Robert Douglas CEO of the XL Re Life operations has announced the creation of a new senior position and the appointment of a new resident of its US life reinsurance company, Servus Life Insurance Company.

Servus Life Insurance Company is soon to be renamed XL Re Life America Incorporated pending regulatory approvals.

Andy Batley has become head of Global Business Development for XL Re Life operations and will oversee its business development activity worldwide. He will be based in London and is succeeded by Michael Pado.

Mr. Pado, who will report to Mr. Batley, joins as president of XL Re Life America Incorporated from Transamerica Reinsurance where he served as Senior Vice President of Sales and Market Research in their Charlotte, North Carolina office.

During his 28 year tenure in the life reinsurance and insurance industries, he honed his experience in several leadership positions, serving as president for both Convergence Re LLC and for AXA Re Life Insurance Company.

Mr. Pado also served as senior vice president of both individual life and non-traditional products for Swiss Re.

Mr. Douglas said: "XL Re Life operations have grown to more than $6 billion in assets since its launch in 1999."

"Andy recently directed our successful entry into the US market and now, in his new position, we will continue to look to Andy's proven leadership and industry expertise to guide our global growth in this market."

He added: "Mike's well regarded experience and reputation in the industry adds even more strength to a very solid US underwriting team which entered the US life reinsurance market at a pivotal time."

"There is a real demand for good quality capacity. Under Mike's leadership, XL Re Life America is entering into a market of opportunity with a seasoned team and the right underwriting skills and discipline to meet the life industry's reinsurance needs."

Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a leading provider of products and services for the management of natural hazard risk has released version 5.1 of its Climetrix weather derivatives trading and portfolio risk management system.

This release provides an automated, direct link between Climetrix and the two most important sources of over-the-counter (OTC) weather market data: TFS White Board and YellowJacket Software's YJ Weather.

Climetrix version 5.1 also includes expanded option pricing functionality that automatically identifies the most valuable OTC trades available in the market.

Jeff Hamlin director of Weather Risk Solutions at RMS said, "By directly linking Climetrix with the TFS White Board and YellowJacket's YJ Weather, our clients can instantly price virtually all weather contracts quoted in the OTC market."

"Details of these OTC markets are automatically Loded into Climetrix and then updated on a real-time basis so traders can spend less time on deal entry and more time trading."

Ethan Crain has been hired as Managing Principal and Executive Broker for the Boston based arm of the Integro's Healthcare Practice.

This regional office was created to meet the needs of leading area medical centers and healthcare facilities.

Mr. Crain joins Integro from Aon, where he served as Associate Director, National Healthcare Alternative Risk Practice and head of the company's New England Healthcare Practice.

He is a nationally recognised expert in the design, implementation and operation of healthcare captives and has worked with several major teaching hospitals and healthcare systems in the Northeast.

"Ethan has the ideal background for this position, with extensive experience managing complex placements for Northeastern healthcare companies," Nancy Aque, Healthcare Practice Leader for Integro said.