Reinsurance News

ArgoGlobal adds Aspen’s Chief Actuary Paul Lucas

3rd December 2018

Lloyd’s insurer and member of Argo Group, ArgoGlobal, has appointed Paul Lucas as Chief Actuary, International. Lucas takes up his role immediately and will report to Bob Katzman, Chief Actuary at Argo Group. Lucas brings 17 years' industry experience to ArgoGlobal and joins from Aspen, where he served as Global Insurance Chief ... Read the full article

Verisk to acquire Rulebook for $87mn

3rd December 2018

Data analytics provider Verisk has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rulebook, a provider of business intelligence and software solutions for the London Insurance Market. The reported purchase price is $87 million in cash, funded through cash on hand and existing bank facilities, with the deal expected to close in the ... Read the full article

Bermudian insurers using more reinsurance for cat exposures, finds BMA

3rd December 2018

The Bermudian re/insurance market continues to prove resilient to potential major catastrophe losses, according to the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), partly due to its increasing use of reinsurance and retrocession. The BMA found that, on average, insurers ceded around 50.0% of their gross losses to reinsurers over 2017, which was an ... Read the full article

Arthur J. Gallagher acquires IBS Re Singapore, takes stake in Indonesian broker

3rd December 2018

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., the U.S. global insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, has acquired 100% of reinsurance broker IBS Re Singapore, in addition to taking a 40% stake in Indonesian broker PT IBS Insurance Broking Service. Based in Jakarta, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service has revenues of over ... Read the full article

Marriott data breach to be tracked as PCS Global Cyber loss

3rd December 2018

As details continue to emerge from last week’s announcement of a major cyber hack and resulting data breach of one of the Marriott hotel chain’s reservation systems, expectations of a significant cyber insurance and possibly reinsurance market loss has prompted Property Claim Services (PCS) to designate the event. Reinsurance News ... Read the full article

PI premiums to rise as construction market hardens, warns JLT Specialty

3rd December 2018

JLT Specialty, the specialist insurance broker and risk consultant, has warned that contractors could face a significant increase in professional indemnity (PI) premiums as the construction market begins to harden. Greater regulatory scrutiny and uncertainty regarding cladding systems following the Grenfell fire has led many insurers to scale back on capacity ... Read the full article

Re/insurers anticipating moderate losses from Alaska earthquake

3rd December 2018

Re/insurers are anticipating moderate losses to result from the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit the city of Anchorage in Alaska on Friday morning. The earthquake, which struck around 12km north of Anchorage, has caused widespread disruption and damage to infrastructure, affecting thousands of structures and destroying many roads. However, there have been ... Read the full article

$2.5 billion industry hit from Woolsey wildfire: AIR

3rd December 2018

Catastrophe risk modeller AIR Worldwide has estimated the insured loss from the Woolsey fire, which tore through Southern California for 13 days last month, at $2.5 billion. This estimate is based on the assumption of nearly 100% take-up rates as damage from fire, including wildfire, is included in standard homeowners' policies ... Read the full article

Solvency II review a missed opportunity for CMU progress: Insurance Europe

3rd December 2018

While progress has been made on the European Commission’s Capital Markets Union (CMU) project, several important points remain unaddressed, according to the Deputy Director General of Insurance Europe, Olav Jones. One of the aims of the CMU is to address regulatory barriers to investment, including prudential issues under Solvency II that ... Read the full article

Generali’s new strategic plan is credit positive, says Moody’s

3rd December 2018

The new 3-year strategic plan from Italian insurance giant Generali is broadly credit positive, according to analysts at Moody’s Investors Service, as it targets debt reduction and greater earnings diversification. The insurer announced its ‘Generali 2021’ growth plan last week alongside claims that it was on track to hit all ... Read the full article

Insurtech helps Swiss Re make client relationships stickier, says CEO

30th November 2018

New technological capabilities and InsurTech partnerships are allowing Swiss Re to create stickier and more flexible relationships with its clients, according to the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Christian Mumenthaler. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV, Mumenthaler noted that a lot of money has been poured into InsurTech over the ... Read the full article

AIG’s new European post-Brexit carriers receive stable ratings

30th November 2018

Moody’s has assigned A2 insurance financial strength (IFS) ratings and stable outlooks to American International Group’s (AIG) new post-Brexit European carriers, AIG UK Limited and Luxembourg-based AIG Europe S.A. (AESA). AIG recently formed these units in order to ensure continuity of service for it its European policyholders and business partners once ... Read the full article

Allianz to address silent cyber with updated policy wordings

30th November 2018

Insurance giant Allianz is stepping up efforts to provide more comprehensive cyber protection by implementing more specific and relevant wordings to the commercial, corporate, and specialty insurance policies of its property & casualty (P&C) companies. Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), as its corporate insurance carrier, will be one of the ... Read the full article

Reinsurance sector struggling to keep pace with cost of capital: S&P

30th November 2018

With only modest pricing increases experienced over 2018 and momentum set to fade in 2019, the global reinsurance sector may find it increasingly difficult to keep pace with its cost of capital, according to S&P Global Ratings. The rating agency noted that last year the reinsurance sector generated returns on capital ... Read the full article

Ethos hires Lawyers Professional Liability group

30th November 2018

Ethos Specialty Insurance Services, part of Ascot Group’s Managing General Underwriter platform, has announced the appointment of a Lawyers Professional Liability (LPL) group led by Todd Cusano, Senior Vice President. Cusano is joined in New York by Heather Ottoson and Katherine Norris; and in Chicago by Peter Clough and Scott Vroman. Ethos ... Read the full article