Reinsurance News
Fitch Ratings news
News featuring rating agency Fitch Ratings, including the latest reports, rating actions and analysis from the company, as well as news on Fitch’s analysis of the reinsurance sector.
US midsize mutual life insurers supported by higher levels of capital: Fitch Ratings
29th June 2021
The ratings for the midsize mutual peer group have continued to be supported by higher levels of capital relative to the broader life industry, reflecting the unique characteristics of mutual ownership, according to Fitch Ratings’ latest peer review of the sector. Compared with stock companies, these mutual insurers generally have a ... Read the full article
Fitch turns positive on Enstar
25th June 2021
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Legacy specialist Enstar’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB', senior unsecured notes at 'BBB-' and preference shares at 'BB+'. The rating outlook has been revised to positive from stable, reflecting what Fitch considers to be very strong and growing capitalisation with continued reasonable financial leverage. Fitch also ... Read the full article
Colombian protests could trigger higher LatAm reinsurance rates: Fitch
15th June 2021
Analysts at Fitch Ratings have warned that Colombian insurers may face an impact to their loss ratios and overall financial performance due to social protests over the last month that have caused damage to property. Fitch expects a moderate deterioration in profitability but does not expect these events to lead to ... Read the full article
P&C insurers to increase cyber pricing in 2021: Fitch
11th June 2021
A new report by Fitch Ratings has shown that U.S. property and casualty (P&C) insurers that provide cyber insurance coverage are taking significant pricing and underwriting actions in 2021. This is in response to a spike in cyber claims with immediate improvement unlikely this year. The report showed that cyber insurance direct ... Read the full article
Fitch notes performance decline in Florida despite muted 2020 losses
10th June 2021
Analysts at Fitch Ratings have pointed to continued performance deterioration and a decline in capitalization levels amongst Florida homeowners insurance specialists. This is despite the most severe losses from the record 2020 hurricane season occurring outside of the Florida market, although they noted that losses from winter storms in Q1 2021 ... Read the full article
Hurricane-exposed cat bond issuance robust in 2021, says Fitch
9th June 2021
The demand for hurricane-exposed catastrophe bonds has continued at a steady pace for the first half of this year, say analysts at Fitch Ratings. According to the Artemis Deal Directory, so far this year sixteen catastrophe bonds have been issued or are expected to be issued under SEC rule 144A, ... Read the full article
US P&C underwriting income down 53% in Q1: Fitch
7th June 2021
A new Fitch Ratings report has highlighted a 50% fall in first quarter net income within the US property/casualty space compared to the prior year quarter. Combined ratio, meanwhile, deteriorated from 95% to 96.4%, with catastrophe losses accounting for an estimated 6.9 points. This figure is up from 3.3 points seen in ... Read the full article
US insurers braced for ‘above average’ hurricane season, reports Fitch
2nd June 2021
US property and casualty re/insurers are reportedly braced for large potential catastrophe losses as another above-average hurricane season approaches, according to a new Fitch Ratings report. Fitch notes how both P/C insurers and global reinsurers are largely well capitalised following the global pandemic last year, and generally well positioned to withstand ... Read the full article
Fitch Ratings turns positive on AXA off improving XL performance
28th May 2021
Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook on AXA and its core insurance subsidiaries' Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) Ratings, changing AXA's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Positive from Stable. Fitch’s revision is driven primarily by an expectation for the AXA group to secure a property and casualty combined ratio sustainably below ... Read the full article
P&C financial leverage up on low rates and liquidity needs: Fitch
27th May 2021
Analysts at Fitch Ratings have reported that, in the aggregate, U.S. property/casualty insurers' financial leverage increased to 22.3% at year-end 2020 from 21.4% at year-end 2019. A report by the rating agency, which looked at a group of 31 companies, concluded that financial leverage is expected to increase modestly over the ... Read the full article
Fitch revises US life to negative off COVID-19 concerns
21st May 2021
Fitch Ratings has revised its rating outlook for the US life insurance industry to stable from negative, citing the economic impact of COVID-19 and its effect on credit quality . Analysts note how that, when uncertainty about the implications of the coronavirus pandemic peaked in 2020, almost 30% of ratings assigned ... Read the full article
Limited rating impact expected from IFRS 17: Fitch
12th May 2021
Analysts at Fitch Ratings have assured that the introduction of IFRS 17 is expected to have a “limited” impact on ratings and no overall changes to its view on capitalisation for most re/insurers. While IFRS 17 is an important and major accounting change for insurance contracts, in itself it does not ... Read the full article
US & Bermuda reinsurers to adapt to higher UK injury costs: Fitch
4th May 2021
Analysts at Fitch Ratings believe that US and Bermuda re/insurers that cover bodily injury claims in the UK will adapt quickly to higher costs stemming from a change in how settlements are calculated, with just a short-term knock to their earnings. However, the need to set aside extra reserves for UK ... Read the full article
UK life sector conduct risks prompt negative outlook from Fitch
29th April 2021
Fitch Ratings has issued a negative sector outlook for the UK life sector after concluding that mis-selling provisions booked by three firms demonstrated how regulatory scrutiny of historical conduct remains a threat to profitability. Fitch says that, while high levels of capitalisation across the market should allow UK insurers to absorb ... Read the full article
Interest rates to pressure European life earnings through 2021: Fitch
27th April 2021
Analysts at Fitch Ratings have forecast that European life re/insurers’ earnings will be under pressure through 2021, due to the protracted low interest rate environment. As a result of these low interest rates, investment margins will be reduced, making it difficult for insurers to finance policyholders’ liability with capital guarantees, the ... Read the full article
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