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.
Munich Re profits fall, reports stable pricing at 1/1
6th February 2019
Global reinsurance giant Munich Re saw fourth quarter profits fall 56% year-on-year to €238 million following the impact of the California wildfires in November and volatile financial markets towards the end of year. The company’s net profit of €2.2 billion for the year was, however, in line with its target of ... Read the full article
Australian terror pool renews AU$3.3bn retro reinsurance program
4th February 2019
The Australian government’s terrorism reinsurance agency, Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC), has renewed its AU$3.315 billion (US$2.3 billion) retrocession reinsurance program for 2019. The cover, along with ARPC’s net assets and a $10 billion Commonwealth guarantee, provides capacity in the event of a declared terrorism incident against commercial and eligible property ... Read the full article
More price action required across most re/insurance lines: AXIS CEO Benchimol
1st February 2019
Price action in reinsurance lines was evident in some areas at the January renewals with little reductions and response to loss activity. However, global catastrophe pricing remained a disappointment for AXIS Capital at the recent renewal, with President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Albert Benchimol calling for more price action ... Read the full article
M&A levels to continue amid adverse market conditions: JMP Securities
1st February 2019
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity is to continue at heightened levels through 2019 as re/insurers try to find opportunities for growth against a backdrop of adverse market conditions, according to analysts at JMP Securities. JMP explained that consolidation would offer an attractive route to growth for many companies due to ongoing ... Read the full article
April still sweet spot for 2019 renewals: Analysts
31st January 2019
In contrast to the recent 1/1 renewals, which would neither support nor derail the sub-sector, Analysts at Deutsche Bank (DB) see the upcoming April renewals as a positive catalyst for reinsurers due to the role of Japanese business. Probably more than any other traditional market, Japan is still a traditional payback ... Read the full article
S&P notes orderly but somewhat disappointing renewals
29th January 2019
Targeted price increases limited to loss-affected policies and regions were evident at the recent January 1st renewals, and while the overall process was orderly, it was somewhat of a disappointment following recent industry losses, says ratings agency S&P. The ratings agency states that during the most recent renewal period, it witnessed ... Read the full article
40% retro hike to bump property reinsurance pricing to double digits: Credit Suisse
28th January 2019
Property reinsurance price increases are expected to rise from current low-single digit levels to double-digits as 2019 progresses, according to analysts at multinational investment bank and financial services firm Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse underlines the ~40% retrocessional pricing increase reinsurers have faced, following substantial retro market losses in both 2017 and ... Read the full article
Zurich CEO optimistic about P&C rates in 2019
25th January 2019
Mario Greco, Chief Executive Officer of Zurich Insurance Group, has said that the company is optimistic about the prospects for property and casualty (P&C) re/insurance pricing in 2019. Speaking in an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum 2019 event in Davos, Switzerland this week, Greco said that market conditions ... Read the full article
RLI increases cat reinsurance limit by $90mn at Jan renewals
25th January 2019
Specialty insurer and reinsurer RLI Corporation has increased its catastrophe reinsurance protection limit by $90 million at the recent January renewals to cover an expected growth in exposures. Craig Kliethermes, President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at RLI, explained that about half of the company’s reinsurance spend is placed at year-end, ... Read the full article
Market pressures to persist as lack of clarity around losses, price remains: JLT Re
24th January 2019
Global reinsurance broker JLT Re has said that a lack of clarity surrounding both pricing adequacy and loss development is likely to fuel pressure through 2019, against a backdrop of muted pricing actions following consecutive years of increased catastrophe losses for the industry. JLT Re, the reinsurance arm of global broker ... Read the full article
Modest, regionalised price increases expected throughout 2019: S&P
24th January 2019
Despite reinsurers globally holding out for meaningful pricing movement after shouldering roughly a quarter of the $80 billion insured losses throughout 2018, S&P Global Ratings expects the modest, increasingly regionalised price increases seen at the January renewals to persist throughout 2019. Furthermore, the rating agency believes that 2018’s losses exceeded cat ... Read the full article
Cat-exposed property lines to see double-digit rate increases: AmWINS
23rd January 2019
The property re/insurance market experienced some firming at the recent January renewals, which could translate into double-digit rate increases for catastrophe-exposed business as we progress further into the year, according to analysts at AmWINS. The specialty insurer added that spikes of up to 40% were “not out of the question” for ... Read the full article
Rate increases “better than planned” across specialty classes: Peel Hunt
22nd January 2019
Rate increases across specialty insurance classes have been “better than planned” over the last two months, according to analysts at Peel Hunt. The firm pointed to improvements in classes such as marine, energy and property, but noted that rates are still coming off the bottom of the cycle and need to ... Read the full article
Reinsurance pricing to “trend up modestly” through 2019: KBW
22nd January 2019
Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) are anticipating that reinsurance pricing will “trend up modestly” as growth in demand outpaces the ongoing abundance of capacity. The firm acknowledged that the vast amount of third-party capital in the market will likely result in much smaller post-loss pricing swings than in the ... Read the full article
“Armageddon scenario” needed to turn reinsurance pricing: Jason Howard
18th January 2019
With roughly $600 billion of capital still flowing through the reinsurance market after a succession of costly catastrophe years, large-scale hardening outside of an “armageddon scenario” seems extremely unlikely, according to the Chief Executive Officer of reinsurance brokerage Beach & Associates, Jason Howard. Addressing an audience yesterday in the Old Library ... Read the full article
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