Reinsurance News
India primed to become global reinsurance hub, says regulator
23rd January 2019
A number of factors, including recent regulatory changes, geography, economic growth and exposure to natural catastrophes have positioned India to become a global reinsurance hub, according to the International Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). IRDAI noted in its annual report that India currently has very low levels of insurance ... Read the full article
Cyber risk could cost businesses $5.2tr within five years: Accenture
22nd January 2019
Professional services firm Accenture says that, over the next five years, companies worldwide risk losing an estimated $5.2 trillion in value creation opportunities from the digital economy—almost the size of the economies of France, Italy and Spain combined—to cyber attacks. Today, many of the base Internet protocols—the set of rules embedded ... Read the full article
Increased cat losses dent Travelers’ results, further reinsurance secured
22nd January 2019
American insurer Travelers’ losses and results overview shows the company had a net income of $621 million in Q4 2018, which included a pre-tax catastrophe loss of $610 million, increasing from $499 million in the prior year quarter. This Q4 cat loss figure consists primarily of $453 million pre-tax ($358 million ... Read the full article
Berkshire BHSI extends transactional liability offering to UK & Europe
22nd January 2019
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI), the insurance arm of Warren Buffett’s global insurance and reinsurance company, has announced that it plans to expand its North American Transactional Liability Insurance business into the UK and Europe. BHSI explained that it will now provide warranty and indemnity, tax, and contingent liability insurance in ... Read the full article
Rate increases “better than planned” across specialty classes: Peel Hunt
22nd January 2019
Rate increases across specialty insurance classes have been “better than planned” over the last two months, according to analysts at Peel Hunt. The firm pointed to improvements in classes such as marine, energy and property, but noted that rates are still coming off the bottom of the cycle and need to ... Read the full article
FANDO appoints heads of Global Markets & Broking
22nd January 2019
FANDO Group, an independent wholesale, MGA and reinsurance broker based in Sydney, Australia, has appointed Julian Sparkes as Head of Global Markets and David Boreham as Head of Broking. Sparkes, who joins FANDO with effect from 1 January 2019, is the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of Savannah Group, ... Read the full article
Shali Vasudeva to leave Hiscox for AXA UK COO role
22nd January 2019
Shali Vasudeva is set to join AXA UK and Ireland from insurer Hiscox as Chief Operating Officer (COO), a newly created position, effective March 1st, 2019. The appointment remains subject to regulatory approval, and will see Vasudeva deliver more robust operational stability across the firm, as well as lead a Transformation ... Read the full article
Incoming Tokio Marine CEO eyes increased overseas M&A activity
22nd January 2019
The newly promoted, incoming Chief Executive Officer of Tokio Marine Holdings has indicated that he intends to further diversify the company’s geographic footprint via oversees mergers and acquisitions (M&A), according to reports by Reuters. Japanese re/insurers, of which Tokio Marine is one of the most acquisitive, have become increasingly reliant on ... Read the full article
DARAG acquires Italian non-life portfolio from DONAU
22nd January 2019
Legacy acquirer DARAG Group Limited has announced an agreement to acquire a portfolio of Italian non-life business from DONAU Versicherung AG, subject to regulatory approval. The portfolio consists primarily of motor third party liability business, and the transaction also comprises a going concern transfer from DONAU into DARAG Italia S.p.A., the firm's ... Read the full article
Aon puts insured cat losses at $90bn in 2018, economic costs at $225bn
22nd January 2019
Re/insurance broker Aon has estimated that the re/insurance industry will incur $90 billion of catastrophe losses in 2018, or around 40% of the total $225 billion economic cost. Aon reported that losses were generated by 394 natural disaster events in 2018, with weather catastrophes driving the majority of losses. The broker also ... Read the full article
China’s interest rate reforms to support life re/insurers: Swiss Re
22nd January 2019
Reforms to China’s interest rate regime are expected to help kick-start the savings-based life insurance products segment in the country and support the development of re/insurers’ asset management capabilities, according to a report from Swiss Re Institute. Analysts predict that China’s current two-track interest rate system will become uniform by the ... Read the full article
Reinsurance pricing to “trend up modestly” through 2019: KBW
22nd January 2019
Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) are anticipating that reinsurance pricing will “trend up modestly” as growth in demand outpaces the ongoing abundance of capacity. The firm acknowledged that the vast amount of third-party capital in the market will likely result in much smaller post-loss pricing swings than in the ... Read the full article
Chubb’s ABR Reinsurance hires Ramlal as Underwriting Director
21st January 2019
ABR Reinsurance Capital Holdings, the self-reinsurance vehicle jointly operated by Chubb and investment management firm Blackrock, has appointed Sean Ramlal as an Underwriting Director. Ramlal joined ABR Re in November 2018 from QBE Reinsurance, where he served for the previous four years as Vice President, Treaty Underwriter. At QBE Re, he was responsible ... Read the full article
Arthur J. Gallagher acquires U.S MGA Interstate Insurance Underwriters
21st January 2019
Global insurance brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Interstate Insurance Underwriters, a Louisiana-based managing general agency (MGA), for an undisclosed fee. This deal follows Gallagher's announcement on January 7 that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire specialist UK insurance broker Stackhouse Poland. "Interstate Insurance Underwriters is a ... Read the full article
Slight increase in reinsurance demand at 1/1, more focus on emerging risks: Aon
21st January 2019
Despite significant reductions in certain individual placements, the reinsurance industry saw a slight uptick in demand in the January renewals, according to Aon’s 2019 market outlook. Regulatory and rating agency requirements, catastrophe losses resulting from non-peak perils and territories, as well as an ongoing positive buying proposition for insurers were a ... Read the full article
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