Reinsurance News
RMS launches HD wildfire model for contiguous U.S
18th February 2019
Catastrophe risk modelling and analytics firm RMS has announced the release of its U.S. Wildfire High Definition (HD) Model for the contiguous United States. RMS says this new model offers an improvement on the zoning and mapping products currently employed by the re/insurance industry to evaluate wildfire risk. The company says these methods ... Read the full article
RLI to leverage machine learning with InsurTech partnership
18th February 2019
Specialty re/insurer RLI Corporation is partnering with InsurTech startup DataCubes as it explores ways to automate intake forms and intelligence gathering and move beyond the manual, time-consuming processes currently in place. DataCubes’ computer vision and machine learning platform is able to automatically digitise lengthy and complex insurance submission documents - including ... Read the full article
Munich Re closes longevity swap deal with Lafarge pension scheme
18th February 2019
German reinsurer Munich Re has completed a longevity swap deal with the Trustee of Lafarge UK Pension Plan, the UK pension scheme of French industrial company Lafarge. The arrangement is intended to reduce the Plan’s exposure to longevity risk, which arises when pensioners live longer than expected and thus claim more ... Read the full article
Swiss Re completes $1bn share buy-back program
18th February 2019
Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re has completed its 2018 public share buy-back program, returning almost CHF 1 billion (US $997 million) to its shareholders. Since May 7, 2018, Swiss Re has repurchased more than 11.2 million of its shares at an average purchase price of CHF 89.17 (US $88.89) per share. This ... Read the full article
Casualty erosion prompts A.M. Best to downgrade Allied World rating
18th February 2019
The Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long Term ICR) of Allied World Assurance Company and its affiliates has been been downgraded by AM Best from a+ to a, while its Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) has been affirmed. The ratings agency has also downgraded the Long-Term ICR of Allied World’s ... Read the full article
Kuwait Re’s 2018 profit up on investment and premium growth
18th February 2019
Kuwait Reinsurance Company K.S.C.P. has reported that an improved investment performance and higher net earned premiums contributed to a 10% rise in net income for the 2018 financial year. The reinsurer's net income spiked from KD 3.06 million (USD 10 million) in 2017 to KD 3.37 million (USD 10.9 million) in ... Read the full article
SCOR Global Life partners with wearable tech firm on health insights
18th February 2019
SCOR Global Life, a division of the France-headquartered reinsurer, has partnered with wearable technology provider Garmin Health in the Asia Pacific region to improve its underwriting insights and promote better lifestyle choices for consumers. By analysing the health metrics generated by Garmin’s wearable devices, SCOR will be able to enhance its ... Read the full article
Ryan Specialty acquires independent brokerage Myron Steves
18th February 2019
International specialty insurer Ryan Specialty Group has reached an agreement to purchase the assets and operations of Myron F. Steves & Company, a Houston-based independent wholesale insurance brokerage. This deal will see the Myron Steves team integrated into RT Specialty, a wholesale broker unit of Ryan Specialty, expanding the firm’s presence ... Read the full article
POP Insurance partners with Rakuten on Japan M&A offering
18th February 2019
Sydney-based specialist insurance group POP Insurance Holdings and its subsidiary, Fusion Specialty M&A MGA, have entered a strategic partnership with Rakuten General Insurance to focus on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions in Japan. The partnership is offering a full suite of transaction insurance solutions to serve the growing Japanese private equity ... Read the full article
Reinsurance rates inadequate to deploy additional capital: Grandisson, Arch
15th February 2019
Despite some signs of tightening capacity within the retrocession and facultative markets, in many instances, rate levels relative to risk remain inadequate to deploy additional capital, according to Marc Grandisson, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Arch Capital Group. Speaking during the Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer's Q4 and full-year 2018 ... Read the full article
UK government backs AI projects for insurance industry
15th February 2019
The UK government has announced that it plans to invest in 40 artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics projects to boost productivity and improve customer service in the UK insurance, accountancy, and legal services industries. The government has pledged £13 million to support these collaborative industry and research projects and develop ... Read the full article
IRB Brasil Re announces $673mn secondary share offering
15th February 2019
Brazilian reinsurance firm IRB Brasil Re has announced a secondary share offering that is expected to raise around 2.5 billion reais ($673.27 million). The company has now confirmed reports from sources at Reuters earlier this month, who said that a government fund managed by state-run bank Caixa Economica Federal was ... Read the full article
Apollo completes Aspen acquisition
15th February 2019
It's been announced that affiliates of certain Apollo investment funds have completed the previously announced takeover of Aspen Insurance Holdings, following the receipt of regulatory approval. In August 2018, it was revealed that Apollo Funds had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer Aspen. This was followed by ... Read the full article
AIG dramatically shifts reinsurance use to better realise strategic benefits
15th February 2019
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of global insurer AIG's General Insurance unit, Peter Zaffino, has said that the company is "extremely pleased" with the support it received from the reinsurance market as it continues to dramatically shift its utilisation of reinsurance protection. AIG's reinsurance use has, in recent times, been a ... Read the full article
Enstar completes four reinsurance-to-close deals with AmTrust Syndicates
15th February 2019
Enstar Group Limited has announced that its Lloyd's of London managing agency, Syndicate 2008, has completed four reinsurance-to-close transactions for the 2016 and prior years of accounts of Syndicates 1206, 1861, 2526, and 5820, which are managed by AmTrust Syndicates Limited. According to an announcement, these transactions were completed on February ... Read the full article