Reinsurance News

Reinsurance News

Reinsurance industry news, analysis, insight and interviews.

Reinsurance market news coverage provided everyday, on the top reinsurers and insurers, covering news topics of relevance to the reinsurance sector, as well as commercial and specialty insurance.

Reinsurers should prepare for flood risk market without NFIP in its current form

22nd November 2017

The tens of thousands of homes in the U.S.'s fourth-largest city of Houston that were semi-submerged by Harvey floods highlighted the lack of take-up for flood risk and with the NFIP on shaky grounds with no viable reauthorization bill ready for bipartisan support, industry experts believe its time for the global ... Read the full article

PartnerRe seeks license to write reinsurance onshore in China

21st November 2017

Bermuda-headquartered reinsurance firm PartnerRe is looking to gain more seamless access to business from China, as it seeks a license to underwrite reinsurance onshore in the country. <PartnerRe has been underwriting reinsurance in China, as an offshore reinsurer, for more than 25 years. But the firm recently sent its U.S. arm, ... Read the full article

Hiscox underwriters told to push for price rises, even if top line shrinks

21st November 2017

Underwriters at insurance and reinsurance firm Hiscox have been told by senior management that they must push for price rises, following recent major catastrophe losses, even if it is at the expense of top line. Hiscox has been among the most bullish in pushing for price increases across insurance and reinsurance ... Read the full article

MAPFRE RE strengthens Asia presence with Tokyo office

20th November 2017

MAPFRE RE plans to strengthen its Asia presence with a new representative office in Tokyo, to be led by Jun Matsuoka, a Japan-based re/insurance veteran. MAPFRE RE’s APAC regional manager, Jesús Galeote, said; “this opening allows us to consolidate even further our already close relationships with companies in the Japanese market, ... Read the full article

Florida experts say reinsurance pricing could rise by 10%

17th November 2017

Florida experts believe reinsurance pricing in the $500-$700 million market could rise by 10%, according to the Buckingham Research Group. Kapil Bhatia, head of Raymond James’ Insurance Advisory Group, noted that while a meaningful change doesn't appear to be on the cards for Citizens book, reinsurance pricing for companies primarily domiciled in Florida ... Read the full article

Reinsurance profits will fall to six-year low on catastrophes: A.M. Best

16th November 2017

Reinsurance company profits are expected to fall to a six-year low on the back of recent catastrophe losses, but while the catastrophes are a drag on earnings, they aren't expected to meaningfully change market dynamics and pricing, A.M. Best says. "In some respects this is a dreaded scenario, where losses are ... Read the full article

Cyber risk influence on re/insurer ratings mostly gradual: Fitch

15th November 2017

Despite the fact that the cyber insurance and reinsurance market is forecast to grow rapidly, rating agency Fitch believes that the influence of cyber risks on the ratings it gives will be mostly gradual. The reason is that, so far, cyber risks only make up a relatively small proportion of re/insurers ... Read the full article

JP Morgan says pricing turn “inevitable”

15th November 2017

JP Morgan analysts expect upcoming price rises to be most acute in loss-hit contracts and capital-intensive businesses, but rate increases could also filter down to other specialty and commercial insurance markets after one of the most costly periods for natural catastrophes on record became a capital event for the global reinsurance industry. JP ... Read the full article

Earnings outlook to improve for Lloyd’s companies

15th November 2017

After Lloyd's companies were hit with incurring material losses in 2017, the earnings outlook for coming years has turned optimistic with price increases expected to benefit existing books of business and new opportunities arising from increased exposure. This will come as encouraging news to Lloyd's firms' after earnings have been hard hit ... Read the full article

Reinsurance execs optimistic about upcoming rate increases

14th November 2017

Amidst industry-wide speculation on the impact the heavy Q3 losses will have on global reinsurance pricing, 46% of 2017 Bermuda Reinsurance Conference attendees believe a pricing upturn will be solely reflected in U.S. markets, while 30% said they expect to see some spill-over into other parts of the world. In light ... Read the full article

Xceedance invests in blockchain specialist start-up ChainThat

14th November 2017

Insurance consulting, technology and data sciences provider Xceedance has made a multi-million dollar equity investment in a re/insurance  blockchain specialist start-up, ChainThat. As a pioneering InsurTech startup in blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, the ChainThat team provides secure online transactional services tailored for re/insurance processes and develops products for the commercial, ... Read the full article

Chord Re launches as reinsurance focused MGA with Neon capacity

14th November 2017

Chord Re, a new managing general agency (MGA) underwriting start-up, has been launched by Stefan Long, formerly Head of Aspen Re London, and will begin underwriting with the backing of Neon's syndicate capacity. Chord Re has been set up as a joint-venture between its management team, Neon Underwriting Limited and insurance ... Read the full article

70% of climate change damage not covered by re/insurance

14th November 2017

On a global level insurance is failing to cover 70% of climate change damage, and this percentage rises to 98% for developing nations, warned climate experts at the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). At an official side-event, COP23, organised by the ... Read the full article

Global reinsurance pricing set to turn, be more precise

13th November 2017

Panelists at the 2017 Bermuda Reinsurance Conference said that with Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria as well as the Mexico City earthquake creating what increasingly appears to be a capital event for the global reinsurance industry - pricing may have finally reached a turning point. "Either way, the industry may be evolving ... Read the full article

Reinsurers’ M&A strategies could be hit by recent capital loss events

10th November 2017

As reinsurers cope with significant third-quarter catastrophe-related losses, research analysts speaking at the 2017 Bermuda Reinsurance Conference said they believed that although the hit to reinsurer balance-sheets would be less severe than in previous high-loss years, it would impact firms' M&A strategies. "It seems like, if you look at the hits ... Read the full article