Reinsurance News
Losses
News on catastrophe and man-made losses that impact or could impact the reinsurance industry and reinsurers around the globe.
PERILS estimates AU$957m insured property losses from Townsville floods
15th March 2019
Catastrophe loss data aggregator PERILS has pegged the initial property losses for the floods which hit the Queensland city of Townsville earlier this year at AU$957 million (US$678 million). The city of Townsville and the surrounding area in northeastern Queensland experienced torrential rain and flash flooding between January 26 and February ... Read the full article
Boeing suspends entire 737 fleet as more crash evidence emerges
14th March 2019
Boeing has temporarily suspended its entire global fleet of 737 Max aircraft after investigators uncovered new evidence from the fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10. The U.S, which had previously held out while many other countries banned the aircraft, said that it had received “new information and physical evidence” that ... Read the full article
Boeing insurers face large claims as more countries ground planes
12th March 2019
Boeing Co’s insurers will potentially face large claims following the recent Ethiopian Airlines crash, which was the second to involve a 737 Max 8 model in five months, according to insurance and aviation sources at Reuters. The reports come as the UK becomes the latest country to ban the Boeing ... Read the full article
Windstorms Eberhard & Bennet cause industry losses of €800mn in Germany: MSK
11th March 2019
Actuarial consultancy Meyerthole Siems Kohlruss (MSK) has estimated that European windstorms Eberhard and Bennet are likely to have caused insured property losses of around €800 million in Germany. Windstorm Bennet (also known as Freya in the UK) affected areas of the UK, France, Benelux, Switzerland and Germany in early March, bringing ... Read the full article
Chubb confirmed as lead insurer for Ethiopian Airlines crash, WTW as broker
11th March 2019
Reports have confirmed that Chubb was the lead underwriter on the account for the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed on 10 March, while Willis Towers Watson (WTW) acted as the insurance broker. A WTW spokeswoman revealed today that Chubb and WTW would be liable for losses resulting from the crash, which ... Read the full article
Australia’s Queensland floods to cost re/insurers $893mn: Aon
7th March 2019
The re/insurance industry is expected to incur losses of AUD $893 million (USD $635 million) as a result of the widespread flooding that affected Australia’s North Queensland from January 26 to February 7, according to Aon’s Impact Forecasting team. The estimate came as part of Aon’s monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, ... Read the full article
Deadly tornadoes cause destruction across Alabama
4th March 2019
A series of tornadoes that tore through eastern Alabama on Sunday have caused widespread destruction to homes and businesses, leaving 23 people dead. The deaths were recorded in Lee County, Sheriff Jay Jones confirmed. He added that the damage had been “catastrophic” and it was possible that the body count may ... Read the full article
Emergency declared as winter storm floods 2,000 California homes
1st March 2019
A state of emergency has been declared after days of unrelenting rainfall from a severe winter storm flooded more than 2,000 homes and businesses across two towns in California’s Sonoma County. The towns of Monte Rio and Guerneville, about 70 miles north of San Francisco, were surrounded by floodwaters after the ... Read the full article
Loss creep could push Typhoon Jebi claims above $10bn, says PCS Co-Head
26th February 2019
Property Claim Services (PCS), a Verisk business, has estimated that insured losses resulting from Typhoon Jebi in Japan have now reached $10 billion, with the potential for further loss creep to push costs even higher, according to Tom Johansmeyer, Co-Head of PCS. PCS recently expanded its re/insurance market data aggregation and ... Read the full article
Townsville flooding triggers Suncorp’s aggregate reinsurance program
14th February 2019
Australian primary insurer Suncorp Group has revealed that catastrophe losses resulting from the recent flooding in the city of Townsville, Queensland have triggered its Natural Hazards Aggregate Protection (NHAP) reinsurance program. The company explained that, while it is still too early to estimate the gross costs of the flooding, its losses ... Read the full article
Some reinsurance claims expected from Australia’s Townsville flooding
12th February 2019
Damages from the torrential rainfall and flooding in the Australian city of Townsville, Queensland are expected to trigger reinsurance protection for some exposed insurers, according to reports from the Courier Mail. The latest data from the Insurance Council of Australia shows that 14,600 insurance claims have been lodged as of Tuesday ... Read the full article
Townsville flooding claims rise again, cost now estimated at AUD 165mn: ICA
11th February 2019
Insurance companies have now received 13,560 claims, amounting to losses of an estimated AUD 165 million (USD 117mn), in relation to the torrential rainfall and flooding in the City of Townsville, Queensland, according to data from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA). The latest figures are as of 10am local time, and the ... Read the full article
Initial property loss estimate for Sydney hailstorms pegged at AU$635mn by PERILS
31st January 2019
Catastrophe loss data aggregator PERILS has provided an initial property loss estimate of AU$635 million (US$462mn) for the December 2018 Sydney hailstorms and severe convective weather that impacted the greater Sydney region. This initial estimate covers the insured property market loss for the hailstorms that hit the greater Sydney region on ... Read the full article
Attritional losses drive $198m Q4 net loss for AXIS
31st January 2019
Bermudian re/insurance group AXIS Capital Holdings has announced a $198 million net loss for the fourth quarter of 2018, driven by heavy attritional property and catastrophe activity. This $198 million Q4 net loss, with a 117.3% Combined Ratio (CR), compares to the $38 million net loss and 100.7% CR reported in ... Read the full article
Analysts say December Sydney hailstorm could cost re/insurers AU$2bn
30th January 2019
The total loss to insurers and reinsurers from the major hailstorm that struck Sydney and the surrounding area in December 2018, could be as much as AU$2 billion (US$1.44bn), according to analysts. Analysts at Firetrail Investments, an Australian investment management firm, have said that the hailstorm and severe convective weather outbreak ... Read the full article