ quarterly reshuffle. Amlin used to be the only Lloyd’s insurer in the FTSE 100, but no longer.

There were a number of reasons for Amlin’s fall to the FTSE 250, said Kirstie Gordon, insurance specialist within the BDO Stoy Hayward Financial Services Group. “The timing of Amlin's announcement of a placing of 23.5 million shares to fund the purchase of Fortis Corporate Insurance (FCI), and the subsequent significant fall of its share price, has led to its being unable to maintain its position,” she said.

But Gordon feels all is not lost. If Amlin were to benefit from an upward trend in insurance and reinsurance pricing, a clamber back into the FTSE 100 ranks is not impossible.

This week, Amlin’s share price fell by 1.56% to 330.5p per share. But it wasn’t the worst affected. Catlin Group suffered a 5.23% drop to 317p per share, while JLT’s fell by 2.82% and Pru’s by 3.59%. The banks fared far better than insurers this week. Lloyd’s TSB’s share increased by 8.02% to 66p per share, while RBS jumped up 9.63% to 38.70p per share.