Reinsurance News

Losses

News on catastrophe and man-made losses that impact or could impact the reinsurance industry and reinsurers around the globe.

Progressive in $40mn reinsurance recovery for US winter storms

17th March 2021

The Progressive Corporation, a provider of personal and commercial insurance throughout the U.S., recorded a $40 million reinsurance recoverable in February owing to damages caused by the severe winter weather across southern parts of the country. During the month, Progressive recorded catastrophe losses of $87 million, resulting in a net catastrophe ... Read the full article

Munich Re puts US winter storm loss in the mid-hundreds of millions

17th March 2021

Global reinsurance giant Munich Re has said that it currently expects claims expenditure from the severe winter weather conditions that affected the U.S. last month to reach the mid triple-digit million euro range. Winter storm Uri resulted in significant disruption across a number of southern U.S. states in February, especially Texas, ... Read the full article

Uri could signal above-average cat loss year: Barclays

15th March 2021

Analysts at Barclays believe that the unprecedented level of losses caused by February’s Winter Storm Uri in the US could be “setting the stage” for another above-average catastrophe year for re/insurers. Current industry loss estimates put the cost of Uri in the $15 billion to $18 billion range, which Barclays notes ... Read the full article

Talanx falls to underwriting loss on €2.1bn of large losses

15th March 2021

Talanx, the parent of major European reinsurance company Hannover Re, has reported an underwriting loss of €2.8 billion for 2020 amid total large losses of a significant €2.1 billion, driven mostly by the coronavirus pandemic. The company's underwriting performance deteriorated further from the €1.8 billion loss reported in 2019, as the ... Read the full article

US winter weather to exceed $10bn loss: Aon

12th March 2021

Re/insurance broker Aon has estimated that the total economic cost of the severe winter weather conditions the affected the US last month will exceed $10 billion. Aon’s figure considered the economic cost of damages and net-loss business interruption for the period of February 12th to 20th, which will likely be the ... Read the full article

Hannover Re’s income robust but large losses (COVID) dent underwriting result

11th March 2021

Global reinsurer Hannover Re has outperformed its Group profit guidance of more than €800 million for 2020 despite the significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, alongside other large losses pushed the firm's property and casualty (P&C) combined ratio into unprofitable territory. Group net income declined from the €1.3 billion posted ... Read the full article

Hiscox falls to 2020 loss on COVID-19 reserves

3rd March 2021

COVID-19 reserves of $475 million, net of reinsurance, has pushed insurer and reinsurer Hiscox to a loss of $268.5 million for full-year 2020, against income of more than $53 million in 2019. The majority of the company's pandemic claims relate to event cancellation business, with the second largest chunk concerning business ... Read the full article

Reinsurance will help insurers absorb unusually severe storm Uri losses: S&P

1st March 2021

Early insured loss estimates for the unusually severe winter storm Uri in the United States appear significant, but carriers should be able to absorb the shock thanks to robust capital levels and reinsurance protection, according to S&P Global Ratings. Winter storm Uri has caused significant disruption across a number of southern ... Read the full article

AIR says winter storm Uri industry loss likely to exceed $10bn

26th February 2021

The damaging impacts of winter storm Uri and associated severe winter weather in the U.S. is expected to result in an insurance and reinsurance industry loss of more than $10 billion, according to catastrophe risk modeller AIR Worldwide. The winter storm arrived on the country’s President’s Day weekend bringing damaging ice ... Read the full article

Munich Re’s profit falls in 2020; P/C combined ratio deteriorates on major losses

25th February 2021

German reinsurer Munich Re has reported profit of €1.211 billion and €212 million for the full-year and fourth-quarter 2020, respectively, in spite of a substantial level of claims related to major losses and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For the year, profit fell from the more than €2.7 billion reported a year ... Read the full article

ICA estimates October hailstorm loss at $805m

25th February 2021

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has released its loss estimate from the South East Queensland hailstorms which took place in October last year. Insurers have received more than 33,500 claims to date, with losses estimated at $805 million, an estimate which is lower than PERILS estimate of AUD 1.3bn. Read the full article

2020 losses overshadow reinsurance pricing gains: Moody’s

23rd February 2021

Reinsurers have reported “lackluster” results for 2020, according to analysts at Moody’s, who argue that the catastrophe and COVID-19 losses incurred last year overshadowed pricing gains. For the full year, Moody’s noted that reinsurers’ combined ratios were generally in the 102% to 110% range, even as investment gains helped to lift ... Read the full article

Heaviest volume of Uri claims from homeowners, commercial property & auto: AM Best

22nd February 2021

AM Best analysts believe the heaviest volume of claims from winter storm Uri will be in the homeowners, commercial property, and auto lines of business. Uri has caused significant disruption across a number of southern US states, especially Texas, which has faced record-low temperatures and had seen several inches of snow ... Read the full article

COVID claims among ABI members reach £2.5bn

22nd February 2021

Members of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) expect to pay up to £2.5 billion for COVID-19 insurance claims incurred in 2020, according to new data. The majority of this figure (£2 billion) stems from business interruption claims, while another £204 million is attributed to protection insurance claims, including life, critical ... Read the full article

US winter storm Uri insurance industry loss lifted to $18bn by KCC

19th February 2021

Catastrophe risk modeller Karen Clark & Company (KCC) has updated its insurance and reinsurance industry loss for U.S. winter storm Uri, which is currently impacting southern states, to $18 billion. The devastating storm arrived on the country's President’s Day weekend bringing damaging ice in the Northwest and snow across the Midwest ... Read the full article