Reinsurance News

Restrictions for global players on the rise in EMEA markets: A.M. Best

3rd November 2017

The fallout of low oil prices, the Russian crisis of 2014 to 2017, the UK’s exit from the EU, and the Trump administration’s swing towards protectionism have all contributed to mounting economic & geopolitical pressures, impacting re/insurers by driving an anti-globalisation shift. A.M. Best highlighted the trend towards protectionist measures on ... Read the full article

Swiss Re CFO says climate change has altered the risk landscape

3rd November 2017

After Swiss Re reported a nine-month net loss close to half a billion dollars from recent catastrophes, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), David Cole, warned that climate change had altered the risk landscape. The reinsurer expects natural catastrophe claims from events such as hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, and Australia's Cyclone Debbie ... Read the full article

Rates need to reflect changing risk perception, suggests industry execs

3rd November 2017

The pricing of catastrophe risks in the insurance and reinsurance sector needs to reflect the increased severity and frequency of events, and the extremely costly third-quarter could lead to a change in risk perception, according to industry executives. Historically, the occurrence of significant price increases across the reinsurance market happens at ... Read the full article

$3bn of cat losses & huge $836mn reserve charge hit AIG in Q3

3rd November 2017

As well as catastrophe losses of $3 billion, insurance giant AIG took another large adverse development charge in the third-quarter of 2017, of $836 million, resulting in an operating loss worse than expected. The insurer fell to an operating loss of $1.1 billion in the third-quarter of 2017, compared with an ... Read the full article

Artex expands Cayman Islands platform with Chandler Insurance takeover

3rd November 2017

Artex Risk Solutions, a provider of insurance, reinsurance, and alternative risk management solutions, has announced the acquisition of Cayman Islands domiciled Chandler Insurance Management. The acquisition brings over 20 years of captive insurance management experience in the Cayman Islands to Artex, expanding its platform in the region. Commenting on the acquisition, Chief ... Read the full article

Safety National Re hires key executives for Professional Liability Treaty division

3rd November 2017

Safety National Re has announced the addition of two new key executives within its Professional Liability Treaty division, naming Lydia Wilmot as Vice President (VP) and Stephanie Wizner as Assistant Vice President (AVP). The appointments come as part of a move to expand professional specialty capabilities at the firm. “We welcome Lydia ... Read the full article

Recent events a reminder of the effectiveness of reinsurance: David Priebe, GC

3rd November 2017

The series of recent catastrophes in Mexico, the U.S. and the Caribbean will generate more opportunities for the reinsurance industry as they demonstrate its necessity as a protection for primary risk bearers, and as an efficient tool for managing large-scale capital events. The recent loss events have the potential to make ... Read the full article

Attune appoints Martha Dreiling & Richard Stamets to leadership team

3rd November 2017

Attune has announced two key appointments, naming Martha Dreiling as Head of Analytics and Corporate Operations and Richard Stamets as Head of Underwriting Strategy. Dreiling joins from a role as Senior Vice President of Operations at OnDeck - an online lender for small businesses. In her new role, she'll be responsible to oversee ... Read the full article

Post-catastrophe rate hikes could make reinsurance M&A more attractive

3rd November 2017

Reinsurance merger and acquisitions (M&A) activity has been in the doldrums somewhat in recent quarters, as the continued pressure on reinsurers has made them less attractive over time. With tepid demand growth, pressure from high levels of excess traditional reinsurance capital, as well as growing competition from alternative capital providers, coupled ... Read the full article

Emerging Asia speeds ahead in InsurTech race: Willis Towers Watson

3rd November 2017

Emerging markets are the potential forerunners of the innovation race - often able to bring new solutions to the market at a faster pace than peers operating in highly developed markets - according to Willis Towers Watson's Q3 InsurTech briefing. With an emphasis on the China and Emerging Asia operating environment, ... Read the full article

RenRe says California wildfire loss will be significant, could be material

2nd November 2017

Bermudian reinsurance firm RenaissanceRe warned its shareholders that the devastating wildfires that have impacted the state of California in recent weeks could result in a significant, perhaps material, impact to the company. Based on its risk modelling and an initial assessment of the California wildfires, RenaissanceRe said that it anticipates that ... Read the full article

Social engineering attacks on the rise but hacking & malware still dominate: Beazley

2nd November 2017

Social engineering attacks are on the rise across numerous industries as cyber attackers increasingly look to deceive in order to scam, according to London re/insurer Beazley's Q3 2017 Breach Insights report. The most prevalent cause of data breach during the first nine months of 2017 remains hacking and malware, which amounted ... Read the full article

A quarter of Southern Brazilian cities in state of emergency following adverse weather

2nd November 2017

In Southern Brazil one-quarter of cities are in a state of emergency after being hit by a series of droughts and excessive downpours, according to a survey by Folha based on Brazil's Ministry of National Integration. 1,296 of Southern Brazilian cities have asked the federal government for aid to deal with ... Read the full article

Analysts explain $70bn Q3 catastrophe loss gap: Morgan Stanley

2nd November 2017

At an estimated $100 billion, Q3 re/insurance losses could hit records, but with just $30 billion of this reported in company losses, so far, investors are concerned over the potential knock-on consequences the giant $70 billion loss gap could have on the market. A recent Morgan Stanley report said the gap ... Read the full article

German government-backed platform offers global climate risk database

2nd November 2017

A global online database platform to share good practices and innovative solutions in climate risk insurance has been launched by the Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF), the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The German government commissioned platform promotes risk transfer as an approach ... Read the full article