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.
Early, but meaningful signs the market is responding to cat activity: Robert Berkley
24th April 2019
W. R. Berkley Corporation achieved a 6.4% rate increase, excluding workers' compensation, in the first-quarter of 2019, with much of the property market experiencing some of the most meaningful increases. "From our perspective, with the exception of workers' compensation, by and large, every line of business within the commercial line space ... Read the full article
SCOR Global P&C grows premiums by 9.6% at April renewals
18th April 2019
SCOR Global P&C, a division of the French reinsurance company, has announced that it grew its reinsurance premiums at the April renewals by 9.6% at constant exchange rates to €548 million. The reinsurer said that it benefitted from “broadly improving market conditions,” with catastrophe reinsurance treaties responding “rationally” in the aftermath ... Read the full article
Pricing to improve from current levels but become less cyclical: Berenberg
17th April 2019
The reality that profitability has to be achieved at current pricing levels has altered market expectations for insurers and reinsurers, and while analysts at Berenberg expect rates to improve from where they are today, going forward, pricing is expected to become less cyclical. Analysts highlight a challenging pricing environment for the ... Read the full article
Weather events to impact Q1 re/insurance results: Buckingham Research Group
17th April 2019
The Buckingham Research Group is anticipating a “relatively choppy” catastrophe load for re/insurers in the first quarter of 2019 due to the impact of severe weather, winter weather and flooding. Events like the March flooding in the Midwest U.S could generate economic losses of $4.25 billion, according to estimates from ... Read the full article
Market dynamics suggest higher overall reinsurance rate increases at mid-year: Analysts
15th April 2019
Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) expect property and casualty (P&C) insurers and reinsurers to report manageable catastrophe losses in Q1, while the market's distinction between loss-free and loss-affected accounts' pricing suggests higher overall rate increases at the upcoming mid-year reinsurance renewals. In terms of large events, the global catastrophe ... Read the full article
Underwriting profitability of London market remains pressured, warns Fitch
9th April 2019
Fitch Ratings has maintained its negative sector outlook on the London insurance market, citing continued pressure on profitability as catastrophe events hit underwriting performance and expense ratios remain high. The global financial services ratings agency highlights the negative impact of catastrophe losses and low investment returns on the results of London ... Read the full article
Swiss Re optimistic on long-term pricing prospects, says Ojeisekhoba
5th April 2019
Swiss Re is optimistic about its own long-term pricing prospects, as well as those of the wider reinsurance industry, despite the persistence of challenging market conditions. This is according to Moses Ojeisekhoba, CEO of Reinsurance at Swiss Re, who told Reinsurance News that the company was confident the competitive low-rate environment ... Read the full article
Japan renewals were orderly with stable reinsurer capacity: Willis Re
2nd April 2019
The April renewals in Japan were orderly despite the level of catastrophe losses in 2018, with reinsurance capacity remaining stable, according to broker Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of broker Willis Towers Watson. Buyers sought increased capacity, both on an aggregate basis and for earthquake occurrence, analysts observed in Willis Re’s ... Read the full article
AXA to further reduce earnings volatility with increased use of reinsurance: Analysts
2nd April 2019
Following its acquisition of XL Group last year, global insurer AXA has been de-risking its catastrophe exposure, a trend that J.P. Morgan analysts expect to continue in 2019, with the help of alternative reinsurance capital. During last year, AXA and XL Group ceded increased volumes of catastrophe exposure to reinsurance and ... Read the full article
Swiss Re to see 10% rate increases at April renewals: Deutsche Bank
1st April 2019
Analysts at Deutsche Bank are anticipating that Swiss Re will have experienced price increases of around 10% at the April renewals, due to the reinsurer’s high exposure to Japanese catastrophe events in 2018. The firm believes that Swiss Re was the most affected among European reinsurers by losses from Asia/Japan, which should ... Read the full article
Strong capitalisation underpins rational pricing approach at April 1: Willis Re
1st April 2019
Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of global insurance and reinsurance broker Willis Towers Watson, has noted that reinsurers adopted a rational pricing approach at the April 1st renewals, underpinned by high levels of market capitalisation from both traditional and alternative sources. The reinsurance broker's latest 1st View report examines the April ... Read the full article
Corporates expect reinsurance rate rises of up to 5%: Survey
26th March 2019
Corporates in the property/casualty (P&C) and reinsurance space anticipate reinsurance rates to be flat to up 5%, with loss affected accounts expected to see the highest rate rises. An anonymous survey of corporates by The Buckingham Research Group reveals an expectation of mid-single digit reinsurance rate increases, with 67% of respondents ... Read the full article
Upward pressure on Lloyd’s rates despite loss of momentum: Peel Hunt
25th March 2019
Analysts at Peel Hunt believe there remains upward pressure on re/insurance rates in the Lloyd’s market in 2019 despite an apparent loss of momentum since the first half of 2018. The firm noted that rates were fairly flat at the January renewals, which were dominated by Europe, but expects the upcoming ... Read the full article
The opportunity to show pricing discipline has arrived: Hiscox Re’s Szakmary
21st March 2019
With the reinsurance industry now having taken time to reflect on the catastrophe losses of the previous two years and re-evaluate where the baseline for rate adequacy lies, the opportunity has arrived for participants to work together and show pricing discipline. This is according to Adam Szakmary, Director of Underwriting – ... Read the full article
Loss hit P&C insurance rates in Asia to increase by at least 10% in 2019: WTW
20th March 2019
Willis Towers Watson (WTW), the global insurance and reinsurance brokerage, expects large catastrophe loss-affected property and casualty (P&C) insurance rates in Asia to increase by at least 10% through 2019. The international broker has released its 2019 Asia insurance market report, which includes key insurance rate predictions for the current year. Looking ... Read the full article
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