Insurance news

• Ophelia batters Ireland with hurricane-force winds

  17-10-2017 22:31
  The Atlantic season's latest hurricane, Ophelia, produced
  $1.8bn (EUR1.5bn) in damage and disruption in Ireland, where the
  storm made landfall Monday as the most powerful wind event since
  Hurricane Debbie hit the republic in 1961.
  Packing wind gusts of up to 118mph (191kph), the storm downed
  hundreds of trees, disrupting power supplies and telecommunications
  across large parts of Ireland and causing three deaths before
  driving northeast to pass over Northern Ireland and parts of the
  UK.
  About ha
  
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• Carriers welcome proposal to delay IDD

  17-10-2017 20:22
  A committee of European lawmakers has urged the European
  Commission to delay the implementation of the Insurance
  Distribution Directive (IDD) beyond the scheduled date of 23
  February, amid industry concern about its workability.
  The IDD replaces the Insurance Mediation Directive and is
  primarily designed to boost consumer protection and promote
  competition by creating a level playing field among insurance
  distributors.
  Major changes introduced by the IDD include an obligation for
  carriers to pro
  
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• Intangible risks affecting businesses could force the insurance market to restructure, says WTW's Aubert

  17-10-2017 17:57
  Nicolas Aubert, head of Willis Towers Watson GB, has suggested that the insurance market consider its fundamental structure as the number of intangible risks facing businesses shows no sign of abating.
  
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• Moody's estimates California wildfires insured loss at $4.6bn

  17-10-2017 17:19
  Ratings agency Moody's has estimated that the total insured
  loss from the Californian wildfires has risen to $4.6bn, based on
  the number of structures now believed to have been destroyed.
  According to data from California Department of Forestry and
  Fire Protection (CalFire) the wildfires had as of Saturday caused
  40 deaths, destroyed 5,700 homes and commercial structures and
  burnt more than 221,000 acres.
  Assuming CalFire's 5,700 figure and applying an average
  value of $802,000 per structure, Mo
  
  Read more

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• Markel Catco increases HIM reserves

  17-10-2017 17:19
  Fund manager Markel Catco has stepped up reserving following
  hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, setting aside a total amount
  equivalent to a fifth of its net asset value (NAV).
  The company said today it had applied further loss reserves of
  14 percent of its NAV as of 30 September, which brought its total
  loss reserves for the catastrophes to 20 percent of NAV.
  In a London Stock Exchange announcement, Markel Catco said it
  took initial loss reserves equivalent to 6...
  
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• Fairfax hires former Canadian governor general as adviser

  17-10-2017 17:19
  Canadian conglomerate Fairfax Financial has hired former
  governor general of Canada David Johnston as a global adviser, it
  announced today.
  The appointment marks a return to Fairfax for Johnston, who had
  previously served on the group's board of directors before
  resigning in July 2010 to begin his duties as governor general.
  Johnston was the third-longest servicing governor in the history
  of the country, having had his initial five-year term extended by
  two years.
  As global adviser, Johnston wil
  
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• Ecclesiastical launches three specialist heritage products

  17-10-2017 15:35
  Products designed to allow brokers to tailor cover for commercial heritage property owners.
  
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• Wildfires devastate California wine country

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Wildfires that have ravaged California wine country came under
  partial control over the weekend, and rain forecast for later this
  week may let firefighters halt the advance of multiple blazes that
  have destroyed at least 5,350 structures in the region and left
  dozens of people dead.
  State-wide, wildfires have consumed more than 5,700 buildings
  and killed at least 41 people, according to multiple local news
  reports. Recent data from the California Department of Forestry and
  Fire Protection showed
  
  Read more

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• Wallace and Anderson return with PE-backed broker

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Two well-known figures in the trade credit insurance market have
  made a return to EC3 after lining up private equity funding to
  build a wholesale and specialty broker.
  Alan Wallace and Tracey Anderson, formerly chairman and
  operations director, respectively, of the trade credit platform at
  RKH Specialty, have the backing of Maven Capital Partners to create
  a London market broker from a small acquisition.
  Wallace and Anderson acquired Parker Norfolk and Partners, on 10
  August, according to detail
  
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• Reinsurers eye long-awaited casualty improvement

  17-10-2017 14:45
  After years of deteriorating underwriting conditions in US
  casualty reinsurance, there is cautious optimism among reinsurers
  that predicted post-loss hardening in property lines will instigate
  a slow turn in third party business.
  Loss experience in isolated segments of the primary casualty
  market such as trucking and builders' risk has created pockets
  of hardening prices that have already begun translating to the
  reinsurance market.
  And Axel Freiboth, managing director of P&C treaty for Nort
  
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• Q3 loss preannouncements by company

  17-10-2017 14:45
  ...
  
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• Property cat to lead reinsurance market turn at 1.1

  17-10-2017 14:45
  As reinsurers continue to put out provisional loss estimates for Q3
  cats, there is a growing recognition that 1 January will bring
  about a hardening in the US property treaty sector that could
  spread to other lines.
  It is no surprise that underwriters have led the way in
  predicting a turn in the property market.
  And in addition to public pronouncements from the likes of
  Hiscox, there was a united front from reinsurers at the Council of
  Insurance Agents &...
  
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• Pioneer promotes McCluskey to PI head

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Pioneer Underwriting has promoted Kate McCluskey from underwriter
  to head of professional indemnity (PI) international and US excess.
  Based in London, McCluskey will report to Graeme Rayner, group
  director of underwriting.
  Before joining Pioneer, McCluskey worked as an underwriter at
  Antares, Mitsui and Liberty International and Brit.
  Pioneer's clients for professional indemnity insurance
  include accountants, architects, engineers, solicitors, surveyors,
  design and construction contractors and i
  
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• Opinion: Property D&F at 1.1

  17-10-2017 14:45
  These Mexican losses are just the tip of the iceberg for the London
  direct and facultative (D&F) market.
  The nature of the Mexican quake events means the loss picture
  has become clearer in a shorter space of time than for HIM.
  To date, notifications for losses from HIM are relatively
  sparse. Flooding in Texas and Florida continues to hinder loss
  adjuster access, and, in the case of Puerto Rico, simply
  establishing contact with clients is proving a challenge.
  But the...
  
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• Opinion: Mind the skills gap

  17-10-2017 14:45
  That there are too
  few adjusters to adequately cater for all of the cat
  event-afflicted (re)insurers will have come as little surprise to
  anyone in the adjusting industry.For years, the lack of large volume claims, driven by a dearth
  of major cat events, limited the amount of investment firms were
  willing to spend on retaining talent and/or driving up recruitment.Part of the problem is that adjusting as we know it today
  isn't the adjusting of old. For high-volume...
  
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• Novae HIM and Mexico losses estimated at $60mn

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Axis Capital, which is in the closing stages of acquiring Novae,
  has estimated the Lloyd's carrier's net financial impact
  from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria (HIM), and the Mexican
  quakes, to be $60.0mn.
  The carrier added that based on current estimates of gross
  losses, Axis Capital expected Novae to receive reinsurance
  recoveries from all events with significant aggregate reinsurance
  cover still remaining.
  As of 30 June, 2017, Novae's total shareholders' equity
  was £303.1mn ($400.0mn),
  
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• Marsh names Fahrig as Continental Europe head

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Global broker Marsh has promoted Siegmund Fahrig to the role of
  CEO of Continental Europe.The executive, previously CEO of Marsh's operations in
  Germany, central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet CIS
  region, will continue to lead the German operations from
  Düsseldorf following his promotion, which is effective
  immediately.He succeeds Flavio Piccolomini, who was recently appointed as
  CEO of Marsh's international division, and will report to him.Fahrig has led the German operation at M
  
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• Hyperion joins US brokers in hunt for long-term capital

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Hyperion is the latest distribution group to seek extra capital
  through the mounting interest of long-term, low-return capital
  providers in the sector.
  This publicationrevealed last week that the London-based firm was in talks with
  a number of financial investors as it looks to raise substantial
  additional equity capital.
  With run-rate Ebitda believed to be
  approaching £150mn ($197mn), the business could attract a
  valuation in the range of £1.5bn to £1.8bn based on
  recent deal
  
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• Hiscox's bold pre-emption request appears unmatched by peers

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Hiscox appears to be an outlier in its bullish request to write
  57 percent more direct premium in 2018 through its Lloyd's
  platform, according to an initial canvass of the Lloyd's market
  by The Insurance Insider.
  After speaking to a number of CEOs and active underwriters in
  EC3, the early consensus is that Lloyd's carriers are keen to
  write more business in 2018, but that any requests to increase
  stamp capacity are likely to be significantly more muted than at...
  
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• Higher rates may persuade ILS investors to stay

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors contemplating
  leaving the sector because of low rates may be enticed to stay by
  the price increases expected following the recent hurricanes,
  according to Todor Todorov, head of ILS research at Willis Towers
  Watson.
  In the middle of 2017, some investors had been considering
  taking their "chips off the table" as years of softening
  rates meant that in some cases risk-adjusted ILS returns were not
  meeting their cost of capital, the consultant said.
  But an
  
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• Funds must provide more information to cedants: Schultz

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Insurance-linked securities (ILS) managers must enter into dialogue
  with cedants to build confidence following the recent hurricanes,
  said Paul Schultz, CEO of Aon Securities, speaking at the
  Trading Risk New York
  Rendez-Vous last week.
  "There has been a lot of focus by managers on providing
  data to investors. I think some of the focus now has to be towards
  cedants," he added.
  He said cedants wanted to see concrete evidence of incoming
  funds at ILS managers and to know whether...
  
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• Florida insurers 'will need capital post-Irma'

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Florida domestic insurers will need to raise capital following
  Irma, which will result in a range of outcomes at the June
  renewals, according to an expert panel at the Trading
  Risk New York Rendez-Vous last week.
  "Every company is in a position where they have lost
  primary capital," said Citizens CEO Barry Gilway.
  UPC Insurance CFO Brad Martz said that rising reinsurance costs
  could be an issue for smaller carriers but added that "the
  strong will get stronger".
  Martz said...
  
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• Brace of broker investments planned for year-end: BP Marsh

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Financial services investor BP Marsh is targeting another two
  investments in the insurance sector in 2017, most likely in the
  intermediary space, according to chief investment officer Dan
  Topping.
  Speaking to The Insurance Insider
  following its half-year results announcement this morning, Topping
  noted that insurance remained BP Marsh's "heartland"
  despite an increased interest in other areas, such as fintech.
  "We're looking at doing two more investments by the end
  of the year and I'd be very su
  
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• Aspen Q3 losses better than expected: Buckingham Research

  17-10-2017 14:45
  Aspen's Q3 pre-tax cat loss disclosure has come in far lower
  than expected, despite "considerable trepidation" on the
  size of the loss, equity analysts at Buckingham Research Group have
  said.
  After market close yesterday, Aspen announced it would book$360mn in pre-tax catastrophe losses for the third quarter,
  which included the three major hurricanes that affected the US and
  Caribbean as well as other events.The events will result in a Q3 underwriting loss of $340mn.
  In a note following...
  
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• European Commission urged to delay Insurance Distribution Directive

  17-10-2017 12:32
  The European Parliament has called on the European Commission to delay the application of the Insurance Distribution Directive.
  
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• XL Catlin buys 20% stake in Indian broker

  17-10-2017 12:11
  XL Catlin is targeting the fast-growing Indian market with the
  acquisition of a minority stake in Mahindra Insurance Brokers
  (MIBL).
  XL Catlin is to buy a fifth of MIBL for a consideration of
  around $40mn, from existing shareholder LeapFrog Financial
  Inclusion Fund.
  The deal values MIBL at about $200mn.
  XL Catlin and MIBL said in a joint statement that the company
  "has demonstrated noteworthy growth and profitability over the
  past 13 years".
  Jaideep Devare, managing director of MIBL, said: &
  
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• Standard Syndicate names two senior hires

  17-10-2017 12:11
  The Standard Syndicate has appointed Ian Smith as hull class
  underwriter and Courtney Naylor as head of reinsurance.
  Smith joins Syndicate 1994 from Navigators Syndicate 1221, where
  he was head of hull and war. He has over 30 years' experience
  in the marine market and has also held positions at Novae, Markel
  International, RSA, Euclidian Syndicate and Cox Insurance.
  Meanwhile, Naylor joins the firm from Lloyd's, where he
  worked in the outwards reinsurance team providing oversight of
  syndicates.
  
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• Patriot National gains further filing leeway

  17-10-2017 12:11
  Insurance services provider Patriot National has gained another
  five months to file delayed results with the Securities and
  Exchange Commission (SEC) while continuing to trade on the New York
  Stock Exchange.
  PatNat has until 15 March to issue its much delayed annual
  report for 2016. Other delayed reports demanded by the SEC include
  the results for the quarter ended 31 March, 2017 and the six-month
  period ended 30 June, 2017.
  PatNat said that it "continues to work diligently to become...
  
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• Ophelia batters Ireland and heads for Scotland

  17-10-2017 12:11
  The Irish government has called a national emergency after
  ex-hurricane Ophelia struck the country yesterday, bringing winds
  of up to 100mph and killing at least three people.
  More than 140 flights from Irish airports were cancelled and
  more than 360,000 customers were without electricity, according to
  reports from The Guardian.
  Bus and tram routes in the capital Dublin, while every creche,
  school, third-level college and university in Ireland was
  closed.
  The storm is expected to cause further d
  
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• Insurance M&A may slow if market firms: Benchimol

  17-10-2017 12:11
  A firming market could lead to a further slowdown in M&A
  activity among insurers as company leaders focus on underwriting
  and avoid the distraction of trying to arrange new deals, Axis
  Capital CEO Albert Benchimol has said.
  "If the market firms up, that's really a bad time to be
  distracting yourself with M&A," the veteran acquirer said
  in remarks to an S&P Global insurance M&A symposium Monday
  in New York.
  "I would guess that M&A would slow down in a...
  
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• Catalina confirms Apollo majority stake investment

  17-10-2017 12:11
  Legacy heavyweight Catalina today confirmed global investment
  firm Apollo Global Management has agreed to acquire a majority
  shareholding in the firm.
  This publicationfirst revealed yesterday that Apollo was looking to make an
  additional investment in Catalina to bring it up to a majority
  stake.
  Catalina said that its existing backers Caisse de
  dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Ontario
  Teachers' Pension Plan would exit as part of the additional
  investment from Apollo.
  T
  
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• BP Marsh earnings surge on disposal gains

  17-10-2017 12:11
  Prextax profits at listed insurance-sector investor BP Marsh
  more than doubled to £11.9mn ($15.8mn) in the six months to 31
  July after gains from asset sales.
  Earnings were boosted from the £4.8mn reported in the first
  half of last year following a period in which the firm made
  £32mnn through its sale of Besso to securities brokerage BGC
  Partners and the disposal of its stake in Trireme to US Risk
  Midco.
  BP Marsh's net asset value per share rose to...
  
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• Biba to increase fees by 2.5% for 2018

  17-10-2017 12:05
  CEO Steve White said the fees go up each year to reflect inflation and increased costs such as the Litmus Test and software house resilience testing.
  
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• Markerstudy’s Trice app available to whitelabel for brokers

  17-10-2017 12:00 via insuranceage.co.uk
  The insurer said the app has been designed to help customers save time when buying insurance and will also see Markerstudy move to offer on demand motor cover.
  
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• Policy Castle to offer discounts to customers using smart home devices

  17-10-2017 11:40
  Digital insurance platform, Policy Castle will be offering discounted home insurance premiums if customers have connected devices installed in their home.
  
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• BP Marsh sees profits double from asset sales

  17-10-2017 11:24
  Insurance-sector investor BP Marsh saw profits more than double to £10.2m in the six months to 31 July.
  
  Read more

• Pearson shares rise after more optimistic trading statement

  17-10-2017 11:09 via ft.com
  Cost cuts by education publisher help offset decline in core US textbook business
  
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• Adjuster crunch adds to HIM woes

  17-10-2017 09:09
  An escalating loss adjuster shortage following the wave of
  recent catastrophes is further inflating claims costs and adding to
  post-event loss amplification.
  The dearth of available resources first began to impact carriers
  last month, when Florida insurers sought to assess Irma claims
  while many independent adjusters were busy in Houston and its
  surrounds dealing with the Harvey fallout.
  Florida underwriting sources reported significant inflation of
  day rates for independent adjusters, with even
  
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• Blog: How insurers can harness digital labour

  17-10-2017 07:00
  Adam Woodhouse, director of the CIO Advisory at KPMG, explains how the insurance industry can speed up its march towards digital labour.
  
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• Blog: 10 steps to a smooth SD-WAN transition

  17-10-2017 07:00
  Ivano Rondelli, director of network services division at NTT Communications, explains how to operate a smooth SD-WAN transition.
  
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• California fires to hit winery and HNW writers

  17-10-2017 06:06
  The wildfires that have ravaged affluent parts of
  California's wine region are expected to take a toll on
  carriers writing high net worth (HNW) and winery business.
  The Golden State's wine growers are already reporting the
  impact, with the Napa Valley Vintners trade group saying late last
  week that five of its 550 members reported that their wineries had
  suffered "total or very significant" losses from the
  fires.
  It added that at least 11 other members had reported damage to...
  
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• Maria losses remain within cedants' limits: AM Best

  17-10-2017 00:51
  Rated Caribbean and Puerto Rico insurers' estimated
  hurricane losses will not breach their net catastrophe reinsurance
  limits, and therefore credit rating actions regarding the companies
  are unlikely, AM Best has determined.In a previous report, titled "Hurricane Maria could test
  financial strength of Caribbean/Puerto Rico insurers", AM Best
  noted that it had raised concerns for the carriers as the region
  faced its second major hurricane in a fortnight. The report was
  released as Hurricane Maria
  
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• Brown & Brown ekes out a beat as organic growth slows

  17-10-2017 00:51
  Brown & Brown exceeded Wall Street earnings estimates as it
  reported organic revenue growth slowed to 3.4 percent while the
  broker's top line rose to $475.6mn.
  Net income climbed 6.3 percent to $75.9mn, or $0.53 a share, the
  early reporting Daytona Beach, Florida-based company said late
  today.
  Analysts had looked for earnings of $0.50 a share, the consensus
  of 13 estimates compiled by MarketWatch.
  "Each of our divisions delivered good organic revenue
  growth, and we provided nice growth in ou
  
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• Aspen pegs cat loss at $360mn, underwriting at $340mn

  17-10-2017 00:51
  Aspen anticipates booking $360mn in pre-tax catastrophe losses
  for the third quarter, including the three major hurricanes that
  affected the US and Caribbean as well as other events, and said it
  expects to report a $340mn underwriting loss for the period.
  The loss estimates are net of reinsurance recoveries and
  reinstatement premiums and include the two major earthquakes in
  Mexico during the quarter, the Bermuda-based carrier said late
  today.
  Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria accounted for $110m
  
  Read more

• Argo puts Q3 pre-tax cat losses at up to $110mn

  17-10-2017 00:51
  Argo estimated pre-tax losses of $85mn to $110mn for
  third-quarter catastrophes net of reinsurance recoveries,
  reinstatement costs and expected premiums.
  Between $35mn to $45mn of the net losses relate to Ariel Re,
  which it acquired at the end of the first quarter, the
  Bermuda-based carrier said late today.
  The losses reflect the three major hurricanes that hit the
  Caribbean and US during the period, Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well
  as two major earthquakes in Mexico, the company said.
  In...
  
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