Reinsurance News
Losses
News on catastrophe and man-made losses that impact or could impact the reinsurance industry and reinsurers around the globe.
Winter storms drive $80m loss for State Auto Financial
9th April 2021
Ohio-based property and casualty (P&C) insurer State Auto Financial Corporation has estimated that it incurred catastrophe losses of between $80 million and $82 million during the first quarter of 2021. The estimate includes $66 million of net catastrophe losses from winter storms Uri and Viola, a significant portion of which related ... Read the full article
CRESTA records decrease in major cat losses
8th April 2021
CRESTA, the insurance industry organisation that provides a global standard for risk accumulation zones and industry losses, has found that major insurance losses from catastrophes were well below average in 2020. CLIX, the CRESTA Industry Loss Index, provides industry loss data on international catastrophe events (excluding US) which have generated industry ... Read the full article
How catastrophe events can affect elections: Q&A with PCS’s Johansmeyer
6th April 2021
So far, there hasn't been a catastrophe that has directly affected a U.S. presidential election, but as highlighted by Hurricane Zeta in October of last year, there's clearly potential for major events to impact society more broadly. In reality, not that many states in the U.S. are prone to large catastrophes ... Read the full article
Q4 reporting sees COVID-19 losses jump 21% for re/insurers: PeriStrat
6th April 2021
Overall, publicly reported COVID-19 pandemic-related losses, IBNR reserves and estimates from insurers and reinsurers now stands at just shy of $38 billion, according to data compiled by Zurich-based financial services advisory, PeriStrat LLC. With the fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 results season now complete, COVID-19 loss numbers have, unsurprisingly, continued to trend ... Read the full article
Suncorp estimates current flood loss at $250m as ICA sees claims rise
31st March 2021
Australian insurer Suncorp has announced an expected losses of between $230 million and $250 million from the recent heavy rainfall and flooding across New South Wales, South East Queensland and Victoria. Concurrently, the Insurance Council of Australia has raised its estimate from the $438 announced earlier this week to $497 ... Read the full article
Secondary perils behind $89bn cat loss in 2020: Swiss Re
30th March 2021
The latest sigma report from Swiss Re has estimated that global insured catastrophe losses totalled $89 billion in 2020 from 274 events, marking the fifth most costly year since its records began. Insured losses from natural catastrophes were $81 billion, the reinsurer said, with man-made disasters were the cause of the ... Read the full article
The Ever Given freed, all valid claims to be considered
30th March 2021
Stranded container ship the Ever Given has been freed from the Suez Canal after five days spent blocking traffic along the vitally important trade route. Egyptian officials expect the backlog of ships to be cleared in around three days, while experts say the knock-on effect on global shipping could take months ... Read the full article
NSW flooding to pressure underwriting margins, dampen earnings: AM Best
30th March 2021
AM Best says it expects recent flood activity in Australia to put pressure on general insurers’ underwriting margins and dampen 2021 earnings. As of this week 9,213 claims have been received following devastating flood events across the east and southeast of the country. Days of torrential downpours have prompted rivers and ... Read the full article
“Large share” of Suez losses will be reinsured, warns Fitch
29th March 2021
The reinsurance market breathed a sigh of relief this morning as the Ever Given was finally dislodged from the banks of the Suez Canal, but analysts at Fitch Ratings have warned that a “large share” of industry losses stemming from the disruption will probably be reinsured. Latest reports suggest the container ... Read the full article
Analysts downplay insurance losses as Suez cleared
29th March 2021
Analysts at Morgan Stanley believe that the insurance impact from the obstruction to the Suez Canal will be “minimal”, as efforts to free the grounded container ship have finally proved successful. Egypt’s vital trade waterway has been completely blocked since Tuesday, resulting in a backlog of 367 vessels that are currently ... Read the full article
Supply chains threatened as Suez disruption continues
26th March 2021
Analysts have warned that the ongoing blockage in the Suez Canal is likely to have significant repercussions for global supply chains, which have already been under strain since the outbreak COVID-19 pandemic. Figures from Euler Hermes, a trade credit subsidiary of Allianz, show that for each day the disruption continues, global ... Read the full article
IAG’s FY21 nat cat claims to exceed allowance on rainfall / flooding
26th March 2021
Australian insurer IAG has announced estimated FY 2021 net natural perils claim costs of between AUD 660 million to AUD 700 million compared to its perils allowance of AUD 658 million, as claims continue to come in for the widespread flooding in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. Earlier this month, ... Read the full article
Industry costs from Suez obstruction to exceed $100m: McGill & Partners
25th March 2021
Analysts at specialist broker McGill and Partners believe that the re/insurance industry could be looking at costs in excess of $100 million due to the ongoing obstruction in the Suez Canal. The vital trade waterway through Egypt has been blocked by a grounded ship since Tuesday, resulting in a backlog of ... Read the full article
Suez Canal blockage could drive $40bn in trade disruption: analysts
24th March 2021
The Evergreen container ship currently blocking the Suez Canal after plunging one of the world’s busiest trade routes into chaos could be carrying goods worth $89 million and threatens to create more than $40 billion dollars of trade disruption, according to analysis from Russell. Reports on the still-unfolding event say rescue ... Read the full article
Cat losses running 20% above average this year: Jefferies
19th March 2021
Analysts at Jefferies have estimated that insured catastrophe losses year-to-date are running at around 20% above the long-term average, or 34% above the 10-year average. Looking at the month of February alone, catastrophe losses are 59% above the long-term average, Jefferies says, with winter weather accounting for 97% of the insured ... Read the full article
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