Reinsurance News
S&P Global Ratings
S&P anticipates US insurers’ earnings to take a hit from Helene
4th October 2024
Early insured loss estimates from hurricane Helene currently sit in the mid-single to low-double-digit billions of dollars, however rating agency S&P Global believes that the losses will be an earnings event, rather than a capital event, for the primary US property & casualty (P&C) insurers that the agency rates. Helene made ... Read the full article
Insurers could see limited impact from CE floods on P&C 2024 underwriting results: S&P
26th September 2024
The impact of the floods resulting from Storm Boris in Central Europe on rated insurers' property and casualty (P&C) underwriting performance will be manageable, S&P analysts expect. A slow-moving storm caused days of intense rainfall and severe flooding across Czechia, Poland, Austria, and Romania over the second week of September. Given the ... Read the full article
Climate-change induced rise in claims costs unlikely to lead to negative ratings: S&P
11th September 2024
Global ratings agency S&P Global has stated that for most rated rated primary insurers, a climate change-induced rise in claims costs is unlikely to lead to negative rating actions over the medium term, even if profitability was to become more volatile. 2023 marked the fourth consecutive year that insured losses from ... Read the full article
US casualty the elephant in the room: S&P
8th September 2024
Although S&P Global Ratings had many positive things to say about the reinsurance sector at its recent briefing in Monte Carlo, Senior Director Taoufik Gharib urged the market not to forget about the major risk posed by the US casualty space. "US casualty is the elephant in the room," Gharib said ... Read the full article
Record weather-related losses challenge US homeowners insurers in 2024: S&P
6th September 2024
This year is on track to surpass 2023’s record weather-related losses for U.S. homeowner insurers, posing challenges in estimating catastrophe risk charges, according to S&P Global Ratings. U.S. homeowner insurers have faced several years of underwriting losses due to increasing severe weather events. In the first half of 2024 alone, insurers ... Read the full article
S&P expects reinsurers to earn their cost of capital in 2024
3rd September 2024
Global ratings agency S&P Global expects the reinsurance industry to earn its cost of capital once again in 2024-2025, cementing its stable outlook view of the sector, but warns that discipline must be maintained amid casualty risks. In 2023, the global reinsurance sector earned its cost of capital for the first ... Read the full article
Global reinsurers’ show increasing appetite for nat cat risks, says S&P
30th August 2024
S&P Global Ratings reports that global reinsurers are increasingly interested in natural catastrophe risks, driven by recent pricing corrections and higher attachment points, and are anticipated to deploy more capital in this market over the next two years. Improved underwriting margins, strong investment returns, and solid capitalisation are expected to further ... Read the full article
Islamic insurance sector in GCC region to expand by 15-20% in 2024: S&P
15th August 2024
After witnessing strong topline growth across 2022 - 2023, Islamic and Takaful insurers based in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region are continuing to benefit from favourable growth prospects, which is mainly due to higher insurance demand in Saudi Arabia, says S&P Global Ratings. In a new report, S&P explained that ... Read the full article
Reinsurers must maintain underwriting discipline to mitigate nat cat losses: S&P
9th August 2024
Last year marked the fourth consecutive year in which global insured natural catastrophe losses exceeded $100 billion, however, reinsurers largely avoided significant impacts due to strategic positioning, according to S&P Global Ratings. In 2023 and the first half of 2024, insured losses from secondary perils—particularly severe convective storms (SCS)—reached unprecedented levels. ... Read the full article
PRA’s new regulatory controls on funded reinsurance to accelerate risk mitigation: S&P
31st July 2024
S&P Global Ratings welcomes the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) new measures to control the spike in funded reinsurance (Funded Re) transactions and believes they will mitigate the associated risks, if implemented properly . This follows a warning from the PRA stating that the UK life insurance sector could face a ... Read the full article
S&P upgrades Munich Re’s ratings on improved profitability & earnings diversification
26th July 2024
S&P Global Ratings has raised to 'AA' from 'AA-' its long-term issuer credit and insurer financial strength ratings on the entities within the Munich Re group, citing significant improvement in overall profitability and earnings diversification in recent years. "Our base case indicates that Munich Re's strong and well-diversified earnings will remain ... Read the full article
S&P upgrades VIG rating to A+ with stable outlook
17th July 2024
S&P has awarded Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) an excellent "A+" rating with a stable outlook. This places VIG among the top-rated companies in the Austrian Traded Index. The Group’s reinsurance company, VIG Re, based in Prague, also received an "A+" rating with a stable outlook. S&P attributes this high rating to VIG's ... Read the full article
Reinsurance sector can handle a large tail event: S&P’s Karakuyu
12th July 2024
During yesterday's S&P Global Ratings Insurance In Focus webinar, Ali Karakuyu, Director and Lead Analyst, stated that if a large tail, 1-in-200 year catastrophe event were to occur, the global reinsurance sector is well-prepared and would be able to manage it effectively. Responding to a question on the sector's preparedness for ... Read the full article
Investments and shareholder returns could limit pace of Japanese insurers’ capital growth: S&P
5th July 2024
Japan's major insurance companies' capital has further stabilised and it is strengthening, mainly due to better financial conditions, such as higher interest rates, and insurer efforts to reduce market risk, yet S&P Global’s ratings on these insurers are likely to remain rather stable, the agency has revealed. This is mainly due ... Read the full article
Lancashire gets positive outlook, ratings affirmed by S&P
28th June 2024
S&P Global Ratings has revised its outlook to positive from stable for Lancashire Holdings Ltd. and its operating subsidiaries (LRE), as the firm has strengthened its competitive position over the past few years through a diversification strategy. LRE produced strong underwriting profitability in 2023, expected to continue through 2026, barring any ... Read the full article
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