Reinsurance News
Australia’s summer nat cat claims hit AU$5.3bn
13th July 2020
Insurers in Australia paid over AU$5.3 billion (US$3.7 billion) in catastrophe-related claims over the summer, according to The Insurance Council of Australia CEO Rob Whelan. This figure represents a slight increase from the ICA's previous estimate of AU$5.19 billion. Commenting during a Senate Inquiry, Whelan said AU$2.34 billion was paid out for ... Read the full article
W. R. Berkley puts Q2 cat losses at $145mn; includes $85mn COVID-19 hit
13th July 2020
W. R. Berkley Corporation has revealed that it expects to incur net catastrophe losses of roughly $145 million (pre-tax) for the second-quarter of 2020, most of which is attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm estimates that approximately $85 million, or 59% of its Q2 loss estimate relates to the ongoing ... Read the full article
Longevity reinsurance market to end 2020 strong after a resilient H1: Prudential
13th July 2020
Prudential Retirement, part of Prudential Financial, Inc., has announced that it closed a significant $1.7 billion in new longevity reinsurance transactions during the first six months of 2020, and that it expects the market to end the year in a strong position. The company attributes its busy and successful start to ... Read the full article
Henry Lawrence named as a Managing Director of GC Fac UK
13th July 2020
Guy Carpenter, the global reinsurance arm of brokerage Marsh, has announced the appointment of Henry Lawrence as a Managing Director of GC Fac UK, effective August 17th. In this newly created role, Lawrence will be responsible for the U.S. region at GC Fac UK. The reinsurance broker explains that this new ... Read the full article
AM Best maintains stable outlook on German non-life sector
13th July 2020
AM Best is maintaining a Stable outlook on the German non-life insurance sector thanks to healthy technical profitability and investment portfolios with limited exposure to COVID-19 related financial market volatility. AM Best expects the profit margins of German non-life insurers to remain healthy, supported by stable to positive rate adjustments in ... Read the full article
Whitespace passes 100 customer mark
13th July 2020
Whitespace, the digital e-trading platform for brokers and re/insurers, has announced that it has passed the 100 customer mark less than a year since launching. The Whitespace platform provides brokers and underwriters with the ability to digitally offer, negotiate, place, and bind insurance and reinsurance contracts with each other. The company says ... Read the full article
Mutual & cooperative insurers attracting millennial talent: ICMIF
13th July 2020
A new report from the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) has found that cooperative and mutual insurers are successfully attracting and retaining talent from younger generations. Based on responses from 23 member organisations, ICMIF pointed to a wide range of initiatives and programs that have helped to position the ... Read the full article
Hyperion X reports peak rate increases of 20% at July renewals
10th July 2020
Hyperion X, the data and analytics specialist unit of the Hyperion Insurance Group, has reported pricing improvements of between 0% and 20% at the July renewal. Following a conversation with Hyperion X executives David Flandro and Nick Griffiths, Morgan Stanley noted that magnitude of rate improvement in July was below the ... Read the full article
Catherine Barton appointed CFO of AIG’s Talbot Underwriting
10th July 2020
Catherine Barton has been unveiled as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Lloyd's of London syndicate Talbot Underwriting Ltd, an AIG company. Barton's appointment is effective September 28th, 2020 and she will also join the Talbot Board, subject to regulatory approval. She succeeds Nigel Wachman, who retires from Talbot in ... Read the full article
US commercial insurers’ results face COVID-19 claims uncertainty: Fitch
10th July 2020
Benefits for US commercial insurers from recent sharp premium rate improvement are likely to be delayed by effects on underwriting results from COVID-19, according to Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency says the sector was poised for 2020 profit improvement following two consecutive years of statutory industry commercial lines combined ratios slightly ... Read the full article
Everest Insurance adds Louis Manger as Head of Casualty Claims
10th July 2020
Everest Insurance has announced that Louis Manger has joined the company as Head of Casualty Claims. In this role Manger will lead all facets of Casualty claims, including all direct-handled and TPA-administered claims. He will be based in Liberty Corner, NJ. Manger joins from Blackboard Insurance where he served as Chief Claims Officer. Prior ... Read the full article
Japan flood damage to reach hundreds of millions USD: Aon
10th July 2020
Economic damage from the recent monsoonal flooding in Japan is expected to reach well into the hundreds of millions USD or higher, according to re/insurance broker Aon. The latest catastrophe report by Aon’s Impact Forecasting team also anticipates thousands of insurance claims will result from the flooding, although the General Insurance ... Read the full article
Lloyd’s to focus on US reinsurance and E&S, drops admitted licenses
10th July 2020
Insurance and reinsurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London has announced that it plans to strengthen its focus on the US reinsurance and excess and surplus (E&S) markets. As part of this strategy to focus on its core markets, Lloyd’s will relinquish its admitted licences in the US Virgin Islands (US VI), Kentucky ... Read the full article
Kovrr releases open framework to measure catastrophic cyber risk exposure
10th July 2020
Cyber risk modelling company Kovrr has developed an open framework designed to measure and understand catastrophic cyber risk exposure. The CRA-Zones framework defines the minimal elements needed to provide a view of cyber risk aggregations, allows for analysis across multiple portfolios of risks and allows for monitoring of exposure trends. CRA-Zones group ... Read the full article
Storm Amanda a “critical test” of parametric cover, says MiCRO
10th July 2020
Tropical Storm Amanda, which recently triggered insurance payouts for El Salvador and Guatemala, was a “critical test” of the index-based insurance cover these countries have in place, according to the Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organization (MiCRO). MiCRO designed the excess rainfall coverages that triggered the payouts in collaboration with its local partners ... Read the full article