Reinsurance News
Berkshire Hathaway suffers $3bn cat hit, drives re/insurance to underwriting loss
6th November 2017
Warren Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway has suffered around $3 billion of losses from the recent major catastrophe events, which has driven his re/insurance businesses to an underwriting loss for the quarter. Berkshire Hathway now faces the prospects of suffering its first full-year underwriting loss in 15 years, as the impacts of ... Read the full article
Ignore recent cat activity at your peril, warns Alleghany President, Hicks
6th November 2017
Weston M. Hicks, President of Alleghany Corporation, has warned against dismissing third-quarter catastrophe events as an anomaly, events that depleted more than a third of the company's underwriting profits earned in the prior five years. The impact of catastrophe events in the third-quarter of 2017 resulted in losses for Alleghany of ... Read the full article
Bermuda reinsurers’ show increased catastrophe resilience
3rd November 2017
Bermuda-domiciled carriers' resilience to catastrophe events has shown consistent year-on-year improvement with capital level growth exceeding gross catastrophe exposure, according to a recent report from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). While gross catastrophe exposure for Bermuda's reinsurance sector increased by about 9% year-on-year, capital levels also increased at a slightly higher ... Read the full article
ICA appoints Richard Enthoven as President and Chairman of the Board
3rd November 2017
The Board of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has announced a two-year appointment of Richard Enthoven as President of the Insurance Council and Chairman of the Board. He was previously Deputy President, and served as Acting President last month following the departure of Anthony Day from Suncorp. Gary Dransfield, Chief Executive ... Read the full article
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
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