Reinsurance News
catastrophe management
ICEYE adds flood insights to EigenRisk’s cat risk management platform
22nd April 2022
SAR data provider and expert in environmental flood hazard data, ICEYE and EigenRisk, a leading and independent insurance technology platform provider, have announced a new agreement to incorporate ICEYE’s flood insights for large-scale flood events into the EigenPrism catastrophe risk management platform. EigenPrism provides a single, cloud-based platform for catastrophe data, ... Read the full article
Asia Pacific region to experience even more destructive cat events, says RMS
29th October 2018
Catastrophe risk modelling and analytics firm RMS has said that the Asia Pacific region can expect to experience even more destructive events at the 1% level of annual probability, which could have a major impact on both governments and re/insurers. The Asia Pacific region has already experienced several disasters over 2018, ... Read the full article
World Bank Group launches $145mn cat risk facility with UK and German govs
15th October 2018
The World Bank Group, in partnership with the governments of the UK and Germany, has announced the launch of a US $145 million Global Risk Financing Facility (GRiF) to help vulnerable countries manage the financial impact of natural catastrophes and climate change. The Group explained that this kind of disaster risk ... Read the full article
1,734 structures destroyed as Carr and Mendocino wildfires burn through California
6th August 2018
1,734 structures have now been destroyed by the Carr and Mendocino Complex wildfires in California, which have collectively burned through 427,031 acres of the state and continue to spread despite containment efforts. An additional 304 structures have also been damaged and 10,529 remain threatened by what are considered to be two ... Read the full article
GCC countries must focus on ERM following recent losses: A.M. Best
1st August 2018
Countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) must increasingly focus on enterprise risk management (ERM) strategies following a recent series of both natural catastrophes and man-made losses, according to a report by rating agency A.M. Best. While countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab ... Read the full article
California’s Carr wildfire continues property destruction as containment grows
31st July 2018
The Carr wildfire has burned through 110,154 acres of Shasta County in Northern California and destroyed or damaged almost 1,500 buildings at the latest estimate, even as containment efforts by authorities gain traction. The fire is now 27% contained and the number of structures under threat has almost halved since ... Read the full article
California homes in at-risk wildfire areas may become uninsurable: Report
11th July 2018
Reconstruction efforts are underway in California following the devastating October 2017 wildfires, but many commentators and re/insurance experts have begun to question the prudency of rebuilding and re/insuring homes in these hazardous areas, according to a report by the Columbia Law School. Approximately 250 wildfires sparked in Northern California on the ... Read the full article
Reinsurers unlikely to earn back 2017 catastrophe losses: Deutsche Bank
2nd July 2018
Deutsche Bank equity analysts have suggested that global reinsurance companies are unlikely to earn back 2017 catastrophe losses as a result of insufficient rate increases at the January, April and June renewals, with further disappointment expected through July. Deutsche Bank analysts recently met with management of global reinsurance giant Munich Re, ... Read the full article
TWIA buys $1.4bn reinsurance cover at 2018 renewal
19th June 2018
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has secured $1.4 billion of cover for its 2018 reinsurance programme via $1.0 billion in traditional reinsurance and the issuance of a $400 million, 3-year catastrophe bond. TWIA’s 2018 reinsurance program runs from June 1, 2018 to May 31, 2019, and provides $4.6 billion in ... Read the full article
Congress considers bill to expand FEMA’s re/insurance cover
15th June 2018
The U.S Congress is considering enacting a new bill that would require the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to purchase more insurance, reinsurance, and capital market tools for a broader range of disaster-related costs. FEMA already uses a reinsurance program to cover some of the flood insurance risks held ... Read the full article
Re/insurers must better prepare for unforeseen hurricane risks: Lloyd’s
11th June 2018
Lloyd’s has proposed several measures for re/insurers to better prepare themselves to respond to unforeseen natural catastrophe risks following 2017’s record-breaking hurricane season. Lloyd's 'After the Storms' report observed that 2017 was the costliest year on record for U.S natural catastrophes, and exposed several oversights in the way re/insurers model and ... Read the full article
U.S P&C sector well prepared for 2018 hurricane season: Fitch
8th June 2018
U.S Property and Casualty (P&C) re/insurers are well prepared for the 2018 hurricane season, which is expected to return to normal levels following an extremely active 2017 season, according to Fitch Ratings. The rating agency concluded that U.S insurers are well positioned to withstand a future significant catastrophe event in 2018, ... 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
Bermuda reinsurers remain strong despite challenging 2017: Fitch Ratings
11th May 2018
Whilst profitability remains under pressure after a trying 2017, Bermudian reinsurers have proven resistant to losses thanks to strong capitalisation, positive pricing, low exposures, and conservative reserving practices, according to Fitch Ratings’ latest peer review of the sector. 2017 was a year of record-breaking catastrophe losses, with Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and ... Read the full article
Asia-Pacific catastrophe losses could exceed $160bn per year, reports UN
26th April 2018
The United Nations (UN) has reported that economic losses due to disasters in the Asia-Pacific region could exceed US $160 billion annually by 2030, and it has called for greater innovation in disaster risk financing to confront the issue. The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) ... Read the full article