Reinsurance News

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty recruits Head of Claims in Spain

4th November 2019

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI), the insurance arm of Warren Buffett’s global insurance and reinsurance company, has recruited Javier Villalba as Head of Claims in Spain. Villalba joins BHSI from Zurich, where he most recently served as Director for Expert Claims (Spain) and Claims Customer Relationship Manager. He has nearly 20 years ... Read the full article

Swiss Re promotes Stephan to Head Solutions Western & Southern Europe

4th November 2019

Swiss Re has announced the appointment of Annkathrin Stephan to the newly created role of Head Solutions Western & Southern Europe. The reinsurer formed this role in response to a growing demand for Solutions in the region, a Swiss Re spokesperson told Reinsurance News. In her newly promoted capacity, Stephan will be ... Read the full article

Jeff Irvan joins BMS as Chief Property Officer, US Reinsurance

4th November 2019

BMS Group (“BMS”), the independent specialist re/insurance broker, has announced the appointment of Jeff Irvan as Chief Property Officer, US Reinsurance. He joins BMS from Wills Re, where he most recently led the brokerage’s office in Atlanta, Georgia. Irvan has more than 20 years’ experience in property reinsurance broking, having first started ... Read the full article

Heritage concerned about retro capacity at 2020 renewals: CEO Lucas

4th November 2019

The number one issue at the upcoming reinsurance renewals is likely to be a lack of capacity in the retrocessional market, according to Bruce Lucas, Chairman and CEO of property and casualty (P&C) insurance holding company, Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. Lucas’s comments came as part of Heritage’s third quarter earnings call, ... Read the full article

Fidelis takes stake in MGA Perigon for product recall

4th November 2019

Fidelis Insurance, the privately owned Bermuda-based holding company, has taken an equity stake in managing general agent (MGA) Perigon Product Recall Limited. Perigon’s focus will be product recall and product contamination coverage for food and beverage producers, restaurant operations, auto manufacturers, and a range of other recall classes of insurance. As part ... Read the full article

Berkshire Hathaway earnings dip offset by P&C reinsurance gains

4th November 2019

Warren Buffett’s property and casualty (P&C) reinsurance businesses at Berkshire Hathaway have reported underwriting earnings of $314 million, helping to offset an overall decline in earnings for the company during the third quarter of 2019. The P&C reinsurance underwriting result was almost five times higher than the $67 million reported in ... Read the full article

Beazley adds Kirsten Shastri to international healthcare team

4th November 2019

Specialist insurer Beazley has added Kirsten Shastri to its international healthcare team in London. Shastri, who joins from CNA Hardy with eight years of London market experience, will be focusing on UK & International life sciences business. She will also underwrite Beazley’s recently launched UK Virtual Care policy, which offers protection against ... Read the full article

Clear growth ahead as ILS capacity hits near-record levels: Willis Re Securities

4th November 2019

Alternative capital in all different forms is clearly growing again, according to Willis Re Securities, whose latest ILS Market Update shows capacity reaching a near-record high of $27.3 billion. Willis Re Securities, a division of re/insurance broker Willis Towers Watson (WTW), found that non-life insurance-linked securities (ILS) capacity issued and outstanding ... Read the full article

37% rise in ransomware attacks reported by Beazley

4th November 2019

Data from specialist insurer Beazley shows a 37% rise in ransomware attacks against the previous quarter, as cyber criminals look to exploit weak security programs of IT vendors. 24% of ransomware incidents reported to Beazley’s in-house breach response team were found to have originated with attack on an IT vendor or ... Read the full article

Hiscox grows premiums 7% YTD, sees more rate firming ahead

4th November 2019

Hiscox Group has grown its overall business by more than 7% in 2019 so far, as the insurance and reinsurance company takes advantage of higher rates and looks forward to what it believes will be a third year of firming prices in the London market. Hiscox has experienced growth across its ... Read the full article

Advanced tech, no legacy puts Convex in solid position: Catlin, Brand

1st November 2019

Convex, the specialty insurer and reinsurer launched earlier this year by Stephen Catlin and Paul Brand, feels that the rise of technology, combined with the fact it doesn’t have legacy issues puts it in a great position moving forward. Reinsurance News recently met with co-founders of Convex, Catlin and Brand, to ... Read the full article

Irma loss creep continues to dent exposed insurers

1st November 2019

With third-quarter 2019 results season well underway, some Florida focused property and casualty (P&C) insurers have revealed impacts from additional loss creep from 2017's Hurricane Irma. After more than a decade without a major hurricane making landfall along the U.S. coastline, hurricane Irma was the second of three major landfalling storms ... Read the full article

A.M. Best maintains stable outlook for Japan’s non-life sector despite headwinds

1st November 2019

Japanese non-life insurers continue to produce underwriting profits despite the impacts of significant catastrophe events, and while A.M. Best maintains a stable outlook on the sector, major headwinds are on the horizon. Highlighted most recently by the devastating impacts of typhoons Faxai and Hagibis this year and typhoons Jebi and Trami ... Read the full article

More rate improvements ahead after market pain in 2019: AXIS CEO Benchimol

1st November 2019

AXIS Capital is anticipating ongoing insurance and reinsurance pricing increases into the 2019 renewals and beyond, according to its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Albert Benchimol. Speaking during the firm’s third quarter earnings call, Benchimol explained that rates remain inadequate in many lines, and should be spurred on by the further “pain” ... Read the full article

AIG posts Q3 income boost off lower cat losses

1st November 2019

Insurance giant AIG has posted a Q3 net income of $648 million, up significantly from the $1.3 billion loss reported in the prior year quarter. This improvement is partly driven by a $929 million pre-tax net realised gain compared to a $511 million loss in the prior-year quarter, as well as ... Read the full article