Reinsurance News
Catastrophe reinsurance
Catastrophe reinsurance news includes coverage of the main catastrophe reinsurance renewals, pricing trends and market developments, as well as analysis of reinsurance market exposure to major natural catastrophe loss events.
The catastrophe reinsurance market remains a core component of global reinsurance and one of the most competitive sectors.
Read all our catastrophe reinsurance news below.
Bushfires & winter storms push economic bill to $3bn in January: Aon
7th February 2020
Devastating bushfires in Australia and powerful winter storms in the US have contributed to a costly natural catastrophe bill in January 2020, with re/insurance broker Aon estimating that economic losses will exceed $3 billion. Bushfires across sections of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia destroyed more than ... Read the full article
Philippines to consider mandatory disaster insurance for properties
31st January 2020
The Insurance Commission (IC) of the Philippines is reportedly in talks with private sector re/insurers regarding the introduction of mandatory catastrophe insurance protection for private assets, according to Business Mirror. The regulator has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurance Association (PIRA) and National Reinsurance Corp. ... Read the full article
Travelers’ reinsurance program absorbed $101mn of Q4 cat losses
27th January 2020
US primary insurer Travelers has disclosed that it recovered $101 million of catastrophe losses from its aggregate reinsurance treaty during the fourth quarter of 2019. The company recorded a total of $186 million of pre-tax catastrophe losses in the quarter, but only incurred an $85 million loss after factoring in its ... Read the full article
Munich Re pegs insured nat cat losses at $52bn in 2019
8th January 2020
New data from reinsurer Munich Re estimates that natural catastrophes caused global economic losses of $150 billion in 2019, of which $52 billion was covered by re/insurance. Analysts noted that the insured portion of overall losses – slightly above 35% - was broadly in line with the average over the past ... Read the full article
Philippines fails to secure reinsurance for state assets & infrastructure
27th December 2019
The Government of the Philippines has failed to secure reinsurance protection in a recent bid to protect state assets and infrastructure from natural catastrophes, according to reports from The Philippine Daily Inquirer. National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon told the Inquirer there was a “failed bidding” for the insurance program of the ... Read the full article
Global insured cat losses well below average at $56bn: Swiss Re
19th December 2019
Preliminary estimates from Swiss Re Institute suggest that total economic losses from natural and man-made disasters were around $140 billion in 2019, of which $56 billion were covered by insurance and reinsurance. Notably, insured losses are down significantly from the $93 billion recorded last year, and are well below the annual ... Read the full article
Economic threat from catastrophes rises to $584bn in 2020, finds study
12th December 2019
The threat posed to the global economy by catastrophic risks in 2020 is higher than ever at roughly $584 billion, according to a new report by The Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School. The annual Global Risk Index report said the figure was 3% higher ... Read the full article
Flooding & storms to drive multi-billion-dollar losses in Europe: Aon
6th December 2019
The flooding and inland storms that impacted parts of western and southern Europe in November are likely to drive multi-billion-dollar economic losses, according to re/insurance broker Aon. The economic impact in Italy alone is expected to near $2 billion, Aon said in its Global Catastrophe Recap report for the month, with ... Read the full article
Indonesia insures state assets against natural disasters
22nd November 2019
The Government of Indonesia has signed an umbrella contract with a consortium of 56 re/insurers to protect state assets against natural disasters and other major risks. The agreement will cover ministry and institutional buildings in Indonesia against structural damage until 2023. Director General of State Assets of the Ministry of Finance Isa ... Read the full article
Re/insurers face $2bn loss from Dallas tornado outbreak, says ICT
25th October 2019
The recent outbreak of tornadoes around Dallas County, Texas could result in an industry loss of $2 billion, according to the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT), making it the costliest tornado loss in the state’s history. A total of nine tornadoes impacted the county on the night of Sunday 20th October, ... Read the full article
Travelers losses close to triggering aggregate reinsurance
23rd October 2019
US primary insurer Travelers is fast-approaching the attachment point of its aggregate reinsurance layer, executives revealed in a recent earnings call, which would trigger its $500 million excess of loss coverage. The company has reportedly used up $1.2 billion of its $1.3 billion retention, so is 92% of the way to ... Read the full article
RenRe estimates Q3 cat losses at $155 million
16th October 2019
Bermudian reinsurance firm RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RenRe) is anticipating that its catastrophe losses will total $155 million for the third quarter of 2019. The figure consists of $100 million in costs from Typhoon Faxai, and $55 million from Hurricane Dorian. RenRe added that it is also in the preliminary stage of assessing ... Read the full article
FedNat forecasts Q3 cat losses at $11mn, with no reinsurance triggered
16th October 2019
Florida-based primary insurer FedNat Holding Company has estimated that it will incur gross catastrophe losses of $11.0 million in the third quarter of 2019. This figure includes $8.0 million from FedNat’s non-Florida property business, which is subject to a 50% profit-sharing agreement with the non-affiliated managing general underwriter that writes FedNat ... Read the full article
Hagibis could exhaust AIG’s cat allowance for Japan, say analysts
15th October 2019
Typhoon Hagibis, which devasted the east coast of Japan over the weekend, could exhaust the catastrophe allowance of American International Group, Inc. (AIG) in Japan, according to analysts at Credit Suisse. The firm noted that AIG has likely already used its Japan $550 million excess of $200 million occurrence coverage ... Read the full article
Re/insurance to cover less than half of Dorian’s $1.2bn US impact: Aon
11th October 2019
Public and private re/insurance is expected to cover less than half of the total $1.2 billion economic impact of Hurricane Dorian in the US, according to Aon’s September Global Catastrophe Recap report. The month was characterised by a number of large industry losses, but Aon’s estimates also show that industry costs ... Read the full article
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