Reinsurance News
COVID-19 news
News about the impact of the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and how it affected insurance and reinsurance markets.
IRB Brasil Re delays release of Q1 results amid COVID-19
5th May 2020
IRB Brasil Resseguros SA (IRB Brasil Re) has announced that it has postponed the release of its first-quarter 2020 financial results amid the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. In an announcement to its shareholders and the market, the Chief Financial and Investor Relations Officer of the Rio de Janeiro-based ... Read the full article
AM Best places Watford Re & subsidiaries ratings under review amid COVID-19
5th May 2020
Global financial services ratings agency A.M. Best has placed the credit ratings of Watford Re Ltd. and its subsidiaries under review with negative implications, after the company announced that its Q1 2020 results will include a net investment loss of $300 million as a result of COVID-19 impacts on financial ... Read the full article
Covid-19 trade credit losses up to $46bn, reinsurers to take up to 30%: MS analysts
5th May 2020
Trade credit insurance market losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic could reach as high as $46 billion, with reinsurers perhaps taking as much as 30% of the hit, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. The analysts said in a report that their initial estimate for losses to primary credit insurers is ... Read the full article
Watford reports $267.8mn Q1 net loss as COVID-19 hits investment result
5th May 2020
Watford Holdings has reported a net loss of $267.8 million for the first-quarter of 2020, driven by a net investment loss of $262.7 million, mostly the result of $285.5 million of unrealised mark-to-market losses in its non-investment grade fixed-income portfolio. Watford's substantial $267.8 million net loss for the first-quarter of 2020 ... Read the full article
COVID-19 impacts push AXIS Capital to first-quarter net loss
5th May 2020
Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has reported a net loss of $185 million and a combined ratio of 119.8% in Q1 2020, as pre-tax catastrophe and weather-related losses reached $300 million, the majority of which are related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The re/insurer's $185 million Q1 net loss ... Read the full article
‘Limited scope’ for 2020 final dividend, says IAG
5th May 2020
Based on year-to-date investment income outcomes and its forecast FY20 insurance profit, largely driven by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, IAG says there is presently limited scope to pay a final dividend in September 2020. This is after application of the upper end of IAG’s 60-80% of full year cash earnings payout ... Read the full article
AIG’s GI segment falls to underwriting loss on $272m COVID-19 hit
5th May 2020
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has reported an underwriting loss of $87 million within its General Insurance segment in Q1, which includes $272 million of estimated COVID-19 related losses. Despite the firm's General Insurance unit falling to an underwriting loss in the quarter, net investment income of $588 million more than ... Read the full article
COVID-19 linked to 54% drop in Q1 insurtech funding: WTW
4th May 2020
A new report from Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has found that insurtech investment worldwide totalled about $912 million during the first three months of 2020. At 96, deal count was up 28% over Q4 2019, but overall funding was down 54%, with analysts attributing the drop in part to the COVID-19 ... Read the full article
CNA posts $61mn Q1 net loss
4th May 2020
US commercial property and casualty insurer CNA has announced a first quarter 2020 net loss of $61 million, driven by market volatility created by COVID-19. CNA also revealed net investment losses of $169 million and a decrease in net investment income to $279 million, reflecting stable earnings from fixed income and ... Read the full article
Public-private partnerships the only viable option we have to tackle pandemics: Scotti, Swiss Re
4th May 2020
As COVID-19 continues to drive widespread uncertainty and extremely challenging societal and economic conditions, the only viable way to effectively address the crisis is through public-private sector collaboration, according to Veronica Scotti, Chairperson Public Sector Solutions, Swiss Re. While varying degrees of lockdowns and social distancing measures remain in place across ... Read the full article
Berkshire would have written pandemic insurance if people had asked for it: Buffett
4th May 2020
Warren Buffett has said that Berkshire Hathaway would have been willing to write pandemic insurance at the right price if people had asked for the coverage. Speaking during the conglomerate's first-quarter 2020 earnings call, after the firm announced losses within its re/insurance businesses and a huge unrealised investment loss, Chief ... Read the full article
AXA XL responds to COVID-19 with remote risk assessments
4th May 2020
AXA XL Risk Consulting has launched a new risk assessment service to enable it to continue evaluating loss prevention across business lines amid COVID-19 restrictions. The service, called Remote Risk Dialogue uses data captured from telephone calls, web tools and existing reports to help risk engineers perform remote analysis. “With restrictions on ... Read the full article
Berkshire Hathaway reports $489m Q1 reinsurance loss, $55.5bn investment loss
2nd May 2020
Warren Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway reported first-quarter losses to its primary insurance and reinsurance businesses, in part due to the impacts of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. But the enormous largely unrealised investment loss of $55.5 billion for the first-quarter of 2020 overshadows all else in the Berkshire Hathaway results today. Berkshire Hathaway ... Read the full article
EIOPA revises timetable for advice on Solvency II Review
1st May 2020
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), in close coordination with the European Commission, has revised its timetable for advice on the 2020 Solvency II Review to December 2020. The review had already been pushed back by two months from March in an effort to offer operational relief in reaction ... Read the full article
$1.5bn COVID-19 investment hit dents solid Q1 for Fairfax
1st May 2020
Re/insurance holding company Fairfax Financial has reported a $1.2 billion first quarter net loss, driven primarily by COVID-19 related unrealised losses on investments. Despite significant net investment losses, the total of which stands at $1.5 billion for the quarter, Fairfax’s underwriting performance was strong, with its 96.8% re/insurance operations combined ratio ... Read the full article
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