Reinsurance News
Willis Re notes some considerable price increases in a divergent renewal
2nd January 2020
Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of global insurance brokerage Willis Towers Watson, has noted a divergent and late January renewal season which saw some considerable price increases in certain lines of business. Overall, Willis Re states that reinsurers have been judicial during the January 1st renewal season, resulting in significant pricing ... Read the full article
Homeowners segment boosted by lower cat losses in 2019: AM Best
2nd January 2020
Following two years of elevated catastrophe losses, a significant decline in activity during 2019 has helped to boost the homeowners insurance segment, according to AM Best. Analysts noted that the re/insurance industry more broadly has had some respite from catastrophe losses in 2019 despite threats from numerous storms, as well as ... Read the full article
Pana Harrison seals long-term partnership with Mitsui & Co
31st December 2019
General re/insurance brokerage Pana Harrison has entered into a long term partnership with Mitsui & Co, one of the largest global trading and investment companies. Following the transaction, Mitsui will be Pana Harrison’s largest institutional shareholder, while the company’s management will continue to manage and own a stake with The Huntington ... Read the full article
Syncora wraps up sale of guarantee insurance subsidiary
31st December 2019
Bermuda-domiciled holding company Syncora has wrapped up the sale of Syncora Guarantee, its financial guarantee insurance subsidiary, to Star Insurance Holdings. Star Insurance is an entity organised by GoldenTree Asset Management on behalf of GoldenTree’s managed funds and accounts. Syncora has also announced plans to distribute the net proceeds of sale together ... Read the full article
Fitch sees improved underwriting profits for US P&C insurers
31st December 2019
Fitch Ratings has maintained a stable outlook for the U.S. property and casualty (P&C) sector's fundamentals and ratings in 2020, and has said that market players are likely to report an improved underwriting performance in 2019 when compared with the previous year. Ultimately, Fitch analysts believe that the positive pricing momentum ... Read the full article
2020 will be a turning point in Lloyd’s history, says Clyde & Co
31st December 2019
Insurance law firm Clyde & Co has suggested that in 2020 we will see Lloyd’s of London take control of its future by implementing the key initiatives proposed in Blueprint One. Analysts from the law firm say Lloyd’s has already taken control of performance via Decile 10, a program they ... Read the full article
Palomar Holdings completes reinsurance renewal
31st December 2019
Specialty property insurer Palomar Holdings has successfully renewed around $300 million of its core reinsurance program while also purchasing $145 million of incremental limit that sits at the top of its tower. Effective January 1, the program provides up to $1.2 billion of protection from earthquake events and features an incremental ... Read the full article
Finding new talent critical to advancing insurtech: EY
31st December 2019
Re/insurers agree that finding new talent is critical to build on investments in technology and digital transformation, but attracting and retaining will require better communication and more customer-centric approaches, according to analysts at EY. As part of a new report, EY noted that re/insurance industry growth had remained stagnant for another ... Read the full article
Qatar Insurance, Qatar Re outlooks revised to negative by AM Best
30th December 2019
Ratings agency AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a” of Qatar Insurance Company and its subsidiary Qatar Reinsurance. AM Best says the changes reflect QIC’s balance sheet strength, which it categorises ... Read the full article
DIFC signs MoU with Lloyd’s, CII
30th December 2019
Leading financial hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA), The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), has signed two key memorandums of understandings (MoU) designed to drive the region’s insurance sector by upskilling talent as well as promoting efficiency and improvement. It’s hoped the MoUs, signed with Lloyd’s and ... Read the full article
R&Q completes takeover of Barbados insurer, Distinguished Re
30th December 2019
Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd. (R&Q) has today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, R&Q Re (Bermuda) Limited has completed the acquisition of Distinguished Re Ltd., a Barbados insurer. Distinguished Re Ltd. was formerly known as the Saranac Insurance Company, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Distinguished LLC. The firm ... Read the full article
Bermuda market increases cyber premiums threefold in 2018
30th December 2019
A new report from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) shows that commercial insurers in Bermuda increased their cyber premiums almost threefold in 2018, with $1.5 billion of net written premium reported. This compared with just $557 million in 2017, with premium coming from over 100,000 policies, versus 31,000 in 2017. The BMA ... Read the full article
ZhongAn eyeing insurtech expansion in Asia, belt & road countries
30th December 2019
China’s largest online-only insurer ZhongAn sees as an abundance of opportunities to export insurance technology across Asia and various Belt and Road countries. Bill Song, Chief Executive Officer of ZA Tech Global Limited, an operating entity established by ZhongAn, has noted the firm’s strong track record in China in terms of ... Read the full article
China’s life insurance market “wakes up” to foreign insurers: GlobalData
30th December 2019
The liberalisation of China’s insurance industry is set to offer vast opportunities to foreign life insurers, GlobalData analysts say. Although the share of foreign insurers is low, GlobalData expects the Chinese life insurance market grow to a compound annual growth rate of 9.6% from $316.6 billion in 2018, to $484 billion ... Read the full article
A.M. Best ratings to be used by Swiss insurers after FINMA recognition
30th December 2019
Global financial services ratings agency, A.M. Best, has been recognised by the Swiss Financial Market Authority (FINMA), effective December 13th. The recognition by FINAM is to enable Best's Credit Ratings to be used by Switzerland-based insurers for the determination of capital requirements in accordance with the Swiss Solvency Test. The requirements for ... Read the full article