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.
Record year for bulk annuities likely as demand remains high: Fitch
26th April 2019
UK life insurers writing bulk purchase annuities (BPAs) continue to benefit from a strong demand that will likely result in 2019 surpassing 2018’s £24 billion in bulk annuity transactions, according to Fitch Ratings’ report on UK life insurance. Indeed, Willis Towers Watson recently expected 2019 to show further strong growth ... Read the full article
Underwriting profitability of London market remains pressured, warns Fitch
9th April 2019
Fitch Ratings has maintained its negative sector outlook on the London insurance market, citing continued pressure on profitability as catastrophe events hit underwriting performance and expense ratios remain high. The global financial services ratings agency highlights the negative impact of catastrophe losses and low investment returns on the results of London ... Read the full article
North America P&C sector results improve despite cat losses: Fitch
5th April 2019
North American property and casualty (P&C) re/insurers generated improved operating returns and underwriting profits in 2018, according to Fitch Ratings. Analysis of 48 P&C re/insurers’ results showed that performance across the sector improved despite a second consecutive year of higher than average catastrophe losses. Insured cat losses represented 5.0% of aggregate net ... Read the full article
Profitability of UK motor insurers to remain under pressure: Fitch Ratings
29th March 2019
The profitability of UK motor insurers is to remain under pressure as the struggle to keep premium rates ahead of rising claim costs looks set to continue, Fitch Ratings says. While it’s difficult to hike prices without losing business, Fitch says several insurers emphasised their focus on defending profitability rather than ... Read the full article
InsurTech set to revolutionise data collection, analysis: Fitch
13th March 2019
The biggest near-term impact of InsurTech will be its ability to revolutionise how insurers collect, access and analyse data, Fitch Ratings analysts believe. For property/casualty (P/C) insurers, Fitch says telematics will be the differentiator as data generated from devices is the single most predictive loss indicator available. The availability of more accurate ... Read the full article
Brexit-driven RWN poses no immediate threat to UK insurer ratings: Fitch
27th February 2019
According to global financial services rating agency, Fitch Ratings, the Rating Watch Negative (RWN) assigned on the UK, in light of Brexit, does not suggest any immediate threat to UK insurers' ratings. The ratings agency states that, in itself, a one-notch sovereign downgrade would not result in insurer downgrades, adding that ... Read the full article
Increase of alt investment managers in insurance industry mutually beneficial: Fitch
15th February 2019
An increased involvement in the insurance industry by alternative investment managers (Alt-IMs) throughout 2019 could provide benefits to both sides, with Alt-IMs gaining a steadier source of investment capital from premiums and insurers seeing higher investment returns in a lower-rate environment, according to analysts at Fitch Ratings. 2019 is expected to ... Read the full article
Workers’ comp business ripe for insurtech innovation: Fitch
31st January 2019
The workers’ compensation segment of the property and casualty (P&C) re/insurance sector is a prime target for technology investment, according to analysts at Fitch Ratings. Analysts noted that, while it is currently enjoying a fourth consecutive year of market underwriting profits, the workers’ compensation business has historically suffered from large losses, ... Read the full article
Bermuda re/insurers to post improved CR following volatile 2017: Fitch
25th January 2019
Fitch Ratings is expecting the Bermudian re/insurers it tracks to post a Combined Ratio (CR) of approximately 100% for 2018, down from the 106.9% posted after the volatile cat events of 2017. The improvement reflects a reduced cat loss burden of roughly 10% on the 2018’s CR, compared to 20.2% in ... Read the full article
Impact of Indonesian tsunami on local, global re/insurers to be minor: Fitch
10th January 2019
The recent tsunami to hit Indonesia following the Anak Krakatau volcanic eruption in the closing days of 2018 is not likely to affect the financial stability of the country’s insurers due to comprehensive catastrophe risk management and strong capital buffers, according to Fitch Ratings. It’s also likely that specialist reinsurers in ... Read the full article
Ongoing competition to impact profits in London non-life sector: Fitch
27th December 2018
The profitability of companies in the London, UK non-life re/insurance sector will continue to come under pressure throughout 2019 as intense competition erodes margins, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch said its outlook for the sector would remain negative in light of a number of ongoing challenges, including regulatory scrutiny, high expense ... Read the full article
California wildfires to have modest impact on year-end P&C results: Fitch
20th December 2018
While the gross property and casualty (P&C) insured loss from the California wildfires have been significant, a considerable amount is expected to have been ceded to various global reinsurance markets, reducing the net exposure of the domestic primary market, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch maintains stable outlooks on both the U.S ... Read the full article
German non-life rates to continue rising through 2019: Fitch
17th December 2018
German non-life re/insurers are likely to continue raising their premium rates throughout 2019 to maintain profitability as the sector deals with increasing costs per claim and dwindling investment returns, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. The rating agency forecasts overall premium growth of 2.3% in the sector, largely driven ... Read the full article
No-deal Brexit poses risk for re/insurers despite fall-back plans: Fitch
11th December 2018
Interim solutions and contingency planning are reducing some of the risks of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, but it remains uncertain how restrictions on cross-border authorisation could potentially impact re/insurers and other financial institutions (FIs), according to analysts at Fitch Ratings. The rating agency noted that a range of potential Brexit outcomes still ... Read the full article
Fitch revises negative outlook as U.S P&C sector recovers
4th December 2018
Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook for the U.S property and casualty (P&C) sector from negative to stable due to a notable recovery in the market following a challenging 2017. The rating agency’s 2019 outlook report noted that U.S P&C profitability rebounded in 2018 after a meaningful underwriting loss in the ... Read the full article
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