Middlesea Insurance has appointed an external firm of professional investigative specialists to review the position of its Italian subsidiary Progress AssicuranzzionSpA after preliminary unaudited data for the fourth quarter showed a marked deterioration in claims experience.

"Whereas the preliminary unaudited data relating to Middlesea Insurance and Middlesea Valletta Life indicate financial performance ahead of that anticipated at the time of the preparation of the Rights Issue prospectus, the fourth quarter performance of Progress is likely to cause the overall Middlesea Group consolidated loss for the year to exceed that forecast in the said prospectus," the company said.

Former Middlesea chairman Mario Grech had said in an interview with The Sunday Times that Progress made a loss of €29 million up to the third quarter of 2009.

Since then Mr Grech has stepped down from the chairmanship and been succeeded by Joe F.X. Zahra and there has also been a number of new management appointments.

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