Reinsurance News
Global insured cat losses below average at $31bn in H1: Swiss Re
11th August 2020
Swiss Re Institute estimates that global insured catastrophe losses were $31 billion in the first half of 2020, up from $23 billion last year but well below the average H1 cost of $36 billion. Global economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters came to $75 billion in H1 2020, according ... Read the full article
SCOR partners with Verisk to help streamline US life underwriting process
11th August 2020
SCOR has partnered with Verisk, a leading data analytics provider, to develop a new tool designed to help life insurers fast track applications, by using data from consumer-authorized electronic health records (EHRs). The EHR Triage Engine streamlines the manual underwriting workflow – reducing decision time from weeks to minutes. The tool bypasses ... Read the full article
RMS updates HWind forecasting products
11th August 2020
Today, RMS announced significant updates to its suite of HWind forecasting products, which are part of the RMS HWind Real-Time Analysis solution. Launched in 2019, the first version of the HWind forecasting products for Atlantic tropical cyclones offered a product suite including an ensemble of forecast tracks, track and gust probability ... Read the full article
Lloyd’s selects ten insurtechs for cohort focused on COVID-19 risks
11th August 2020
Specialist insurance and reinsurance market Lloyd’s has announced its new cohort of InsurTech disruptors that will join the Lloyd’s Lab innovation accelerator programme. The ten successful teams were selected after presenting their ideas in a competitive process during a virtual pitch day on 29 July 2020. This is the second completely virtual ... Read the full article
Courts rule insurers not responsible for COVID-19 BI losses
11th August 2020
American multinational investment bank, Morgan Stanley (MS), has commented on a decision made by the Superior Court of D.C. which finds that the COVID-19 pandemic does not cause direct physical damage which would be a required trigger for business interruption (BI). According to MS, this ruling offers further support for its ... Read the full article
Aon & Willis Towers Watson deal recommended by proxy advisors
11th August 2020
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass Lewis & Co. have recommended the shareholders of both Aon and Willis Towers Watson (WTW) to vote in favour of their combination. In an independent report dated August 7th, 2020 ISS found that "the strategic rationale is sound" and subsequently recommended ... Read the full article
Oxbridge Re posts 220% combined ratio for Q2
11th August 2020
Oxbridge Re, a provider of reinsurance solutions primarily to property and casualty insurers, has reported a net income of $165,000 in the second quarter compared to loss of $205,000 last year. The combined ratio for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 was 220.0% and 143.0%, respectively, compared to ... Read the full article
AXA exploring sale of Singapore unit: reports
11th August 2020
Global insurer and reinsurer AXA is reportedly exploring options for selling its Singapore unit in a bid to raise funds, according to sources at Bloomberg. The publication says AXA is working with an advisor on a potential sale, with an eye to starting a sale process within the next few weeks. However, ... Read the full article
Beirut port explosion insured loss seen at up to $3bn: reports
11th August 2020
The insurance industry loss from the Beirut port explosion, thought to have been caused by 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate that was stored unsafely, is estimated at up to $3 billion by the Association of Insurance Companies in Lebanon (ACAL). According to a report by Al Roeya, the ACAL has ... Read the full article
Charles Taylor hires CEO of InsureTech from Microsoft
11th August 2020
Insurance services provider Charles Taylor has announced the appointment of Arjun Ramdas as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of InsureTech, effective September 2. He joins Charles Taylor from Microsoft where he served as the Practice Leader for Microsoft’s Consulting Services in the UK. Ramdas started in Microsoft as the Services Practice Leader for ... Read the full article
Costero acquires rival brokerage Prospect Insurance Brokers
11th August 2020
London-based, privately held broker, Costero Brokers Ltd., has announced the acquisition of Prospect Insurance Brokers, effective August 1st, 2020. Prospect was founded in 2010 and operates as an independent insurance and reinsurance broker at Lloyd's of London, with a specialist focus in binding authority, reinsurance and alternative risk transfer business placed ... Read the full article
APAC mortality protection gap forecast at $119tn by 2030: Swiss Re
11th August 2020
The aggregate mortality protection gap in Asia Pacific (APAC) is projected to reach $119 trillion by 2030, according to a new report by Swiss Re. The gap reached $83 trillion in 2019 and is expected to rise by an average of 4% each year over the next decade. Based on a survey ... Read the full article
Cost of retiree pension risk transfer rises in June: Milliman
11th August 2020
During June, the estimated cost to transfer retiree pension risk to an insurer rose 70 basis points, from 103.9% of a plan's total liabilities to 104.6% of those liabilities. This is according to global consulting and actuarial firm Milliman, which recorded the rising cost in the latest results of its Milliman ... Read the full article
Global average commercial insurance prices up 19% in Q2: Marsh
10th August 2020
Global average commercial insurance prices increased 19% in the second quarter of 2020, according to the Global Insurance Market Index. The increase, the largest since the index was launched in 2012, follows year-over-year average increases of 14% in the first quarter and 11% in the fourth quarter of 2019. As with the ... Read the full article
Helios eyes capital raise to bolster growth plans
10th August 2020
Helios Underwriting, the Lloyd’s of London investment and underwriting vehicle, has announced an update on its capacity portfolio and its growth plans. The company is looking to build a fund of capacity on the better quality syndicates at Lloyd's by acquiring existing limited liability vehicles (LLVs) and by taking up pre-emption capacity ... Read the full article
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