Reinsurance News
PERILS pegs industry loss from storm Victoria (Dennis) at €286mn
31st March 2020
Catastrophe loss data aggregator PERILS has released a €286 million initial loss estimate for extratropical cyclone Victoria (also known as Dennis), which affected the British Isles and north-western Europe from 15 to 17 February 2020. It occurred only six days after extratropical cyclone Sabine (Ciara, Elsa) which PERILS has since ... Read the full article
AM Best turns negative on Mexico insurance due to COVID-19
31st March 2020
AM Best has revised its outlook for Mexico’s insurance and surety industry from stable to negative due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its anticipated impact on the economy and international markets. The rating agency explained that the pandemic has aggravated the economic fundamentals that its stable outlook had been based on, ... Read the full article
COVID-19 to test insurer resilience, says S&P Global
30th March 2020
While the economic impact of coronavirus has worsened sharply, analysts at S&P Global Ratings expect insurers will be able to absorb the financial consequences due to a robust capital position and limited exposure to loss-affected lines of business. That said, analysts expect the situation will exacerbate existing weaknesses and some targeted ... Read the full article
Helios capacity outperforming Lloyd’s market average
30th March 2020
Helios Underwriting, the Lloyd’s of London investment and underwriting vehicle has announced returns on average better than the Lloyd’s market itself. The Helios outperformance is measured using the result on the capacity at the end of the year - including the capacity of the portfolios acquired which include participations on underperforming ... Read the full article
Insurtech wefox launches broker platform amid COVID-19 concerns
30th March 2020
Berlin-based insurtech firm wefox Group has announced the launch of a new technology platform, which will be made available to brokers for free amid concerns that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting sales. wefox explained that it brought forward the release of its platform, wefoxGo, after realising that COVID-19 could put ... Read the full article
CAC Specialty expands P&C team with senior hires
30th March 2020
Specialty insurance broker and investment banking platform CAC Specialty has expanded its property and casualty (P&C) team with the addition of Robert Trinkleback and Jonathan Goodier. As Leader of Property and Casualty Loss Control, Trinkleback will help clients improve workplace safety while increasing productivity and reducing costs related to property, workers’ ... Read the full article
S&P stable on North American P&C despite COVID-19 pressures
30th March 2020
Analysts at S&P Global Ratings believe that fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will be “manageable” for North American property and casualty (P&C) re/insurers, and have maintained their stable outlook on the sector. The rating agency considers current financial market turmoil and the ensuing recession to be a greater headwind to ... Read the full article
Size matters in Lloyd’s syndicate results, analysts find
30th March 2020
Analysts at Insurance Capital Markets Research (ICMR) have found that larger Lloyd’s of London syndicates were far more likely to report profitable results in 2019 than their smaller peers. The insurance and reinsurance marketplace reported a pro-forma profit of £2.5 billion last year, but its underwriting performance was unprofitable, with ... Read the full article
Sompo adds Michael Carroll as SVP for GRS unit
30th March 2020
Bermuda specialty P&C re/insurer Sompo International has appointed Michael Carroll as Senior Vice President and Deputy Head of Life Sciences for its Global Risk Solutions unit. Carroll will be responsible for driving the development of the company’s Life Sciences platform and brings over 30 years of technical underwriting experience at Chubb ... Read the full article
Genstar, industry execs launch fronting insurance holding firm
30th March 2020
Private equity firm Genstar Capital has partnered with insurance industry executives to establish Obsidian Insurance Holdings, Inc., a new fronting insurance holding company with $100 million of capital. Obsidian's insurance carrier subsidiary, Obsidian Insurance Company, has received a financial strength rating of A- from AM Best to issue policies underwritten by ... Read the full article
Saudi Re posts $15.7mn net profit for 2019
30th March 2020
Saudi Re has reported a net profit before zakat (a religious obligation for all Muslims who meet the necessary criteria of wealth) of SR 59.32 million (US 15.7 million) for 2019, a three-fold increase from the previous year. Gross written premium rose 10% year-on-year to reach SR 792 million (US 210 ... Read the full article
COVID-19 uncertainty sees QBE withdraw 2020 targets
30th March 2020
Ongoing economic and investment market uncertainty as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic has led QBE Insurance Group Limited to withdraw its 2020 financial targets. The insurer announced in mid-February a full-year 2019 combined operating ratio of 97.5%, above the target range of 94.5% to 96.5%. Within its results announcement, ... Read the full article
AXA to offer limited compensation for certain COVID-19 hit firms
30th March 2020
Global insurer AXA has said it will pay out claims from up to 4,000 companies with business interruption cover affected by coronavirus. The company has written to policyholders and said that compensation will be limited to three months’ earnings. However, a case of Covid-19 must occur within a specified radius of a ... Read the full article
SCOR postpones AGM following investor criticism
30th March 2020
French reinsurer SCOR has decided to postpone its annual general meeting (AGM) to June 30, 2019, due to concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The company had initially tried to pull its AGM much earlier this year, on April 17th, but drew sharp criticism from activist investor CIAM last week. In ... Read the full article
Covéa committed to PartnerRe acquisition despite COVID-19 impacts: reports
30th March 2020
Despite the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic having a significant impact on European countries, driving meaningful and widespread financial market volatility, Covéa has reportedly said that it remains committed to its deal with Exor to acquire reinsurer PartnerRe. In early March, Covéa and Exor announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding ... Read the full article
Getting your daily reinsurance news from Reinsurance News is a simple way to receive only the reinsurance industry news that matters, delivered directly to your email inbox.
