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. E&S lines to outperform standard lines in 2017, but margin is thinning: Fitch
25th September 2017
Underwriters of U.S. excess & surplus (E&S) lines are expected to continue to outperform standard market underwriters in the coming months, although this is anticipated to be by a smaller degree as market conditions challenge results in 2017, according to Fitch Ratings' U.S. E&S Lines Market Review. Following a small decline ... Read the full article
No rating weakening for hurricane Irma exposed firms: Fitch Ratings
22nd September 2017
Hurricane Irma insured losses are estimated to amount to $25 - $50 billion, causing near-term earnings reduction for exposed firms but no expected rating weakening, according to Fitch Ratings. The rating agency said that while carriers remain well-capitalised with sufficient balance sheets to handle claims from Irma and Harvey, capacity could ... Read the full article
Reinsurers continue to pullback on P&C lines as competition persists: Fitch
14th September 2017
Intense competition from both traditional and alternative providers of reinsurance capacity in the first-half of 2017 combined with falling rates across the property and casualty (P&C) sector is hindering premium growth for the industry, according to Fitch Ratings. For the group of 19 non-life reinsurers tracked by Fitch, and that reported ... Read the full article
Floridian re/insurers at risk of “notable financial strain” from Irma: Fitch
9th September 2017
As hurricane Irma maintains its track towards the state of Florida, U.S., Fitch Ratings has warned of the potential impact the storm could have on the Florida insurance and reinsurance market. Hurricane Irma is on track to hit Florida on Sunday morning, September 10th, 2017, potentially as a Category 4 ... Read the full article
Reinsurance pricing to deteriorate throughout 2018, warns Fitch
6th September 2017
Pricing in the global reinsurance sector will continue declining throughout 2018 as competition from alternative sources of reinsurance capacity intensifies and margins across the sector deteriorate further, according to analysis by Fitch Ratings. The current low-interest rate environment is expected to remain, dampening returns on the investment side of the balance ... Read the full article
NAIC’s new security model to improve U.S. insurance sector’s cyber risk management: Fitch
4th September 2017
Fitch Ratings expects the National Association of Insurance Commissioner's (NAIC) recently approved Insurance Data Security Model Law to drive more rigorous cyber risk management in the U.S. insurance sector, but does warn of the potential for increased compliance costs. The NAIC has sought to establish industry standards for data security that will ... Read the full article
Harvey insured loss within insurers’ retentions but could erode NFIP’s reinsurance program: Fitch
31st August 2017
Fitch Ratings has said that hurricane Harvey is unlikely to result in any ratings downgrades of property/casualty re/insurers as the storm is expected to be an earnings event, and while the insured loss is likely to fall within insurers' retentions, the storm could wipe out the National Flood Insurance Program's ... Read the full article
European reinsurers scrape by with help of low CAT losses
23rd August 2017
The big four European reinsurers' profitability has been kept afloat by a first half of 2017 that's seen catastrophe loss levels at well below the ten-year average, but Fitch ratings warned that under normal circumstances Munich Re and Hannover Re would have made losses. On a global scale, 2017 has been ... Read the full article
Fitch maintains negative reinsurance outlook, warns of further price deterioration
22nd August 2017
Fitch Ratings has maintained its negative outlook for the reinsurance sector as mid-year 2017 results show continued pressure on pricing and earnings. Ample capacity and intense competition remains an issue for the global reinsurance sector, and Fitch expects pricing to weaken further in the months ahead. Despite the abundance of capacity and ... Read the full article
Asia hit with lion’s share of global economic losses but regional re/insurance market grows
14th August 2017
Asia has often bourne the brunt of global economic losses from catastrophes, at $US74 billion the region was hit with 47% of global economic losses last year, only 16% of which was insured - but governments are increasingly counteracting these losses by introducing schemes and regulations to up the impetus ... Read the full article
Fitch expects Asian reinsurers to increase use of debt capital
8th August 2017
Fitch Ratings expects the Asian bond market to gain traction in the near to medium term as the persistent low-interest rate environment fuels reinsurers in the region to look at debt capital over equity funding. The majority of reinsurance companies across Asia are equity-funded, but in a low-interest rate environment, which ... Read the full article
Fitch predicts continued premium rate declines in Asia as reinsurance competition intensifies
8th August 2017
Rating Agency Fitch has predicted a continued trend of softening reinsurance premium rates for the remainder of 2017 in Asia, as competition intensifies with both established reinsurers expanding operations in the region and increasing numbers of start-ups joining the playing field. Capital abundance has brought further declines to Asia's reinsurance premium ... Read the full article
Asian re/insurance regulators continue to walk the protectionist tightrope
7th August 2017
Asian re/insurance regulators have continued the trend towards localisation and protectionism to stop capital outflow from insurance premium cedance, with this year seeing India join the ranks of countries introducing further “order of preference” rules. These rules require insurers to give local reinsurers and branches of onshore foreign insurers first 'right ... Read the full article
M&A in Asia driven by incentives for foreign diversification & local capacity growth
4th August 2017
Soft market conditions provide the backdrop for reinsurance industry Merger & Acquisitions (M&As) throughout Asia, although the highly varied local industry dynamics and levels of market maturity create a mixed bag of motives, with some reinsurers driven to acquire by foreign diversification needs while others merge to grow their own ... Read the full article
Re/insurance favourable reserve development to decline: Fitch
27th July 2017
Fitch Ratings expects Bermuda insurance and reinsurance market favourable reserve development to decline over the next couple of years, warning that any decrease could be accelerated by the speed and extent at which the reinsurance sector's favourable reserve development reduces. Recent analysis by global financial services rating agency, Fitch Ratings, explores the ... Read the full article
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