Reinsurance News
Losses
News on catastrophe and man-made losses that impact or could impact the reinsurance industry and reinsurers around the globe.
Industry consensus on COVID-19 loss range is $30-100bn: Willis Re
13th May 2020
The early consensus among analysts is that COVID-19 industry losses will be somewhere in the range of $30 billion to $100 billion, according to Willis Re, the reinsurance broking arm of Willis Towers Watson (WTW). This rough consensus is broadly consistent with estimates released by WTW earlier this month, which put ... Read the full article
PG&E facing $600mn hit from Kincade wildfire
7th May 2020
US investor-owned utility Pacific Gas and Electricity (PG&E) is staring down a possible $600 million loss if its equipment is found liable for the ignition which caused the devastating Kincade wildfire in 2019. While it’s too early to say with certainty whether PG&E will be found liable, language used in the ... Read the full article
Munich Re’s Q1 profit falls as COVID-19 losses reach €800mn
7th May 2020
Reinsurance giant Munich Re has reported COVID-19 related losses of roughly €800 million in the first-quarter of the year, leading to a 65% year-on-year decline in net profit to €221 million. At the same time, Munich Re's operating profit declined from the €771 million recorded in Q1 2019 to €397 million ... Read the full article
Severe scenario puts COVID-19 (US & UK) insured losses at $80bn: WTW
1st May 2020
Under a severe scenario, COVID-19 insurance and reinsurance industry losses for key classes of business in the U.S. and the UK (including the London Market) could be at least $80 billion, according to a report from Willis Towers Watson's (WTW) Insurance Consulting and Technology business. The report is the first to ... Read the full article
Tonga to receive record payout following Cyclone Harold
30th April 2020
The government of Tonga is set to receive a $4.5 million payout from the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) based on its insurance cover against tropical cyclones, the largest payment in the company’s history. Cyclone Harold recently hit the region and these funds will provide the government with rapid-response financing ... Read the full article
Lancashire puts COVID-19 claims at $35mn for Q1, reports higher GPW
30th April 2020
Lancashire Holdings Limited has announced an estimated $35 million of COVID-19 claims for the first-quarter of 2020, while gross premiums written (GPW) jumped by almost 12% year-on-year to $242.8 million. The London-listed insurer and reinsurer has established a reserve of approximately $35 million of losses, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, ... Read the full article
Argo expects $26mn of COVID-19 related claims in Q1
30th April 2020
Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. has warned that its first-quarter 2020 results will be adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and volatility in global financial markets. Ahead of its Q1 2020 results announcement, which is scheduled for May 7th, Argo has said that it expects to report pre-tax net catastrophe losses ... Read the full article
COVID-19 drives Swiss Re to $225mn Q1 net loss
30th April 2020
Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re fell to a $225 million net loss in the first quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to make its presence felt in the industry. The reinsurer also saw an underwriting loss of $476 million and an investment loss of $300 million for the quarter. The mark-to-market valuation ... Read the full article
Liberty Mutual sees larger COVID-19 impacts through its investments: CEO Long
28th April 2020
David Long, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Liberty Mutual Holding Company, Inc., expects the financial impact from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the firm's re/insurance operations to be similar to a moderately sized catastrophe loss. In an announcement, the CEO of Liberty Mutual Holding Company, which is the ... Read the full article
COVID-19 could be biggest ever industry loss, warns Lloyd’s CEO
24th April 2020
John Neal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lloyd’s of London, has said that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic could be the most expensive event in history for the re/insurance industry. Speaking to the Financial Times, Neal said that the crisis will likely dwarf other major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 ... Read the full article
Everest Re sees $150m of Q1 COVID-19 claims, mostly from reinsurance
24th April 2020
Bermuda domiciled reinsurer Everest Re Group, Ltd. has announced estimated pre-tax net first party losses of $150 million in Q1 for claims related to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The reinsurer says that the majority of the losses are expected to come from its reinsurance operation. Overall, Everest Re expects its first-quarter ... Read the full article
COVID-19 P&C losses as high as $80bn: analysts
23rd April 2020
Analysts at research firm Dowling & Partners believe the property and casualty insurance industry should expect between a $40 billion and $80 billion loss from the coronavirus pandemic. If insurance losses were to hit the upper limit of this estimate, the reinsurance industry could expect to pay out a double-digit billion ... Read the full article
Uncertainty for re/insurers as experts imply Olympics go-ahead requires vaccine
20th April 2020
As insurers and reinsurers prepare to manage the economic fallout from the one-year delay to the Tokyo Olympics, experts have suggested that the games will only go ahead in 2021 if there's a vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus. It was announced on March 24th that for the very first time, the ... Read the full article
Q1 results to see lighter catastrophe load, auto frequency benefits: MS
20th April 2020
Analysts at Morgan Stanley have lowered catastrophe loss estimates for both U.S. primary insurers and reinsurers ahead of Q1 2020 results season, driven in part by lower-than-expected U.S. spring storm activity. Unsurprisingly, the focus of first-quarter 2020 results is expected to be the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, but a reduction in ... Read the full article
Cost of severe US weather outbreak could surpass $1bn: Aon
17th April 2020
A number of southern and eastern US states were hit with a prolific severe weather outbreak between April 10 and 14, according to the latest catastrophe report from Aon. At least 41 people were killed and hundreds more injured by an outbreak which prompted a minimum of 121 confirmed tornado touchdowns ... Read the full article