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.
Top European reinsurers report strong underwriting performance at H1: Fitch
24th August 2018
The top four European reinsurers all reported a solid underwriting performance over the first half of 2018, with limited large losses, moderate rate improvements, and strong premium growth, according to a recent report by Fitch Ratings. Fitch largely attributed the strong underwriting performance of the group, which included Munich Re, Swiss ... Read the full article
Asian reinsurers remain profitable over 2017 despite market softening: Fitch
7th August 2018
Asian reinsurers in catastrophe-prone countries remained profitable over 2017 despite continued market softening thanks to effective risk management, favourable loss-reserve development, and limited catastrophe events, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. Fitch found that big reinsurers in China, Japan and Korea recorded favourable profitability with return on equity (ROE) ... Read the full article
Reinsurance demand to grow in Asia, although untapped markets remain: Fitch
3rd August 2018
Reinsurance demand is expected to grow significantly in Asia due to accounting reforms, large infrastructure projects, and technology, while considerable opportunities and challenges remain in closing the region’s vast protection gap, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. Fitch noted that the implementation of IFRS 17 - new international accounting ... Read the full article
Technology creating new area of competition for Asian reinsurers: Fitch Ratings
2nd August 2018
Reinsurers in Asia have recently embraced technology to improve their services to insurance clients and end-customers, says Fitch Ratings. The faster processing of reinsurance transactions means an improved service for insurance clients who are able to speed up processes for their policyholders. These increasingly sophisticated tools allow for automated data analysis ... Read the full article
Projected asbestos industry losses up $10bn, reserves remain deficient: Fitch
18th July 2018
A Fitch Ratings report examining U.S. property and casualty re/insurers' asbestos liability exposures has led the agency to raise its projection for ultimate all-time industry incurred losses to $100 billion, up from $90 billion last year. Additionally, the U.S. industry's asbestos reserve deficiency is in the range of $8 billion - ... Read the full article
Fitch suggests large reinsurers can better withstand market challenges
10th July 2018
Fitch Ratings recently affirmed its stable outlook and ‘AA-‘ Insurer Financial Rating (IFR) for European reinsurance giants Swiss Re and SCOR, reasoning that the scale of the companies allows them to better withstand current market challenges. The rating agency recognised that both companies currently had very strong business profiles within the ... Read the full article
Generali Leben sale to signal rise in German run-off deals: Fitch Ratings
9th July 2018
Fitch Ratings has declared the recent €1 billion sale of Generali Leben - a company with traditional-business reserves of approximately €37 billion - to Viridium the largest run-off deal in Germany to date. Fitch says the deal reinforces its expectations that disposal of closed funds is to become a growing ... Read the full article
U.S P&C earnings volatile following equity accounting changes: Fitch
27th June 2018
Re/insurance companies that report under U.S Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) may be subject to earnings volatility over 2018 due to a change in accounting for equity securities, according to Fitch Ratings. In an effort to promote convergence with international accounting practices, from January 1, 2018, companies have had to recognise ... Read the full article
U.S P&C personal lines losses rise for fourth straight year: Fitch Ratings
25th June 2018
Underwriting losses in the U.S P&C personal lines segment grew for the fourth consecutive year in 2017, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. The industry statutory personal lines combined ratio rose to 103.8% in 2017 despite continued favourable written premium growth and moderate improvement in the personal auto segment, ... Read the full article
Emerging technologies to continue driving personal insurance landscape: Fitch
19th June 2018
A new report by Fitch Ratings has outlined the ways in which emerging technologies are to continue shaping the personal insurance landscape. Fitch determined that auto Insurance is the segment most frequently manipulated and influenced by tech innovation with current improvements to safety - rear-facing cameras, sensors, parking assist, collision avoidance ... Read the full article
U.S P&C sector well prepared for 2018 hurricane season: Fitch
8th June 2018
U.S Property and Casualty (P&C) re/insurers are well prepared for the 2018 hurricane season, which is expected to return to normal levels following an extremely active 2017 season, according to Fitch Ratings. The rating agency concluded that U.S insurers are well positioned to withstand a future significant catastrophe event in 2018, ... Read the full article
Irma showed the robustness of Florida specialists’ reinsurance utilisation: Fitch
6th June 2018
After the impact of hurricane Irma, primary Floridian insurance companies reported fairly limited losses when compared with the volume assumed by the global reinsurance segment, with many primary players reporting that overall losses fell well within their respective reinsurance programmes, reports Fitch. The ratings agency reports that a notable lack of ... Read the full article
Blockchain could allow developing countries to ‘leapfrog’ current tech: Fitch
29th May 2018
Fitch Ratings has suggested that blockchain technology could allow insurers and reinsurers in developing nations to make a faster technological leap than those in more established markets, as they can circumvent current operational systems. In its report, "Blockchain and Insurance - The Trust Machine," Fitch observed that many emerging markets and ... Read the full article
U.S. commercial insurance expects modest underwriting profit for 2018
23rd May 2018
U.S commercial property & casualty (P/C) insurers should expect improved performance this year following a turbulent 2017, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. Representing approximately 41% of U.S P/C industry net written premiums, commercial lines experienced significantly weaker underwriting performance in 2017, reporting a combined ratio of around 104% ... Read the full article
Fierce competition leads to buyers market for cyber re/insurers: Fitch
16th May 2018
Profitable results in the fast-growing cyber space have led to fierce competition and a buyers market, with renewal rates expected to suffer, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch observed that cyber continues to represent a significant growth opportunity for U.S property & casualty (P&C) re/insurers, driven by increasingly high-profile cyber-attacks and regulatory requirements. In ... Read the full article
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