Reinsurance News
Flat mid-year renewal possible despite volatile 2017: JMP Securities
21st May 2018
The condition of the property catastrophe reinsurance market following 2017 catastrophe events and the January and April renewals, suggests a flat mid-year renewals season is not out of the question and that average pricing will be up a few points at best, JMP Securities says. Following two days of meetings in ... Read the full article
Swiss Re assessing impact to business following U.S. Iran withdrawal
21st May 2018
Following President Trump's announcement on May 8th that the U.S. is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and subsequently reimposing sanctions, global reinsurer Swiss Re is assessing the impact of the U.S. withdrawal on its business. After the removal of sanctions in January 2016, numerous insurers and reinsurers have either conducted ... Read the full article
Philippines spearheads region-wide ASEAN disaster risk database
21st May 2018
The Philippines has begun sharing disaster risk information with its private sector in an effort to encourage fellow member states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to build a region-wide database on disaster risk management and climate control. By establishing a shared database, the Philippines hopes to mitigate the ... Read the full article
Damage from Australia’s Hobart storm reaches $50mn: Impact Forecasting
21st May 2018
Overall economic damage from the storm that hit the Australian city of Hobart, Tasmania over May 10-11 is currently estimated by local officials to have reached around AUD $50 million (USD $38 million), according to Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield’s catastrophe risk modeller. A complex low-pressure system brought rain, wind, hail and ... Read the full article
Castel Specialty expands into political risk with new hire
21st May 2018
Castel Specialty, a division of club-style MGA formation platform Castel Underwriting Agencies, has expanded its portfolio with the launch of Castel Political Risk. The new cover will primarily relate to contract frustration and political risk, and will generally focus on business in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. The political risk ... Read the full article
Risk pooling could support greater nat cat coverage across Africa: Report
21st May 2018
Despite confidence returning within the African insurance industry as economic recovery continues, a lack of insurance penetration remains a hindrance to market development and to better protect certain exposures, such as natural catastrophes, risk pooling might be needed. This is according to the 3rd African Insurance Market Barometer from Dr. Schanz, ... Read the full article
Reinsurance business model challenged, more M&A likely: Morgan Stanley
21st May 2018
The long-term business model of the reinsurance industry is being challenged by the inability of reinsurers to command pay-back following the losses of 2017, leading to a likelihood of more sector mergers & acquisitions, according to analysts from Morgan Stanley. Having visited Bermuda recently to meet with reinsurers, Morgan Stanley's analyst ... Read the full article
Hannover Re CEO “not very optimistic” on Florida renewals
18th May 2018
Ulrich Wallin, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of global reinsurer Hannover Re, isn't very optimistic on the Florida renewals owing to the substantial availability of capacity that continues to drive a supply / demand imbalance, in spite of 2017 catastrophe events. Speaking during the firm's first-quarter 2018 earnings call, the CEO ... Read the full article
Vermont’s onshore reinsurance alternative passed into law
18th May 2018
New legislation has been signed into law by Vermont Governor Phil Scott providing U.S. insurers that conduct business in offshore jurisdictions with a more favourable onshore reinsurance alternative, following the imposition of the Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) on reinsurance ceded to offshore subsidiaries. The new law means U.S. insurers can ... Read the full article
Property & FinPro lines drive commercial rate increases in Q1: Marsh
18th May 2018
Following over four years of consecutive quarterly declines, global commercial insurance prices increased, on average, during the first-quarter of 2018, according to broker Marsh's Global Insurance Market Index. The majority of regions showed either moderate increase in average prices during Q1, or a slowdown in the pace of declines, driven largely ... Read the full article
May U.S. weather event to cost at least hundreds of millions USD: Aon Benfield
18th May 2018
Private insurers and reinsurers are expected to face financial consequences after several clusters of severe thunderstorms in the United States brought widespread damage to residential and commercial property, vehicles, infrastructure, and agriculture between May 12-15. At least five people were killed and dozens more were injured during the multi-day outbreak, which inflicted ... Read the full article
Protectionism a challenge for re/insurers in emerging and mature markets
18th May 2018
Protectionism in the global insurance and reinsurance industry is often described as a hindrance to both emerging and mature market development, and despite the EU/U.S. covered agreement and other positive regulatory changes across the world, protectionism remains a challenge for industry players. Protectionist measures in the insurance and reinsurance industry were ... Read the full article
Allstate estimates $211mn of catastrophe losses for April
18th May 2018
Following 10 events throughout April totalling a pre-tax estimated cost of $195 million and unfavorable reserve reestimates of prior reported cat losses, The Allstate Corporation (ALL) has announced an overall estimated catastrophe loss of $211 million for the month, pre-tax ($167mn after-tax). Accounting for approximately 60% of catastrophe losses for April ... Read the full article
SSL in merger deal with Endeavour, backed by J.C. Flowers
18th May 2018
SSL Insurance Group, a Lloyd's and independent specialist marine broker, and Endeavour Insurance Services Limited, a fellow Lloyd’s broker and delegated authority specialist, have announced plans to merge the companies into a combined business. The deal, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2018, is set to ... Read the full article
Heritage CEO Lucas praises comprehensive reinsurance program
18th May 2018
Bruce Lucas, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Heritage Insurance Holdings, has hailed the firm's comprehensive reinsurance program after recoveries from its capacity providers helped offset storm losses in the first-quarter of 2018. Speaking during the insurer's first-quarter 2018 earnings call, Lucas explained how its "comprehensive" reinsurance program further ... Read the full article
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