Reinsurance News

James River post $20.5mn net income amid robust Q4 results

21st February 2020

James River Group Holdings, the Bermuda-based insurance holdings company, has posted a fourth quarter 2019 net income of $20.5 million, up from $11.6 million in the prior year quarter. The firm’s gross written premiums reached $375 million in Q4, representing a 27% increase from the same period in 2018. Excess and surplus ... Read the full article

Ping An grows profits by 36%, helped by tech investments

21st February 2020

Ping An Insurance (Group) of Company of China, Ltd. has reported 36.5% growth in net profits in 2019, helped by its  technology and data focused transformation strategy. Net profit totalled RMB 164,365 million (US $23.4 billion) for the year, while operating profit similarly rose 18.1% to RMB 132,955 million ($18.9 billion). The ... Read the full article

MAPFRE takes majority stake in Dominican health insurer

21st February 2020

MAPFRE has entered into an agreement with the León BHD Financial Center, its bancassurance partner in the Dominican Republic, to acquire 51% of the health insurance company ARS Palic. The transaction is expected to help MAPFRE consolidate its position in the country, and will leave the León BHD Financial Center with ... Read the full article

Former Ironshore CEO Kevin Kelley joins Aquiline

21st February 2020

Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, a private equity firm that invests in financial services and technology,  has announced that Kevin Kelley has joined the firm as an Executive Advisor. Kelley previously served as Chief Executive Officer at Ironshore, prior to the company’s acquisition by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Most recently, he worked as Vice ... Read the full article

United Insurance posts $30mn loss after “tough year”

21st February 2020

United Insurance Holdings Corp (UPC Insurance) has posted a $29.9 million loss for 2019, following what President and CEO John Forney described as a “tough year” for the company. Core income also fell to a loss of $46.2 million, compared to $17.3 million in the previous year. Net income in 2018 ... Read the full article

Is Willis Towers Watson just preparing the ground for a bigger M&A deal?

21st February 2020

After insurance and reinsurance brokerage and consultancy Willis Towers Watson (WTW) confirmed yesterday that it is exploring “strategic alternatives” for its wholesale arm, Miller, it's interesting to consider how a sale of its majority stake could clear the decks for a much larger M&A deal. Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and ... Read the full article

ProAssurance set for $450mn acquisition of NORCAL Group

21st February 2020

Specialty insurer ProAssurance is set to acquire NORCAL Group in a $450 million deal following the demutualisation of NORCAL Mutual Insurance Company, NORCAL's parent. The demutualisation and the acquisition agreement are mutually contingent, and are subject to required regulatory and policyholder approvals. Based on available estimates of premium, the combination of these ... Read the full article

Reinsurance growth helps Global Indemnity return to black

21st February 2020

Specialty property and casualty re/insurer Global Indemnity returned to the black in 2019, posting net income of $70 million for the year, versus a net loss of $56.7 million in 2018. Performance was helped by a 18.9% increase in net written premiums, which totalled $562.1 million for the twelve-month period. Notably, this ... Read the full article

Allstate records $58mn cat losses for January, reverts back to threshold

21st February 2020

US primary insurer Allstate Corporation has announced an estimated $58 million in pre-tax catastrophe losses for January 2020. Allstate has also reverted back to a cat loss reporting threshold of $150 million in a calendar month. The company had previously dropped this threshold last October. This practice, Allstate says, is consistent with its ... Read the full article

ACORD launches London advisory board

21st February 2020

ACORD, the international standards-setting body for the insurance sector, has launched a London advisory board. The new board will meet on a quarterly basis and has been established to align London market initiatives with global ACORD data standards, to increase adoption and leverage of ACORD assets, and to strengthen the impact ... Read the full article

Swiss Re extends climate policy to exclude oil & gas

21st February 2020

Swiss Re has announced that it will stop providing re/insurance to, or investing in, the most carbon-intensive oil and gas companies, as part of its sustainability targets. In line with this policy, Swiss Re will gradually cut business support in underwriting and asset management to the world’s 10% most carbon-intensive oil ... Read the full article

Nexus launches US financial lines division

21st February 2020

Nexus Group, a specialty Managing General Agent, has launched a financial lines division in the US, under its newly-formed entity Nexus Specialty. Underwriting capacity for the new line is provided by Professional Solutions Insurance Company. Stacy Paquet will lead the new division, bringing over 15 years’ experience in the US Management Liability ... Read the full article

Alleghany president sees bright future for TransRe despite 2019 loss

21st February 2020

Despite a modest underwriting loss in 2019, Alleghany president Weston Hicks has praised TransRe’s “deep reservoir of underwriting expertise” and believes the end of a competitive downturn in the global property and casualty reinsurance industry will result in improved market conditions in 2020 and beyond. TransRe recorded an underwriting loss ... Read the full article

Apollo adds four to bolster casualty offering

21st February 2020

Independent specialist insurer and reinsurer, Apollo Syndicate Management, has announced four senior appointments to its Syndicate 1969 at Lloyd's of London, as it continues to bolster its casualty offering. Colm Lyons has been named Head of Casualty at Apollo Syndicate 1969, and will report to Matt Newman, Apollo Group Head of ... Read the full article

AM Best stable on Gulf Cooperation Council markets

21st February 2020

AM Best has maintained its stable outlook on the re/insurance markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) due to the potential for premium growth and short-term opportunities, as well as extensive reinsurance support and improved regulatory sophistication. The rating agency noted that the rollout of mandatory health insurance in Oman and ... Read the full article