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.

Key reinsurance renewals occur at: the 1st of January, which is the biggest renewal of the reinsurance year and has a broader global focus; April 1st when Japanese reinsurance renews; June 1st for Florida reinsurance renewals; and July 1st when more US reinsurance business gets renewed.

Our reinsurance renewals news covers all of these key points in the year and we also provide analysis and insight into what to expect at upcoming renewal seasons as well.

United (UPC Insurance) and HCI complete renewal rights agreement

25th January 2021

United Insurance Holdings Corp. (UPC Insurance) has completed its previously announced renewal rights agreement with Florida-based insurtech, HCI Group, Inc., effective January 18th, 2021. Under the terms of the agreement, UPC Insurance will transfer all of its personal lines insurance business in the states of Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode ... Read the full article

Travelers secures more aggregate reinsurance at 1/1; raises attachment point

21st January 2021

Travelers has reported the details of its January 1st, 2021 catastrophe reinsurance renewals, revealing an increase in coverage under the firm's property aggregate catastrophe excess-of-loss reinsurance treaty. Back in 2019, Travelers added a new $500 million property aggregate cat treaty to provide it with reinsurance protection for smaller, frequency type events. Designed ... Read the full article

Underlying profitability expected to improve for reinsurers in 2021: Fitch

21st January 2021

With rate rises across the vast majority of reinsurance lines of business poised to outpace both loss cost inflation and the challenges of the lower for longer interest rate environment, re/insurers' underlying profitability should improve in the year ahead, according to analysis by Fitch Ratings. Although described by some in the ... Read the full article

Casualty renewals see underwriting tighten against stress factors: GC

21st January 2021

Reports from re/insurance broker Guy Carpenter (GC) show that casualty reinsurance renewals varied widely at January 1, 2021, with negotiations influenced by individual circumstances such as loss experience, covered lines and classes written. But despite this divergence, analysts believe that every placement experienced some degree of continued reinsurance underwriting rigor. This trend ... Read the full article

CCR Re successfully renews 157 Re reinsurance sidecar for 2021

18th January 2021

French state-owned reinsurer CCR Re has announced the successful renewal of its 157 Re collateralised reinsurance sidecar for 2021 at an undisclosed size. With its third annual issuance, the sidecar has all of its assets invested in bonds issued by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). According to CCR Re, ... Read the full article

Return on capital to improve for reinsurers but price improvements to fade: Fitch

14th January 2021

Although Fitch Ratings expects the return on capital of the reinsurance sector to improve notably in 2021, analysts warn that price improvements are likely to "gradually fade" over the next 12-18 months on the back of ample capital and an elevated risk appetite. As expected, the reinsurance market continued to firm ... Read the full article

Conduit Re’s GWP in line with plan at 1/1; Lancashire’s Whelan joins as CFO

14th January 2021

Newly-launched property and casualty reinsurer Conduit Re has reported that it wrote gross premiums of $160 million at the January 1st, 2021 reinsurance renewals as pricing and terms and conditions fell in line with expectations. Highlights of the firm's 1/1 renewals includes GWP in line with plan and consisting of a ... Read the full article

Traditional reinsurer capital ended Q3 at new high of USD 533bn: Aon

12th January 2021

Global dedicated reinsurer capital rebounded to its pre-pandemic high of USD 625 billion by the end of Q3 2020, aided by continued capital market recovery and capital raises, reports insurance and reinsurance broker Aon. At the end of the third-quarter of 2020, traditional reinsurance capital reached a new high of USD ... Read the full article

Overall cat bond offerings at 1/1 continued to attract significant capital: GC

11th January 2021

Guy Carpenter analysts have reported that overall catastrophe bond offerings during the recent Janurary renewals continued to attract significant capital, while syndicated sidecar and collateralised reinsurance strategies experienced limited new inflows of capital. January 1 allocations were said to have been complicated by Covid-driven year-end loss reserve “buffering” and a high ... Read the full article

QBE increases cat reinsurance tower at Jan 1st renewals

11th January 2021

Australian insurer and reinsurer, QBE Insurance Group Limited, has increased the size of its main catastrophe reinsurance tower by roughly 3% to $3.4 billion for 2021. The re/insurer has now completed its Jan 1st, 2021 reinsurance renewal, noting that the program was placed broadly in line with expectations and at terms ... Read the full article

Analysts see potential for more notable rate rises at upcoming reinsurance renewals

8th January 2021

While risk-adjusted pricing gains in the mid-single-digits at the Jan 1st, 2021 reinsurance renewals fell below expectations, analysts at Morgan Stanley feel it's likely that "more pronounced" rate rises will come to fruition at the April and mid-year renewals. As the COVID-19 pandemic compounded losses for reinsurers in 2020, the industry's ... Read the full article

Reinsurance T&Cs improving, margins to follow: Jefferies

7th January 2021

Analysts at Jefferies have reported a marked improvement in terms and conditions (T&Cs) at the recent January 1 2020 reinsurance renewals, which it believes will ultimately lead to a knock-on improvement in margins. Jefferies noted that the tightening of T&Cs is perhaps unsurprising given that terms are usually the last thing ... Read the full article

IAG completes $10bn catastrophe reinsurance renewal

6th January 2021

Australian insurer IAG has completed its 2021 catastrophe reinsurance program, maintaining its gross protection cover at up to $10 billion, with IAG retaining the first $250 million of each loss. Both the level of gross protection and retention of each loss are the same as the insurer's 2020 catastrophe reinsurance program. IAG ... Read the full article

Ample capital levels moderated price increases at Jan 1: Guy Carpenter

5th January 2021

With reinsurers eager to deploy capacity in various sectors and capital levels high at the important January 1st, 2021 reinsurance renewals, price increases were more moderate than initial expectations, according to Guy Carpenter, the reinsurance broking arm of Marsh. On the back of a prolonged soft market state, the lower for ... Read the full article

Jan 1 renewals yield sharpest price changes in recent memory: Howden

5th January 2021

International insurance broker Howden has reported that a multitude of factors coalesced at the January 1, 2021 renewals to drive “the sharpest price changes in recent memory.” According to Howden, lower investment yields, higher loss cost trends, another above-average loss year, concerns over climate change and general risk aversion were among ... Read the full article