Reinsurance News
AXA XL names Scott Gunter as new CEO as Hendrick departs
20th February 2020
AXA XL, the commercial insurance and reinsurance arm of the AXA Group, has announced that its Chief Executive Officer Greg Hendrick is set to depart and has hired Scott Gunter, formerly the Senior Vice President of Chubb Group and President of Chubb’s North America Commercial Insurance division, as its new ... Read the full article
Hippo expands reinsurance panel, establishes captive
19th February 2020
California-headquartered, homeowners focused InsurTech firm, Hippo, has announced the expansion of its reinsurance panel and the establishment of its own captive as it eyes continued growth. Founded in 2015, Hippo looks to transform home insurance and ownership by providing a more efficient and affordable service to U.S. homeowners. The InsurTech company first ... Read the full article
Everest Insurance expands E&S Casualty Excess group
19th February 2020
Everest Insurance, a division of Bermuda-based reinsurer Everest Re Group, has expanded its Excess & Surplus (E&S) Casualty Excess group with four new additions. Kelly Doyle joins Everest as a Senior Underwriter based in the company’s Chicago office. She most recently served at Allianz Global and Corporate Specialty as a Corporate ... Read the full article
New California bill will enforce wildfire-hardening, insurer participation
19th February 2020
New legislation has been introduced in California that would require insurers to provide cover to homes in communities that meet new statewide standards for fire-hardening. The bill would also authorise the insurance commissioner to require insurers to offer financial incentives for homeowners who undertake work towards making their homes more fire-safe. Renew ... Read the full article
Cayman Islands blacklist status will be temporary: Conyers
19th February 2020
International law firm Conyers has said that it is expecting the status of the Cayman Islands on the European Union’s tax blacklist to be temporary, with the jurisdiction already looking to begin the removal process. The EU confirmed today that the Cayman Islands had been added to its list of ... Read the full article
Palomar’s net income rises but combined ratio weakens in Q4
19th February 2020
U.S. insurer Palomar Holdings, Inc. recorded an increase in net income for the fourth-quarter of 2019 when compared with the same period in 2018, while premiums grew by a huge 68.4% in the quarter. Net income of $10.9 million in the fourth-quarter represents growth of almost 164% when compared with the ... Read the full article
Syndicates forecast deteriorating Lloyd’s results for 2017/2018
19th February 2020
A number of Lloyd's of London syndicates have been reporting updated forecasts for their results on the 2017 and 2018 years of account in recent days and there are signs of some deterioration. The performance of Lloyd's syndicates has been a focus over the last year, of course, as the market ... Read the full article
Singapore government extends tax incentives for re/insurance
19th February 2020
In its 2020 budget announcement yesterday, the Singapore government revealed the extension of numerous tax benefits, two of which apply to insurance and reinsurance operations. Both the Insurance Business Development (IBD) umbrella scheme and the IBD-Captive Insurance scheme were set to expire on March 31st, 2020 and have now been extended ... Read the full article
Vincent Lepez to join Pacific Life Re Europe as Managing Director
19th February 2020
Pacific Life Re has announced that the Managing Director of its Europe operation, Darren Spriggs, has decided to step down from the company and will be replaced by SCOR's Vincent Lepez. Spriggs has been with the company for almost four years and has helped Pacific Life Re Europe make important steps ... Read the full article
TWIA raises 2020 reinsurance target to $2.1 billion
19th February 2020
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has increased its target amount of reinsurance protection for the 2020 catastrophe year to $2.1 billion, with the Board directing TWIA staff to place a mix of traditional reinsurance and catastrophe bond protection. In December of last year, TWIA said that it expects to ... Read the full article
Bermuda returns to EU’s fully cooperative tax list
19th February 2020
Bermuda has been returned to the European Union’s (EU) ‘white list’ of fully cooperative tax jurisdictions, having previously been blacklisted in March 2019. The island nation and global re/insurance hub was removed from the blacklist in May after implementing commitments to address concerns about its tax transparency. But until now ... Read the full article
Marc Sullivan joins IGI as Class Underwriter for Downstream Energy
19th February 2020
International General Insurance Holdings Limited (IGI), the international specialist commercial insurer and reinsurer, has appointed Marc Sullivan as Class Underwriter, Downstream Energy, based in its London office. Sullivan joins the company from Barbican Insurance Group, where he also served as Class Underwriter for Downstream Energy. Prior to Barbican, he spent eight years ... Read the full article
Consensus around “significant” price movement at Japan renewals: JMP
19th February 2020
Following meetings with insurers, reinsurers and brokers JMP Securities analysts are anticipating significant positive pricing change in Japan’s upcoming April 1 renewals, roughly twice the magnitude seen in 2019. JMP notes that, while pricing changes will vary substantially by both layer of a program and by individual cedant, a surprising amount ... Read the full article
Argo names new CEO, chairman
19th February 2020
Specialty reinsurer Argo has named Kevin Rehnberg as its new Chief Executive Officer following the messy departure of former-boss Mark Watson. The appointment marks the culmination of an ongoing dispute that stretches back to February 2019 when activist investor Voce accused Watson of perpetuating “shockingly high and shockingly inappropriate” corporate ... Read the full article
Chubb appoints Xavier Florit as regional head of corporate, A&H
19th February 2020
Global insurer Chubb has appointed Xavier Florit as regional head of corporate, accident and health for Continental Europe. Florit has been with the company since 2016, having previously served as head of A&H for France. Before that he held several roles within the insurance industry working for both brokers and insurers. He will ... Read the full article