Reinsurance News

Fitch

Fitch expects limited insured losses from Puerto Rico quake

8th January 2020

Global financial services ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, has said that the insurance industry loss from the recent 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Puerto Rico is likely to be lower than the losses the island experienced from Hurricane Maria. While many were asleep in the early hours of Tuesday morning, a devastating 6.4 ... Read the full article

Fitch sees improved underwriting profits for US P&C insurers

31st December 2019

Fitch Ratings has maintained a stable outlook for the U.S. property and casualty (P&C) sector's fundamentals and ratings in 2020, and has said that market players are likely to report an improved underwriting performance in 2019 when compared with the previous year. Ultimately, Fitch analysts believe that the positive pricing momentum ... Read the full article

Fitch revises Sirius’ ratings outlook to negative, cites underwriting challenges

16th December 2019

Fitch Ratings has revised the rating outlook of Sirius International Group, Ltd. to Negative from Stable, which the ratings agency says reflects operating performance deterioration in recent years. At the same time, Fitch has affirmed Sirius International Group, Ltd.'s government, including its 'BBB' Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR), 'BBB-' senior debt ... Read the full article

Silent risks undermine insurers’ cyber exposure efforts, says Fitch

13th December 2019

Despite underwriters being increasingly aware of the potential exposures presented by silent cyber risks it remains a very real and urgent threat, which analysts at Fitch Ratings say is key to understanding, and therefore the effective management of the evolving cyber risk landscape. In a recent report, analysts at Fitch Ratings ... Read the full article

Fitch sees strong revenue expansion for US insurance brokers in 2020

9th December 2019

Favourable U.S. commercial lines pricing trends coupled with high levels of organic growth is expected to contribute to strong revenue expansion for publicly traded U.S. insurance brokers in 2020, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch notes that current market conditions suggest a continuation of favourable margins for U.S. insurance brokers in 2020. ... Read the full article

Fitch turns negative on North American life insurance

5th December 2019

Fitch Ratings has revised its 2020 sector outlook for North American life insurers to negative from stable, following an unexpected decline in interest rates over the past year. Although the sector outlook is negative, analysts still expect ratings for North American life insurers to remain stable in the coming year. That said, ... Read the full article

Fitch turns negative on French & German life insurance

4th December 2019

Fitch Ratings has revised its sector outlooks for French and German life insurance from stable to negative, citing the impact of ultra-low interest rates on capital, earnings, and business models. Ratings for most insurers still remain stable, however, due to strong capital positions and ongoing efforts to reduce sensitivity to interest ... Read the full article

German insurers to offset growing cat losses with premium gains: Fitch

3rd December 2019

German non-life insurers are likely to continue increasing their premium income in 2020 to offset growing catastrophe losses and dwindling investment returns, according to analysts at Fitch Ratings. The rating agency’s outlook for the sector remains stable, on the basis that the market is expected to achieve sufficient premium growth to ... Read the full article

Spanish non-life sector maintains growth & profitability: Fitch

29th November 2019

The Spanish non-life insurance sector has expanded for the fifth year in a row, with strong profitability maintained and many opportunities for further growth, according to analysts at Fitch Ratings. In 2018, Spanish non-life premiums increased by 4% with positive contributions from most lines. Fitch expects the Spanish non-life insurance sector to ... Read the full article

Fitch revises London market outlook to stable, cites pricing & Lloyd’s

27th November 2019

Fitch Ratings has revised its 2020 outlook for the London market to stable from negative amid the improved pricing landscape and the market-wide profitability review initiated by Lloyd's of London. Overall, there is an improved pricing environment in the London marketplace, which Fitch expects to result in better underwriting results going ... Read the full article

P&C pricing momentum unlikely to result in hard market, says Fitch

14th November 2019

While favourable pricing trends in the US property and casualty (P&C) market have been gaining some momentum this year, analysts at Fitch Ratings do not believe these increases are likely to cause a return to hard market conditions. Competitive forces and less favourable claims trends in some key segments make it ... Read the full article

Hagibis likely an earnings event, reinsurers to cover majority of losses: Fitch

29th October 2019

Typhoon Hagibis is likely to be an earnings event for Japan's three main non-life insurers, while overall, it's expected that more than half of the insured loss total will be covered by reinsurers, says Fitch Ratings. Hagibis made landfall along Japan’s east coast as an equivalent category 1 hurricane on the ... Read the full article

Improved reinsurance market conditions may fade, warns Fitch

25th October 2019

Analysts at Fitch Ratings have warned Bermudian reinsurers that improved reinsurance market conditions and the subsequent positive influence on underwriting results may not last. After a more meaningful shift in pricing at the latest renewals season following disappointing rate movements through 2018 and into early 2019, on the back of consecutive ... Read the full article

Fitch removes Sirius ratings from negative watch

22nd October 2019

Fitch Ratings has removed Sirius International Group Ltd.’s ratings from Rating Watch Negative and assigned them a stable outlook. The rating agency also affirmed the BBB' Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR), 'BBB-' senior debt rating and 'A-' (Strong) Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating of Sirius's operating subsidiaries. Sirius’s ratings were placed ... Read the full article

Bermuda re/insurers set to improve earnings in 2019: Fitch

22nd October 2019

Bermuda re/insurers saw moderate net income improvement in 2018 despite heightened catastrophe losses, and look set to boost earnings further this year, according to analysts at Fitch Ratings. The sector returned to underwriting profits last year with a combined ratio of 99% recorded for the 22 companies in Fitch’s sample. This was ... Read the full article