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.
U.S workers compensation set for fifth year of underwriting profit, says Fitch
18th July 2019
The US workers compensation market is on track for a fifth consecutive year of underwriting profits in 2019 despite a recent weakening in market fundamentals, according to Fitch Ratings. The rating agency noted that the industry’s statutory combined ratio fell to 86% in 2018, and has averaged 93% annually since 2015. "The ... Read the full article
Fitch says ReAssure ratings not affected by IPO suspension
15th July 2019
Fitch Ratings has said that its ratings for ReAssure have not been affected by Swiss Re’s decision to suspend the initial public offering (IPO) of its shares. Swiss Re chose to shelve the IPO of its UK closed life book consolidator business last week in response to adverse market conditions, ... Read the full article
Cyber insurance market growth slows in 2018, says Fitch
20th May 2019
Growth in the cyber insurance market slowed dramatically in 2018 when compared with the previous year. However, analysts at Fitch Ratings expect a desire for improved risk management and pricing will benefit the sector over the long-term. In total, the U.S. property and casualty (P&C) industry's total direct written cyber premiums ... Read the full article
Majority of U.S. non-life re/insurers’ ESG risk level unlikely to influence rating: Fitch
16th May 2019
Within Fitch's group of 24 Fitch-rated issuers, very few U.S. non-life insurers and reinsurers reach an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risk level that suggests an influence on the rating, reports the ratings agency. Fitch states that 96% of ESG scoring distributions have no impact for its universe of rated-issuers, with ... Read the full article
U.S P&C insurers’ financial leverage remains stable: Fitch
13th May 2019
U.S property and casualty (P&C) insurers’ financial leverage remained stable year-on-year, according to Fitch Ratings, who recorded the sector’s aggregate financial leverage ratio (FLR) at 'A-'. Fitch explained that the ratio implied debt rating guidelines at 22.6% for year-end 2018, which was down minimally from 22.9% at year-end 2017. "In the medium ... Read the full article
Carriers better able to estimate loss costs after AOB reform: Fitch
29th April 2019
Fitch Ratings believes that insurance carriers in Florida will be able to better estimate loss costs following the passage of a new bill designed to curtail unnecessary litigation and assignment of benefits (AOB) abuse in the state. The reforms will limit the ability of third-party service vendors to take advantage of ... Read the full article
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
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