Reinsurance News
22nd January 2019
Reforms to China’s interest rate regime are expected to help kick-start the savings-based life insurance products segment in the country and support the development of re/insurers’ asset management capabilities, according to a report from Swiss Re Institute. Analysts predict that China’s current two-track interest rate system will become uniform by the ... Read the full article
4th January 2019
Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) has maintained a stable outlook for the U.S life re/insurance industry despite signs that the market may be approaching a slowdown in profitability. In recent years, KBRA suggested that the macroeconomic environment has generally been supportive of the U.S life industry, while rising rates have offset ... Read the full article
20th December 2018
Global reinsurance firm Swiss Re has taken a further minority investment from insurance holding company MS&AD into ReAssure, taking the Japanese firms stake to 25%. MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc (MS&AD) already holds around 15% of the shares in Swiss Re's UK closed life book consolidator ReAssure, having bought into ... Read the full article
14th December 2018
Specialist reinsurance firm Barents Re has identified Life reinsurance in emerging markets as a key area of expansion for the company, as well as further opportunities in its established Bonds lines. Speaking with Global Banking & Finance Review, President and CEO of Barents Re Gerardo Garcia noted that the Life and ... Read the full article
7th December 2018
Midwest Holding Inc. has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, American Life & Security Corp., has entered into an Assumption and Indemnity Reinsurance Agreement with Texan re/insurer Unified Life Insurance Company. The agreement will see Unified Life take on 100% of the liabilities and obligations of all American Life’s life, annuity ... Read the full article
7th December 2018
Swiss Re has announced the appointment of Paul Murray to the position of Head Life & Health (L&H) Products, effective immediately. He takes on the role from Russell Higginbotham, who was appointed as Swiss Re’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Reinsurance EMEA in September. Murray has been with Swiss Re since ... Read the full article
29th November 2018
The fundamental sector outlook for U.S life re/insurers in 2019 is stable, with continued benign credit conditions, reduced pressure from low interest rates and strong balance sheet metrics supportive of ratings expectations, Fitch Ratings says. However, Fitch's stable sector outlook remains vulnerable to a big market shock, which it views as ... Read the full article
27th November 2018
European life re/insurers are to benefit from the introduction of higher margin products going forward, which is reflected in the life operating margin recently posted by Italian insurer Generali, according to analysts at J.P. Morgan. The firm attributed Generali’s higher operating margin to the new, lower guarantee products that it ... Read the full article
19th November 2018
The life insurance sector in Australia and New Zealand is increasingly looking to reinsurance as a strategic capital management tool to alleviate the pressure from regulatory requirements, shareholders, and foreign investment, according to a report from reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter. Matthew Rose, Managing Director at Guy Carpenter, noted that the underlying ... Read the full article
5th November 2018
New categories of short-duration life insurance products will allow re/insurers to access new markets and pools of customers, according to Tony Laudato, Vice President of Partnership Solutions, Hannover Re US. Speaking in an interview with Reinsurance News, Laudato explained that short-duration policies, such as the one recently developed by Hannover ... Read the full article
31st October 2018
The life reinsurance sector has been shrinking for a number of years, but reinsurers can remain relevant if they take a more strategic approach to adapting to the changing needs of cedents, according to David Rains, Managing Director at Guy Carpenter. Rains claimed that the traditional life reinsurance proposition, which involves ... Read the full article
31st October 2018
Ethos, a life insurtech start-up backed by Munich Re and Assurity Life, has raised an additional $35 million in funding from a Series B financing round, led by venture capital firm Accel. Additional investors included Google Ventures (GV), previous investors Sequoia Capital and Arrive, a subsidiary of Roc Nation, and a ... Read the full article
26th October 2018
Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) has reported net income of $301.2 million for the third-quarter of 2018, up considerably from the $227.6 million reported in the prior year period. During the quarter RGA has been working hard to deploy more of the excess capital it has built up over recent years ... Read the full article
1st October 2018
Munich Re has appointed Mari-Lizette Malherbe as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Munich Re London (Life Branch), the company’s UK & Ireland life reinsurance business, succeeding outgoing CEO Andy Batley. Malherbe has over a decade of international experience in the reinsurance industry and joined the senior management team of Munich Re ... Read the full article
1st October 2018
Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America (Hannover Re US) has partnered with Life By Spot, a direct-to-consumer insurance start-up, to develop a new category of life insurance for short-duration events. The policies will offer cover to ‘adventure-loving clients’ in the U.S market for periods ranging from 24 hours to 30 days, ... Read the full article