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Fitch
Reinsurance shielding Australian insurers from flood ratings impact: Fitch
30th March 2022
Recent flooding and severe storms in south-east Queensland and New South Wales will affect insurers’ earnings rather than their capital, due to the strong reinsurance program that firms have in place, according to analysts at Fitch Ratings. The rating agency says insurers’ robust earnings and capital headroom should ensure their ratings ... Read the full article
Commercial insurer profits to peak in 2023, weaken after: Fitch
29th March 2022
Analysts at Fitch Ratings believe that commercial insurance price momentum peaked last year, meaning insurer profits are likely to reach a high in 2023 and weaken thereafter. In a new report, the rating agency notes that price increases since 2017 helped regain healthy profitability in 2021, but warns that price momentum ... Read the full article
US D&O premium growth drives loss ratio improvement: Fitch
29th March 2022
According to rating agency Fitch Ratings, several years of U.S director and officers’ (D&O) insurance rapid premium growth led to a material decline in 2021’s direct loss ratios, and it is expected that it may continue in the near term. But, recent performance improvement and competitive factors are expected to temper ... Read the full article
Re/insurers could face $10bn in claims from stranded planes: Fitch
22nd March 2022
Analysts at Fitch Ratings have warned that insurers could face claims as high as $10 billion in a worst-case scenario due to the grounding of planes in Russia, with 30-40% likely to be passed on to reinsurers. More than 500 planes that are financed or owned by non-Russian lessors are stranded ... Read the full article
Hard market conditions diminishing but still sufficient: Fitch
22nd March 2022
Looking at the earnings of the major European reinsurers, analysts at Fitch Ratings have said that the hardening market conditions are diminishing but still remain strong enough to counterbalance rising risks from economic inflation and financial market volatility. Hannover Re, Munich Re, SCOR and Swiss Re all ... Read the full article
Nat cat strategies diverge amongst largest reinsurers: Fitch
18th March 2022
Analysts at Fitch Ratings have observed differing approaches to managing natural catastrophe risks among the four major European reinsurers, following positive results for the group in 2021. The rating agency notes that all four reinsurers benefitted from the favourable pricing environment in reinsurance so as to increase premium income by 10% ... Read the full article
Fitch downgrades Russian insurers
14th March 2022
Fitch Ratings has lowered its ratings on a number of Russia insurers in light of the country's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting economic sanctions. The rating agency downgraded six Russian insurance companies' Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) Ratings and the debt rating of one Russian insurer. The downgrades follow Fitch's downgrade of the ... Read the full article
Russian cyberattacks may test insurer war exclusion language: Fitch Ratings
2nd March 2022
The risk of cyberattacks has increased following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and may test the effectiveness of ‘war exclusion’ and ‘hostile act exclusion’ language in policies, says Fitch Ratings. A new note from the agency says that the wording, already under greater scrutiny following a recent court ruling that found an ... Read the full article
Life insurers likely to maintain capital, despite post-Brexit Solvency II reforms
24th February 2022
UK life insurers are likely to maintain strong capital commensurate with ratings despite the reduction in capital requirements born by Solvency II, says a new note from Fitch. According to the agency, the UK government announced plans in February to help free up £10bn of capital, with encouragement for it to ... Read the full article
Fitch predicts €5bn insured losses from recent Europe storms
24th February 2022
Analysts at Fitch Ratings are estimating that a series of recent storms that battered much of northern Europe will together cause gross insured losses of as much as €5 billion. Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin caused widespread wind and flood damage last week with particularly severe impacts in the Germany, the ... Read the full article
UK pension risk transfer boosts life sector: Fitch
21st February 2022
The UK life insurance sector is the only one with an improving outlook within Europe, according to a new note from Fitch Ratings. According to the agency, this is most likely due to increasing business from pension schemes looking to transfer risks, a trend that Fitch said is likely to increase ... Read the full article
“Return on capital to rise for reinsurers” – Fitch
27th January 2022
The reinsurance sector’s return on capital is set to rise, surpassing the high-single digit return that was forecast for last year, says Fitch. This, says the ratings agent, will match the current cost of capital to the industry. It added: “Moderately better underwriting margins and premium growth will help the reinsurance sector ... Read the full article
Reinsurance market capital rose 3-4% in 2021
21st January 2022
The reinsurance market is well capitalised and able to absorb demand for its coverage, according to data from Fitch Ratings. Despite catastrophe losses of more than $100 billion 2021, Fitch reports that traditional and alternative reinsurance capital increased together by around 3-4%. As a result of this growth, the ratings agency feels ... Read the full article
Net premiums rise for reinsurers in Bermuda
20th January 2022
The net premiums written for a group of eight reinsurers based in Bermuda rose by 18.1% through 9m21. The figure was supplied by Fitch in one of its latest reports. The company suggested that the growth was driven by rate increases, plus growth in casualty and specialty writings. Among the eight reinsurers—Arch ... Read the full article
Bermuda’s tax status to be affected by 15% minimum tax rate
19th January 2022
The net profitability gap between Bermuda and non-Bermuda incorporated companies is likely to narrow over time given the implementation of the OECD-driven multilateral agreement to establish a 15% global minimum tax rate, according to Fitch Ratings. The rating agency warned that although the overall benefits of maintaining a Bermuda market domicile ... Read the full article
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