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.
Rates must improve as sector struggles to meet cost of capital: Swiss Re CEO
1st November 2018
Reinsurance giant Swiss Re has underlined the need for further rate improvements across the property and casualty (P&C) industry as the sector continues to struggle to earn its cost of capital. Following years of declining rates and a soft market environment, rates in the highly competitive P&C sector increased at the ... Read the full article
Hurricane Michael to keep a floor under pricing: RLI’s Kliethermes
22nd October 2018
The impact of hurricane Michael and the resulting losses faced by the insurance and reinsurance sector should be enough to keep a floor under pricing, according to RLI Corporation's Chief Operating Officer Craig Kliethermes. Hurricane Michael struck the Florida Panhandle a deadly blow on October 10th, coming ashore as a major ... Read the full article
Hannover Re expects modestly higher premiums and stable conditions in Germany
22nd October 2018
E+S Rück, a subsidiary of Hannover Re responsible for the group’s German business, continues to expect positive premium development in the country’s market for the upcoming round of treaty renewals as at 1 January 2019, albeit at a somewhat more muted pace than in the previous year. "Against the backdrop of ... Read the full article
Reinsurance buyers expect to see greater use of third-party capital: Survey
19th October 2018
The large majority of protection buyers expect to purchase either the same or more reinsurance at the January 2019 renewals, with most anticipating a greater use of third-party reinsurance capital, according to the Reinsurance News and Artemis Reinsurance Market Survey. The survey reveals that over 86% of respondents, of ... Read the full article
IVANS Index September renewals update mixed: KBW
18th October 2018
The IVANS Index - which tracks commercial premium renewal rates - rose sequentially in September for Commercial Auto and Umbrella, and declined sequentially for Business Owner Policy, General Liability, Commercial Property, and Workers Compensation, according to analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. KBW expects commercial casualty rate increases to mostly gain ... Read the full article
Michael will not meaningfully impact reinsurance pricing: J.P. Morgan
16th October 2018
Analysts at J.P. Morgan have claimed that even a loss towards the upper end of the range of initial insured loss estimates for Hurricane Michael would be manageable for the property and casualty (P&C) industry and unlikely to meaningfully affect reinsurance prices. Catastrophe modellers currently put the range of insured losses ... Read the full article
Modest cat losses to pressure rates at 1/1 renewals: Goldman Sachs
8th October 2018
Reinsurance pricing is likely to come under further pressure at 1 January 2019 renewals due to below-average catastrophe losses over 3Q 2018 and a sustained influx of alternative capital, according to investment bank Goldman Sachs. Property catastrophe modelling firms estimate that insured industry losses over the third quarter of 2018 will ... Read the full article
H2 2018 losses by no means benign, but reinsurers able to absorb major event: Analysts
4th October 2018
Despite catastrophe and man made losses in the second-half of 2018 falling below the levels seen last year, so far, analysts at Peel Hunt have said that by no means is H2 2018 a benign loss period, with losses starting to have a meaningful P&L impact. Notable natural catastrophe losses so ... Read the full article
Reinsurance pricing to decline at 1/1 renewals, says J.P. Morgan
3rd October 2018
Reinsurance pricing is set to decline at 1 January 2019 renewals in light of manageable catastrophe losses over the third quarter of 2018, as well as ongoing overcapitalisation and the robust appetite of alternative capital markets, according to analysts at J.P. Morgan. Commercial re/insurers and personal lines are likely to have ... Read the full article
Price to be the key driver for reinsurance buyers at 1/1: Survey
27th September 2018
Overall, almost 60% of respondents to our global reinsurance market survey feel that price will be the most important counterparty feature to reinsurance buyers at the January 2019 renewals. As part of the Reinsurance News and Artemis global reinsurance market survey, we asked industry participants to rank, by order of ... Read the full article
Lloyd’s performance stabilises but further improvements needed: Peel Hunt
27th September 2018
The underlying underwriting performance at Lloyd’s stabilised over the first half of 2018 as rate increases fed through and the marketplace clamped down on underperforming syndicates, according to analysts at Peel Hunt. However, Peel Hunt stated that more needs to be done to place the Lloyd's market on a firmer footing ... Read the full article
Pricing will remain flat at 1/1 renewals: Fitch Ratings
25th September 2018
Although reinsurance pricing improved to some extent over 2018, abundant levels of underwriting capacity continue to absorb any increase in reinsurance demand, meaning rates are not expected to improve significantly at 1 January 2019 renewals, according to Fitch Ratings. Rates improvements were greatest at the January renewals in 2018, but subsequent ... Read the full article
Unprecedented or unexpected event(s) needed to turn reinsurance pricing: Survey
21st September 2018
Just over 40% of respondents to the Reinsurance News and Artemis Reinsurance Market Survey believe that at least a $200 billion+ event or series of events is needed to meaningfully turn market pricing. Reinsurance News and insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused sister publication, Artemis, recently launched a survey designed to take ... Read the full article
Price cycles less pronounced, rates to fade out in 2019: S&P Global
20th September 2018
In the wake of Monte Carlo’s 62nd "Rendez-Vous de Septembre", S&P Global believes 2018 clearly demonstrated that price cycles have become less pronounced, reinforcing its belief that rate increases will fade out in 2019. The main reason for this pressure, S&P says, is the significant capacity of both traditional and alternative ... Read the full article
Engineering insurance rates continue downward trend: IMIA
18th September 2018
Engineering insurance rates are continuing their downward trend across all classes of business following the costliest hurricane season ever and a series of large construction claims, according to the International Association of Engineering Insurers’ (IMIA) Index 2018. The Index, which compares the movement of rates from a base point in 2010, ... Read the full article





