Reinsurance News
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
Chubb exploring merger deal for Saudi Arabian division
19th February 2020
Chubb Arabia Cooperative Insurance Company, the Saudi Arabian arm of global re/insurer Chubb, has said that it plans to enter into talks with Al Ahli Takaful Company about the possibility of a merger. If a merger discussion is agreed, both companies will sign a non-binding memorandum of understanding to evaluate a ... Read the full article
Aspen names Swiss Re’s Crystal Ottaviano as Group Chief Risk Officer
19th February 2020
Bermuda domiciled insurer and reinsurer, Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited, has appointed Swiss Re's Crystal Ottaviano as its new Group Chief Risk Officer (CRO), effective March 2nd, 2020. In her new role, Ottaviano will report to Mark Cloutier, Executive Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Aspen. She joins the firm from ... Read the full article
Questions remain over Lloyd’s modernisation initiatives, says UK regulator
19th February 2020
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said that “questions remain” about whether the modernisation initiatives at Lloyd’s of London do enough to address underlying issues in the market. The regulator noted that the London Market’s operational expense ratio is 9% higher than similar global re/insurance centres, highlighting an urgent need ... Read the full article
State-backed re/insurers not supportive of lower premiums: ACCC
19th February 2020
A report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s northern Australia Insurance Inquiry claims that government reinsurance pools and government-backed insurers are not well-suited to lowering insurance premiums. "We do not consider government reinsurance pools and government insurers well-suited to addressing affordability concerns in a targeted way,” the ACCC said. "They have ... Read the full article
Swiss Re announces completion of 2019 public share buyback programme
18th February 2020
Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re has announced the completion of the 2019 public share buyback programme of up to CHF 1.0 billion purchase value. The 2019 public share buyback programme was authorised by the Annual General Meeting on April 17th, 2019 and launched on May 6th, 2019. The reinsurer notes that since ... Read the full article
Athene posts improved $432m Q4 net income
18th February 2020
Retirement services firm Athene has posted a $432 million net income for the fourth quarter of 2019, up from a $104 million net loss incurred in the prior year quarter. This increase was driven by higher adjusted operating income, as well as a favorable net change in fixed indexed annuity derivatives ... Read the full article