Reinsurance News
Saudi Arabia bans combined insurance & reinsurance operations
3rd January 2020
Regulators in Saudi Arabia have enacted a ban on combining insurance and reinsurance brokerage activities in the same company, according to reports from Reuters. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) said in a statement on Thursday that combined operations would be prohibited, effective immediately. Companies that currently combine both insurance and reinsurance ... Read the full article
AJ Gallagher acquires Walsdorf Agency in New York
3rd January 2020
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has announced the acquisition of Walsdorf Agency, Inc., a commercial and personal lines insurance agency based in Huntington, New York. Founded in 1926, Walsdorf Agency is a third generation, family owned agency with niche expertise in real estate. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but will ... Read the full article
Watford Re hires Deloitte’s Cunningham as new Chief Risk Officer
3rd January 2020
Bermuda domiciled reinsurance company Watford Re Ltd., part of re/insurance holding group Watford Holdings Ltd., has hired Liz Cunningham, formerly a Partner at Deloitte, as its new Chief Risk Officer. Watford Re operates as an investment oriented, or total-return style, reinsurance company and is backed by Arch Capital and investment manager ... Read the full article
The Hanover appoints duo to commercial leadership roles
3rd January 2020
Massachusetts-based property and casualty insurer The Hanover Insurance Group has announced the appointments of Matthew Mitchell and Scott Grieco to leadership positions within its commercial lines business. Effective January 1, Mitchell will become President of The Hanover’s middle market business, reporting to Michael R. Keane, President of Commercial Lines. Mitchell previously served ... Read the full article
IUA plans to prioritise climate & cyber in 2020
3rd January 2020
As part of its new business plan for 2020, the International Underwriting Association (IUA) has announced that it plans to establish a new market group to focus on climate change. The committee will be tasked with examining the growing impact of climate change policies on a range of insurance activities, including ... Read the full article
Willis Re highlights capacity reduction at Lloyd’s & London renewals
3rd January 2020
Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of global insurance brokerage Willis Towers Watson, has commented on the January 2020 renewals for the Lloyd’s and London reinsurance markets, highlighting a meaningful reduction in capacity. Analysts at Willis Re said that this reduction in overall capacity had come as reinsurers scaled back casualty portfolios ... Read the full article
China’s Anbang reopens sales talks for Chengdu bank
3rd January 2020
China’s Anbang Insurance Group is reopening talks to sell its 35% stake in Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank, according to reports from Reuters. This marks the second time the insurer has attempted to offload its stake in Chengdu, having previously tried to sell the stake for 16.8 billion yuan (US $2.41 billion) ... Read the full article
FEMA renews NFIP reinsurance program with $1.33bn of coverage
2nd January 2020
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced the renewal of its flood reinsurance program to protect the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), securing $1.33 billion of protection. The coverage was secured from a panel of 27 reinsurance companies, and protects the NFIP from events on a per-occurrence basis for ... Read the full article
Uber selects Liberty Mutual to cover drivers in US states & Puerto Rico
2nd January 2020
Ridesharing company Uber has selected Liberty Mutual Insurance to provide coverage for its drivers and passengers throughout New England, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico as part of its 2020 auto insurance programs. Under the program, Liberty Mutual will provide specific coverages from the time drivers open the Uber app through to ... Read the full article
Argo capitulates to Voce board nominations
2nd January 2020
Specialty reinsurer Argo Group International Holdings has announced a new cooperation agreement with its shareholder, Voce Capital Management, that will see several changes made to the composition of Argo’s Board of Directors. The agreement marks the culmination of an ongoing dispute that began back in February 2019 when Voce accused ... Read the full article
Property cat rates stable amid varied 1/1 renewal: Hyperion X
2nd January 2020
Pricing for property-catastrophe reinsurance remained fairly stable at the January 2020 renewals, with rates-on-line rising 0.8% on average, according to Hyperion X, the data and technology focused unit of the global Hyperion Insurance Group. The firm noted that property-catastrophe pricing was stable despite more varied results in other lines, including significant ... Read the full article
Australia bushfire claims escalate, with further losses forecast
2nd January 2020
Insurance and reinsurance claims from the bushfires burning through New South Wales and other areas of Australia are continuing to escalate, with more extreme fire danger forecast over the coming days and weeks. Analysts at Aon report that insurance claims from this season’s bushfires have now reached US $207 million, while ... Read the full article
Global Risk Partners completes 18 acquisitions in 2019
2nd January 2020
Global Risk Partners (GRP), a vehicle designed to acquire brokers and MGAs trading in the UK retail and global, specialty insurance markets, completed 18 acquisitions in 2019 while its run rate GWP neared £800 million. At the same time, the firm has reported that run rate income increased by 25% to ... Read the full article
Allianz completes acquisition of remaining stake in LV=GI
2nd January 2020
Global insurer and reinsurer Allianz has completed its previously announced acquisition of the remaining 51% stake in Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society's (LV=) UK General Insurance businesses (LV=GI). The deal was first announced at the end of May 2019 alongside news that Allianz is to acquire Legal & General Insurance Limited, ... Read the full article
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
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