Reinsurance News
$2.5 billion industry hit from Woolsey wildfire: AIR
3rd December 2018
Catastrophe risk modeller AIR Worldwide has estimated the insured loss from the Woolsey fire, which tore through Southern California for 13 days last month, at $2.5 billion. This estimate is based on the assumption of nearly 100% take-up rates as damage from fire, including wildfire, is included in standard homeowners' policies ... Read the full article
Solvency II review a missed opportunity for CMU progress: Insurance Europe
3rd December 2018
While progress has been made on the European Commission’s Capital Markets Union (CMU) project, several important points remain unaddressed, according to the Deputy Director General of Insurance Europe, Olav Jones. One of the aims of the CMU is to address regulatory barriers to investment, including prudential issues under Solvency II that ... Read the full article
Generali’s new strategic plan is credit positive, says Moody’s
3rd December 2018
The new 3-year strategic plan from Italian insurance giant Generali is broadly credit positive, according to analysts at Moody’s Investors Service, as it targets debt reduction and greater earnings diversification. The insurer announced its ‘Generali 2021’ growth plan last week alongside claims that it was on track to hit all ... Read the full article
Insurtech helps Swiss Re make client relationships stickier, says CEO
30th November 2018
New technological capabilities and InsurTech partnerships are allowing Swiss Re to create stickier and more flexible relationships with its clients, according to the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Christian Mumenthaler. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV, Mumenthaler noted that a lot of money has been poured into InsurTech over the ... Read the full article
AIG’s new European post-Brexit carriers receive stable ratings
30th November 2018
Moody’s has assigned A2 insurance financial strength (IFS) ratings and stable outlooks to American International Group’s (AIG) new post-Brexit European carriers, AIG UK Limited and Luxembourg-based AIG Europe S.A. (AESA). AIG recently formed these units in order to ensure continuity of service for it its European policyholders and business partners once ... Read the full article
Allianz to address silent cyber with updated policy wordings
30th November 2018
Insurance giant Allianz is stepping up efforts to provide more comprehensive cyber protection by implementing more specific and relevant wordings to the commercial, corporate, and specialty insurance policies of its property & casualty (P&C) companies. Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), as its corporate insurance carrier, will be one of the ... Read the full article
Reinsurance sector struggling to keep pace with cost of capital: S&P
30th November 2018
With only modest pricing increases experienced over 2018 and momentum set to fade in 2019, the global reinsurance sector may find it increasingly difficult to keep pace with its cost of capital, according to S&P Global Ratings. The rating agency noted that last year the reinsurance sector generated returns on capital ... Read the full article
Ethos hires Lawyers Professional Liability group
30th November 2018
Ethos Specialty Insurance Services, part of Ascot Group’s Managing General Underwriter platform, has announced the appointment of a Lawyers Professional Liability (LPL) group led by Todd Cusano, Senior Vice President. Cusano is joined in New York by Heather Ottoson and Katherine Norris; and in Chicago by Peter Clough and Scott Vroman. Ethos ... Read the full article
AXA anticipating $70bn cat losses in 2018, says AXA XL CEO Hendrick
30th November 2018
AXA Group is expecting the global insurance industry to incur at least $70 billion of natural catastrophe losses over 2018, AXA XL's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Greg Hendrick told attendees at the Group’s annual investor day on Wednesday. “That makes '17 and '18 together the single largest two-year period,” Hendrick noted. ... Read the full article
Market expects sizeable cyber loss from Marriott hotel chain data breach
30th November 2018
The insurance and reinsurance market is awaiting official notification for a sizeable cyber loss from the Marriott hotel chain, after a data breach exposed up to 500 million customer details, Reinsurance News understands. This cyber loss has literally just hit the mainstream press headlines in the last hour and involves around ... Read the full article
W.R. Berkley appoints Brad Nieland as CEO of A&H unit
30th November 2018
W.R. Berkley Corporation has appointed Brad N. Nieland as President and Chief Executive Officer of its subsidiary, Berkley Accident and Health (A&H). He will succeed Christopher C. Brown, who has been named as Chairman of Berkley Accident and Health. Nieland has more than 15 years’ experience in the healthcare and A&H re/insurance ... Read the full article
P&C re/insurers facing $15bn hit from California wildfires: Moody’s
30th November 2018
The current insured losses for property and casualty (P&C) re/insurers as a result of the Camp and Woolsey fires in Northern California's Butte County and Southern California’s Ventura County, respectively, have been estimated by Moody’s to stand at between $10 billion and $15 billion. On November 25, the California Department of ... Read the full article
Everest Re optimistic about 2019 renewals, reports Goldman Sachs
30th November 2018
Global reinsurer Everest Re is optimistic about the pricing outlook for reinsurance renewals over 2019, anticipating rate increases across property catastrophe, specialty and casualty lines, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. After a series of meetings with Everest Re’s management, including its CEO, CFO and presidents of the Reinsurance and Insurance ... Read the full article
Wildfire assessments may not account for latest property data: BuildFax
30th November 2018
Carriers may not have accounted for a recent increase in levels of property maintenance and construction activity across Butte County in their damage assessments for California’s Camp Wildfire, according to BuildFax, a provider of property condition and history insights. BuildFax found that local maintenance activity increased by 8.57% year-to-date compared to ... Read the full article
Value of re/insurance for reputational risks shouldn’t be ignored: Johansmeyer, PCS
29th November 2018
When it comes to reputational risk, there’s an argument that the bark is worse than the bite, but that doesn’t mean risk managers shouldn’t secure insurance or reinsurance to protect against major potential reputational events, according to Tom Johansmeyer, Co-Head, PCS Strategy and Development, Verisk Risk Solutions. Reinsurance News recently spoke ... Read the full article