Reinsurance News

Allianz Exec Burkhard Keese appointed Lloyd’s CFO

4th February 2019

Burkhard Keese has been appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Lloyd’s following unanimous approval by Council members. Keese, who joins from Allianz Deutschland AG after seven years in the CFO position, will take take up his new role on 1 April 2019. During his time as CFO at Allianz Deutschland Keese successfully ... Read the full article

World Bank, EU agreement yields €30m for Caribbean climate programs

4th February 2019

The signing of two agreements by the European Union (EU) and the World Bank’s (WB) Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery will provide €30.7 million in funds for two climate resilience and adaptation programs in the Caribbean. €27.7 million will go to the Caribbean Regional Resilience Building Facility and will ... Read the full article

RFIB adds to African operations, opens new headquarters

4th February 2019

International re/insurance broker RFIB Group has announced two new additions to its African operations as well as the opening of new offices in Johannesburg. Fhumulani Munzhedzi joins as Head of Facultative for Africa and is reunited with Lee Ellis, Chief Executive Officer - RFIB Africa and Neesha Parbhoo, Director - RFIB ... Read the full article

QIC’s net result improves in 2018 as cost-efficiency drive continues

4th February 2019

Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) has reported a non-life combined ratio of 101.3% for the full-year 2018, reflecting catastrophe losses experienced in its Qatar Re and Antares divisions. The firm notes a continued, unwavering commitment to improve cost efficiency, which includes the restructuring of its reinsurance retrocession programmes. Despite the impacts of ... Read the full article

Australia’s Townsville flooding declared catastrophe by insurance council

4th February 2019

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared a catastrophe for insurance policyholders in the city of Townsville, Queensland, which has experienced torrential rainfall and flooding over the past week. Officials said that up to 20,000 homes are at risk of flooding after the coastal area received more than a metre ... Read the full article

AIG expands Middle East services with re/insurance solutions from DIFC office

4th February 2019

American International Group (AIG) subsidiary AIG MEA has begun providing re/insurance solutions from its office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading financial centre in the region. The move enables AIG MEA to offer solutions to a broader number of geographies in the Middle East and Africa whilst bolstering ... Read the full article

Investors question SCOR’s “aggressive” legal dispute with Covéa

4th February 2019

French reinsurer SCOR has faced criticism from activist investors just days after the company announced it intends to initiate criminal actions against Covéa and its CEO, Thierry Derez, following the rejection of an €8.2 billion takeover bid last year. Catherine Berjal, CEO of investment management firm CIAM, penned a letter ... Read the full article

Australian terror pool renews AU$3.3bn retro reinsurance program

4th February 2019

The Australian government’s terrorism reinsurance agency, Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC), has renewed its AU$3.315 billion (US$2.3 billion) retrocession reinsurance program for 2019. The cover, along with ARPC’s net assets and a $10 billion Commonwealth guarantee, provides capacity in the event of a declared terrorism incident against commercial and eligible property ... Read the full article

Questions remain, but London market is prepared for no-deal Brexit: IUA CEO

4th February 2019

Dave Matcham, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Underwriting Association (IUA), has said that were the UK to leave the European Union (EU) under a no-deal scenario, the London market is well prepared. With the March 29 Brexit deadline fast-approaching, widespread uncertainty, confusion and generally an overall lack of ... Read the full article

elesco acquires StarStone’s Dubai MGA and Zurich airline & products book

4th February 2019

Specialty underwriting platform elseco has entered into an agreement with global specialty insurer StarStone to acquire Malakite Underwriting Partners Ltd., its Dubai-based managing general agent (MGA), as well as the renewal rights to StarStone's Zurich airline & products portfolio. Under the terms of the strategic partnership, StarStone will continue to provide ... Read the full article

Pioneer combines financial institutions operations into single platform

4th February 2019

Pioneer Underwriters has unified its financial institutions businesses into a single global underwriting operation, led by Richard Coello. The team will now be responsible for all financial institutions business written by Pioneer, utilising the same capital base to write business from its offices in London, Brussels and New York. Coello has served ... Read the full article

AXA XL affiliate signs MoU with ThermoChem Recovery

1st February 2019

New Energy Risk (NER), a provider of performance risk solutions for breakthrough technologies and an AXA XL affiliate, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ThermoChem Recovery International, Inc. (TRI), designed to accelerate project development, increase profits and provide certainty of execution. NER has completed due diligence on TRI's range of biorefinery-technologies, ... Read the full article

Munich Re takes stake in German Research Centre for AI

1st February 2019

Global reinsurance giant Munich Re has become a shareholder in the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), a leading European institute for the research of robotics, smart factories and immersive quantified learning. The partnership hopes to create new impulses in the fields of artificial intelligence and data analytics, and will ... Read the full article

Ryan Specialty seals Boston Insurance purchase

1st February 2019

Chicago-based Ryan Specialty Group, having announced the purchase of independent wholesale insurance brokerage Boston Insurance Specialists (BIS) last week for an undisclosed fee, has completed the deal. A family owned business started in 2001 and led by founders Debbie Murphy and Peggy Giancola, BIS’ specialty product solutions include Property, Casualty, Professional ... Read the full article

Aon reports strong organic growth across business segments in Q4

1st February 2019

Global insurance and reinsurance broker Aon saw its total revenue increase to $10.8 billion for the full-year 2018, which includes 5% of organic revenue growth. The global re/insurance brokerage has announced its results for the fourth-quarter and full-year 2018. Concerning revenues, the broker states that total revenues for Q4 increased 3% ... Read the full article