Reinsurance News
Fitch
German non-life rates to continue rising through 2019: Fitch
17th December 2018
German non-life re/insurers are likely to continue raising their premium rates throughout 2019 to maintain profitability as the sector deals with increasing costs per claim and dwindling investment returns, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. The rating agency forecasts overall premium growth of 2.3% in the sector, largely driven ... Read the full article
No-deal Brexit poses risk for re/insurers despite fall-back plans: Fitch
11th December 2018
Interim solutions and contingency planning are reducing some of the risks of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, but it remains uncertain how restrictions on cross-border authorisation could potentially impact re/insurers and other financial institutions (FIs), according to analysts at Fitch Ratings. The rating agency noted that a range of potential Brexit outcomes still ... Read the full article
Fitch revises negative outlook as U.S P&C sector recovers
4th December 2018
Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook for the U.S property and casualty (P&C) sector from negative to stable due to a notable recovery in the market following a challenging 2017. The rating agency’s 2019 outlook report noted that U.S P&C profitability rebounded in 2018 after a meaningful underwriting loss in the ... Read the full article
While significant, wildfire losses should be within budget: Fitch Ratings
21st November 2018
The recent outbreak of wildfires in California is likely to have a negative impact on the Q4 earnings of re/insurers with property exposure in the state, but losses should remain within budget for most companies, according to Fitch Ratings. The rating agency said that wildfire losses should not exceed the level ... Read the full article
U.S life insurers to experience long-term care reserves charges: Fitch
29th October 2018
Fitch Ratings believes that life insurers in the U.S are likely to experience material reserve charges related to long-term care (LTC) products through 2019 due to overly aggressive assumptions for statutory reserving. A report by the rating agency noted that statutory reserving across the industry continues to be based on overly ... Read the full article
Underwriting losses continue for U.S Medical Professional Liability: Fitch
16th October 2018
The U.S Medical Professional Liability Insurance (MPLI) sector has experienced underwriting losses for a second consecutive year, posting a combined ratio of 102% in both 2016 and 2017, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. Calendar-year results in MPLI continue to benefit from favourable loss reserve development, which averaged 20% ... Read the full article
Re/insurer’s IFS ratings unlikely to face adverse impacts from Michael: Fitch
12th October 2018
While hurricane Michael will add to the insured catastrophe losses accumulated thus far this year and push 2018 closer to a more normal catastrophe loss year, re/insurer's individual Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) ratings are unlikely to face adverse impacts, according to Fitch. Fitch believes the property/casualty re/industry is well positioned to absorb ... Read the full article
Reinsurance M&A to continue, driven by alternative capital access: Fitch
4th October 2018
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the reinsurance industry is expected to continue, driven in part by a desire for companies to gain better access to alternative capital platforms, according to Fitch Ratings. Consolidation provides a range of potential benefits for reinsurers, including revenue diversification, economies of scales, improved return on ... Read the full article
U.S. life insurers experience improved profitability in 2018: Fitch
27th September 2018
Approximately two-thirds of publicly traded life insurers in the U.S. rated by Fitch improved profitability in the first-half of 2018, and while higher interest rates will mitigate spread compression, the rating agency warns that this will remain a headwind in the second half of the year. For the U.S. life insurers ... Read the full article
Pricing will remain flat at 1/1 renewals: Fitch Ratings
25th September 2018
Although reinsurance pricing improved to some extent over 2018, abundant levels of underwriting capacity continue to absorb any increase in reinsurance demand, meaning rates are not expected to improve significantly at 1 January 2019 renewals, according to Fitch Ratings. Rates improvements were greatest at the January renewals in 2018, but subsequent ... Read the full article
NFIP will absorb majority of Florence losses, says Fitch
20th September 2018
Traditional reinsurers and insurance-linked securities (ILS) markets are expected to experience only modest levels of losses from Hurricane Florence, with the majority likely to be absorbed by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), according to Fitch Ratings. Florence weakened to a Category 1 hurricane as it approached the U.S coast last ... Read the full article
U.S Excess & Surplus lines recovery boosts P&C insurers: Fitch
14th September 2018
U.S Property & Casualty (P&C) insurers with significant operations in Excess and Surplus (E&S) lines are set to receive a boost as the U.S E&S market continues its modest recovery, according to a recent report by Fitch Ratings. The E&S business is typically more volatile than standard admitted insurance markets and ... Read the full article
Fitch revises global reinsurance sector outlook to stable
4th September 2018
Global ratings agency Fitch has revised its outlook for the global reinsurance sector from negative to stable in response to a new market normal, underlined by more modest returns on capital but less volatility than before. Fitch Ratings says that in recent years there has been a secular shift that has ... 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
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