Reinsurance News
Chubb pegs pre-tax Q4 cat losses at $585m
21st January 2019
Global re/insurer Chubb has released an updated Q4 catastrophe loss estimate of $585 million ($505 million after tax), a figure which includes previously reported costs incurred by the California wildfires and hurricane Michael. The Camp and Woolsey wildfires destroyed more than 20,000 structures between them after springing up in California’s ... Read the full article
Markel CATCo heads dropped after review, new execs take over
21st January 2019
Markel Corporation has announced that reinsurance executives Jed Rhoads and Andrew Barnard are to take over management of Markel CATCo following an internal review that resulted in the departure of the unit’s former heads, Anthony Belisle and Alissa Fredricks. Belisle, who was CATCo’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Fredricks, who was ... Read the full article
Allianz, AXA & Swiss Re among brands most praised for climate actions
21st January 2019
Re/insurers Allianz, AXA and Swiss Re are among the top five companies to receive the praise from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in 2018 due to their actions on climate change. Data compiled by research consultancy SIGWATCH shows that the trio of re/insurers overtook global brands such as McDonald’s, Aldi and H&M as ... Read the full article
China & Germany agree to strengthen re/insurance coordination
21st January 2019
China and Germany have signed new agreements designed to strengthen their coordination in re/insurance, banking and finance, according to reports from Reuters. The agreements will allow German insurers to set up wholly-owned insurance holding firms in China, while Chinese insurers and reinsurers are welcome to conduct reinsurance business in Germany. The countries ... Read the full article
Sydney & NSW hail storm loss hits $871m
21st January 2019
The insurance and reinsurance industry loss expected from the December 20th severe hail storm that struck the Sydney and surrounding region of New South Wales, Australia has now reached $871 million. Kaaren Morrissey/AAP The hailstorm system struck the Sydney, Central Coast and South East Queensland regions of the country on the night ... Read the full article
Lawmakers push for NFIP to cede more risk to reinsurers
18th January 2019
U.S lawmakers have reintroduced a bill that pushes for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to cede more of its risk to the private reinsurance market. The Taxpayer Exposure Mitigation Act is one of four bills introduced by Missouri Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer that calls for improvements to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s ... Read the full article
AXA XL unit completes move to Ireland ahead of Brexit
18th January 2019
AXA XL has completed the transfer of its wholly owned subsidiary, XL Insurance Company SE (XLICSE), to Dublin, Ireland ahead of the UK’s planned departure from the European Union (EU). The insurer previously announced in October 2018 that it had received authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland to go ... Read the full article
Allianz announces three senior promotions
18th January 2019
Insurance giant Allianz has revealed the promotions of three senior executives, starting with Birgit König, current Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Deutschland’s private health insurer Allianz Private Krankenversicherung (APKV), who will now head the international unit Allianz Digital Health (ADH). König has been CEO of Allianz Private Krankenversicherung since 2012 and ... Read the full article
U.S P&C insurers see underwriting turnaround in 9M 2018: ISO
18th January 2019
U.S property and casualty (P&C) insurers reported a $4.7 billion net underwriting gain over the first nine months of 2018, representing a sharp turnaround from the $21.0 billion loss in the previous year, according to a report from ISO, a Verisk business. The report, produced in collaboration with the American Property ... Read the full article
Record catastrophe and storm losses hit EMC’s reinsurance segment in Q4
18th January 2019
EMC Insurance Group's reinsurance segment suffered a record $18.5 million of catastrophe and storm losses in the fourth-quarter of 2018, causing the firm to announce an expected net loss for the year ending December 31st, 2018. The total catastrophe loss figure is comprised of roughly $6.5 million from the Camp wildfires, ... Read the full article
PIC completes £425mn pension buy-in with Co-op Group
18th January 2019
Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), the specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, has concluded a £425 million pension buy-in deal with a trust sponsored by the Co-operative Group. The arrangement provides insurance for £425 million of pension liabilities relating to the Somerfield Pension Scheme, which has a total of around £13 ... Read the full article
“Armageddon scenario” needed to turn reinsurance pricing: Jason Howard
18th January 2019
With roughly $600 billion of capital still flowing through the reinsurance market after a succession of costly catastrophe years, large-scale hardening outside of an “armageddon scenario” seems extremely unlikely, according to the Chief Executive Officer of reinsurance brokerage Beach & Associates, Jason Howard. Addressing an audience yesterday in the Old Library ... Read the full article
Lloyd’s introduces risk-based oversight for syndicates
18th January 2019
The specialist Lloyd's of London insurance and reinsurance marketplace has announced that it intends to introduce risk-based oversight for underperforming syndicates as part of its ongoing performance review. The process will support the implementation of syndicates’ performance improvement plans, which are designed to return certain classes or syndicates to sustainable profit ... Read the full article
Swiss Re appoints non-exec Chairman of ReAssure, still targets IPO
18th January 2019
Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re has announced the appointment of Archie Kane as the new non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of ReAssure, its UK closed book business. The appointment is effective immediately, and sees Kane provide leadership to the firm's Board of Directors, as well as advise management on ... Read the full article
Argo expecting $44m dent to Q4 results
18th January 2019
Specialty re/insurer Argo Group International has announced a preliminary, pre-tax catastrophe loss estimate for Q4 2018 of $32 million, a figure net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, and including losses related to certain aggregate excess of loss contracts. The company said it also expects results from the fourth quarter to take ... Read the full article





