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.
Fitch upgrades Generali’s ratings citing “resilient operating performance”
19th September 2023
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Generali’s Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating to “A+” from “A” with a stable outlook, and has also upped the firm's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'A' from 'A-'. Fitch suggested that the upgrades reflect Generali’s "very strong capitalisation and moderate financial leverage" and the "continuous improvement ... Read the full article
SCOR could return to profitability levels in the medium term with new strategic plan: Fitch
18th September 2023
French reinsurer SCOR's recently announced new strategic 2024-2026 plan is reasonably ambitious and could see the firm return to profitability levels in the medium term, according to Fitch Ratings. In early September, SCOR revealed a new plan designed to enable it to benefit from a supportive market environment and develop ... Read the full article
US P&C insurance sector will be “hard pressed” to match 2022 CR amid underwriting losses: Fitch
15th September 2023
While premiums grew for the U.S. P&C insurance sector in the first half the year, carriers continued to report significant underwriting losses, and the segment will be "hard pressed" to match the 102.8% combined ratio posted in full-year 2022, according to Fitch Ratings. According to the ratings agency, results are anticipated ... Read the full article
Asia’s reinsurers will continue to benefit from hard market in 2023: Fitch
11th September 2023
Asia's reinsurers continue to experience hard market conditions in 2023, offsetting the impact of inflation-induced rising claims, climate change and financial market volatility, according to Fitch Ratings. These comments stem from the rating agency's most recent report regarding the outlook of the Asian reinsurance market. Jessica Pratiwi, Senior Analyst at the firm, ... Read the full article
Rising home premiums & reduced availability could impact California and Florida housing markets: Fitch
8th September 2023
In a recent report, Fitch Ratings has warned that the increasing premiums and reduced availability of homeowners' property insurance in California and Florida could have far-reaching effects on housing markets, development activities, overall economic growth, and local government tax bases over time. This situation arises as insurers re-evaluate their exposures in ... Read the full article
Fitch forecasts surge in reinsurance capital to lead to rate softening by 2025
8th September 2023
In a recent report, Fitch Ratings anticipates a significant surge in capital availability within the global reinsurance industry, a trend that is expected to culminate in a softening of rates by the year 2025. According to Fitch, traditional reinsurance capital is poised to see an uptick in availability throughout 2023 and ... Read the full article
Fitch revises global reinsurance sector outlook to ‘improving’
7th September 2023
Fitch Ratings has revised its global reinsurance sector outlook to ‘improving’ from ‘neutral’ reflecting the sector’s strengthening financial performance that is anticipated to extend into 2024. The rating agency noted in a recent report that near-term price rises are likely to outpace increases in claims costs and it expects underwriting margins ... Read the full article
Korean insurers navigate K-ICS impact, focus on capital efficiency and solvency: Fitch
5th September 2023
The Korean Insurance Capital Standard (K-ICS) continues to exert a profound influence on South Korean insurers' operational strategies, as they endeavour to optimise capital efficiency and reinforce solvency adequacy, reports Fitch Ratings. The introduction of K-ICS in 2023 has sparked varying impacts on the solvency strength of Korean insurers, contingent on ... Read the full article
Reinsurer nat cat pullback persists; tighter T&Cs should benefit risk profiles: Fitch
25th August 2023
As pricing for natural catastrophe business has been, for the most part, loss-making in recent years, even the strongest global reinsurers have now pulled back from the space via tightening terms and conditions (T&Cs) in an effort to move higher up the tower and away from aggregate covers, notes Fitch ... Read the full article
US Niche Insurers’ business profiles drive ratings: Fitch
24th August 2023
According to a recent Fitch Ratings peer review, the ratings of the Midsize Niche North American Life Insurers peer group are driven by their differentiated business profiles. In the case of Reinsurance Group of America’s (RGA), Fitch sees its differentiated business profile favourably, thanks to its entrenched market position and long ... Read the full article
Europe’s big four reinsurers saw improved average P&C combined ratio in H1’23: Fitch
23rd August 2023
Europe's big four reinsurers reported an average property and casualty (P&C) combined ratio of 89.2% in the first half of 2023, a 4.1 percentage point improvement on the prior year as the catastrophe load eased, reports Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency highlights that underwriting margins in P&C improved for three of ... Read the full article
UK life sector profitability set to be impacted by new consumer rules: Fitch
18th August 2023
New rules that are requiring for UK financial services companies to show that their prices represent fair value to customers negatively affect life sector profitability. Fitch Ratings says that it expects the rules introduced as part of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) consumer duty package, to lead some insurers to reduce ... Read the full article
Average ROE of reinsurers in Fitch peer group decreased to 1.2% in 2022
6th July 2023
A group of reinsurers in Fitch Ratings' universe saw their average return on equity (ROE) fall from 8.5% in 2021 to 1.2% in 2022 as mark-downs on investments, high inflation and increased losses from natural catastrophes drove a significant dip in profits. The global reinsurance companies in the peer group are ... Read the full article
Fitch forecasts resilient credit fundamentals for Japanese non-life insurers in FYE24
30th June 2023
Fitch Ratings has projected that the credit fundamentals of Japanese non-life insurance groups are expected to maintain their resilience throughout the financial year ending in March 2024 (FYE24). Despite facing profitability challenges in FYE23, the three major insurers in Japan, namely MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc., Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc., and ... Read the full article
Global insurance outlook neutral, more headwinds for non-life insurers: Fitch
26th June 2023
In Fitch Ratings' global insurance mid-year outlook, Cynthia Chan, Global Head of Insurance, suggested there are more headwinds for non-life insurers where inflation and normalising claims pressure underwriting margins in some key markets. According to the rating agency, the global insurance outlook remains neutral with a continued skew towards deteriorating in ... Read the full article