Reinsurance News
Reinsurance renewals news
Reinsurance renewals are the key points in the year when the majority of reinsurance contract renewal negotiations occur and are completed.
The reinsurance renewal seasons provide insight into reinsurance pricing, contract terms, reinsurance market positioning and the direction of future trends in the market.
“Asymmetrical” renewal reflects ample capital supply: Guy Carpenter
3rd January 2020
Levels of available reinsurance capital continued to exceed demand at the January 1, 2020 renewals, according to analysts at Guy Carpenter, meaning rate increases only materialised in the most constrained areas of the market. The reinsurance broker said that the loss environment and shifting views of risk had been crucial factors ... Read the full article
IAG buys more reinsurance at Jan renewals, taps coverage for bushfires
3rd January 2020
Australian insurer IAG has finalised its catastrophe reinsurance program for the coming year, having increased its coverage from $9 billion to $10 billion at the recent January 1 renewals. Chief Financial Officer Nick Hawkins explained that the structure of the program remained similar to previous years, while the cost was in ... Read the full article
Willis Re highlights capacity reduction at Lloyd’s & London renewals
3rd January 2020
Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of global insurance brokerage Willis Towers Watson, has commented on the January 2020 renewals for the Lloyd’s and London reinsurance markets, highlighting a meaningful reduction in capacity. Analysts at Willis Re said that this reduction in overall capacity had come as reinsurers scaled back casualty portfolios ... Read the full article
FEMA renews NFIP reinsurance program with $1.33bn of coverage
2nd January 2020
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced the renewal of its flood reinsurance program to protect the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), securing $1.33 billion of protection. The coverage was secured from a panel of 27 reinsurance companies, and protects the NFIP from events on a per-occurrence basis for ... Read the full article
Property cat rates stable amid varied 1/1 renewal: Hyperion X
2nd January 2020
Pricing for property-catastrophe reinsurance remained fairly stable at the January 2020 renewals, with rates-on-line rising 0.8% on average, according to Hyperion X, the data and technology focused unit of the global Hyperion Insurance Group. The firm noted that property-catastrophe pricing was stable despite more varied results in other lines, including significant ... Read the full article
Willis Re notes some considerable price increases in a divergent renewal
2nd January 2020
Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of global insurance brokerage Willis Towers Watson, has noted a divergent and late January renewal season which saw some considerable price increases in certain lines of business. Overall, Willis Re states that reinsurers have been judicial during the January 1st renewal season, resulting in significant pricing ... Read the full article
Palomar Holdings completes reinsurance renewal
31st December 2019
Specialty property insurer Palomar Holdings has successfully renewed around $300 million of its core reinsurance program while also purchasing $145 million of incremental limit that sits at the top of its tower. Effective January 1, the program provides up to $1.2 billion of protection from earthquake events and features an incremental ... Read the full article
Reinsurance rates lower than expected at ‘U-shaped’ Jan renewal: KBW
27th December 2019
Analysts at KBW believe reinsurance rates at the upcoming January renewals will increase to lesser degree than had been anticipated, with overall rate movements set to be described by a ‘U-shaped’ curve. US domestic insurers, for instance, are reporting reinsurance rate changes of flat to up 5%, which is lower than ... Read the full article
International Group of P&I Clubs maintains reinsurance structure at renewal
24th December 2019
The International Group of P&I Clubs (IGP&I), a provider of protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance to the global shipping industry, has largely maintained the structure of its reinsurance program during its renewal for the 2020/21 year. IGP&I decided to renew its program without significant changes this year, following a number ... Read the full article
Rate increases at 1/1 renewals to vary by loss experience: KBW
20th December 2019
Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) are expecting rate changes at the 2020 property catastrophe reinsurance renewals to vary significantly, based on the loss experience of individual lines. At January 1, KBW is anticipating the largest increases on retrocessional cover, owing to recent large losses and the significant amount of ... Read the full article
Tremor helps W. R. Berkley secure $600mn capacity for property cat renewal
10th December 2019
Tremor, the programmatic insurance and reinsurance risk transfer marketplace, has helped W. R. Berkley to price and place the renewal of its 2020 Property Catastrophe Program, securing $600 million of capacity from more than 50 reinsurers. The marketplace process enabled reinsurers to log in and submit blind sealed bids over a ... Read the full article
“Unexciting” rate movements forecast for 1/1 renewals: analysts
9th December 2019
Analysts at JMP Securities are forecasting “unexciting” rate increases at the January re/insurance renewals, with more notable improvements likely to be seen later in the year during the April and June/July renewals. While the property and casualty (P&C) market does appear to be improving in all areas, it is doing so ... Read the full article
Average premium renewal rates up in November for most lines: IVANS
6th December 2019
The November results of the IVANS Index, a division of Applied Systems, shows that year-over-year, all lines of business, with the exception of Workers' Compensation, experienced an increase in average premium renewal rate. Month-over-month, November experienced varying premium renewal rate change across most Commercial Lines products, with rises seen in General ... Read the full article
Pricing power to challenge reinsurers in 2020, says Deutsche Bank
4th December 2019
While pricing has picked up over the past couple of years, Deutsche Bank analysts argue that the level of increases post-major events is not as large as it might have been several years ago and remains a challenge for reinsurers going into 2020. While an oversupply of capacity and the resulting ... Read the full article
SCOR renews €300mn catastrophe & mortality contingent capital facility
4th December 2019
Global reinsurance giant SCOR has announced the launch of a new three-year, €300 million contingent capital facility, providing the firm with protection against extreme natural catastrophes or life events impacting mortality. The facility takes the form of a contingent equity line, and is the fourth launched by SCOR, replacing as of ... Read the full article