Insurance news

• Travelers suggests commercial price hikes may rise

  19-10-2017 23:40
  Travelers, sometimes regarded as a property and casualty
  industry bellwether, has led analysts to conclude that the big US
  insurer sees commercial prices rising in the wake of the third
  quarter's catastrophes.
  Comments made by company leaders on a conference call with
  securities analysts led JP Morgan's Sarah DeWitt to forecast
  rate hikes of at least 4 percent.
  "Travelers will raise prices over time to keep up with or
  perhaps even exceed loss-cost inflation of about 4 percent and we...
  
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• CNA elevates Wilson to lead underwriting services team

  19-10-2017 23:40
  Commercial carrier CNA has promoted Katie Wilson to senior vice
  president of underwriting services in its commercial unit with
  responsibility for developing strategy and managing the team.
  She will report to commercial insurance CUO Julie Stephenson,
  the Chicago-based insurer said today.
  Wilson joined the carrier in 2005 and most recently was vice
  president of general liability, cyber and E&O underwriting, CNA
  said.
  Over her 30 years in the business, Wilson also has experience in
  product dev
  
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• InsurTech becomes a new focus at New York FinTech Lab

  19-10-2017 21:09
  Budding InsurTech entrepreneurs looking to develop products to
  sell to insurers may get a leg up on their efforts from New
  York's FinTech Innovation Lab next year as the business
  accelerator backed by financial giants is starting a program
  targeting the industry for the first time.
  The selective eight-week track will provide innovators with
  mentors from the insurance industry and connections to potential
  investors. While the sessions begin in April, selection of the 10
  participants will get unde
  
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• Immunotherapy poses tough questions for legacy players

  19-10-2017 21:09
  Advances in immunotherapy, which could extend the lives of
  people with cancers such as asbestos-related mesothelioma, could
  lead to a problem for run-off players, a legacy conference has been
  told.
  Treatment breakthroughs - allowing the body's own immune
  system to fight cancerous cells - could see mesothelioma become a
  "manageable yet chronic" condition, said Ian Harvey, head
  of claims strategy for run-off outsourcing company Pro, citing the
  view of at least one eminent chest physician in the UK
  
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• D&O risks drop down corporate agenda: CNA Hardy

  19-10-2017 21:09
  UK businesses have a blind spot for boardroom risks, CNA Hardy
  has warned, as research shows corporations are more focused on the
  threat of technology failure and cyber attacks.
  Half of businesses interviewed by the carrier said that cyber
  risk has become their biggest concern, overtaking political
  risk.
  "I am a little concerned that boardroom risk is falling
  off the agenda", said CNA Hardy CEO David Brosnan.Patrick Gage, the company's chief underwriting officer, said it
  was "quite startling", h
  
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• Catalina wins $166mn PSIC workers' comp book

  19-10-2017 21:09
  Catalina has beaten rivals Sirius and Armour to take over a book
  of mostly workers' compensation liabilities held by Public
  Service Insurance Company (PSIC), which a court in Chicago put
  under state control in March.
  It is understood that while Catalina has emerged as the victor
  in the bidding war, the deal is yet to be finalised.
  It will be structured as a loss portfolio transfer (LPT),
  according to a notice issued to potential bidders and a court
  filing. Catalina...
  
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• Munich Re's Albo appointed Hamilton CEO

  19-10-2017 18:24
  Hamilton Insurance Group has hired Pina Albo as its new CEO from
  Munich Re, the company has said.
  Albo, a member of the Munich Re executive management board, will
  join Hamilton on 1 February.
  She will succeed interim CEO David Brown, who took the job after
  Hamilton founder and CEO Brian Duperreault left to lead AIG in
  May.
  Brown will remain on the Hamilton board, where he is chairman of
  the finance and governance committee.
  Hamilton chairman William Freda said...
  
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• Zurich declines to comment on Endsleigh sale rumours

  19-10-2017 18:22
  Zurich is reportedly exploring the sale of broker Endsleigh.
  
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• Government pushes for collaboration with insurers on cyber security

  19-10-2017 16:04
  Both the government and insurers share a join responsibility in setting a standard for cyber security and protecting businesses, the government has said.
  
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• Travelers reports Q3 underwriting loss but tops forecasts

  19-10-2017 16:02
  Catastrophe losses pushed Travelers to a third quarter
  underwriting loss with a combined ratio of 103.2 percent for the
  period.
  However, Q3 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05 on a net basis and
  $0.91 on a core-income basis came in more than double consensus
  forecasts, based on data from Marketwatch and Yahoo Finance, though
  in both cases earnings more than halved from a year earlier.
  Travelers today said cat losses in the third quarter, which
  predominantly resulted from hurricanes Harvey,...
  
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• Meet the techies: Dylan Bourguignon

  19-10-2017 15:14
  Dylan Bourguignon, chief executive officer of so-sure, warns brokers that while InsurTech brings opportunities it is also a serious threat.
  
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• CEO Philipps to retire from MS Amlin

  19-10-2017 13:50
  MS Amlin CEO Charles Philipps is preparing to retire from the
  major Lloyd's (re)insurer, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  The exact timing of Philipps' retirement will depend upon
  the appointment of his successor, with the executive set to remain
  in place until the search is complete.
  However, it is believed that the most likely outcome is a
  departure towards the end of the first quarter of 2018 or early in
  Q2.
  Sources said that an executive search firm had been...
  
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• Grenfell insurer proposes voluntary scheme for victim payouts: updated

  19-10-2017 13:25
  Exclusive: The insurer for Grenfell Tower has sketched out an alternative to lengthy court battles over victim compensation.
  
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• Opinion: Trust issues

  19-10-2017 11:48
  Trust. A scarce commodity in this corrosive age of perma-outrage,
  where public ire can in a heartbeat lurch from lawmakers, to CEOs,
  to banks, and even a world-class children's hospital.
  Yet insurers that attended the International Cooperative and
  Mutual Insurance Federation's conference heard repeatedly that
  winning trust was the key to closing the ever-growing protection
  gap.
  The insurance industry should in theory be reasonably well
  positioned to convince consumers it's on their side, having
  
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• Arag targets HNW market adding crisis communications to legal cover

  19-10-2017 11:13
  Insurer believes it has delivered a market first with new offering.
  
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• The Blog Spot: Time is money

  19-10-2017 11:04
  Our InsurTech Futures campaign has been leading the way in highlighting the changes impacting the broker market.
  
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• HNW Forum 2017: Talking points

  19-10-2017 10:02
  Check in to the HNW Forum to see the key talking points from the flagship event which explores the private client market.
  
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• Zurich estimates group Q3 HIM claims at $717mn

  19-10-2017 09:23
  Zurich is expecting a $717mn Q3 hit at a group level as a result
  of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
  The global insurer estimates total claims in the third quarter
  within its P&C business from the three hurricanes to be about
  $700mn net of reinsurance and before tax.
  Meanwhile, Farmers Re is expected to book an additional $17mn in Q3
  cat losses.
  Zurich also noted that the third quarter experienced "a number
  of other smaller events" but didn't put a...
  
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• GIC IPO valued at $1.7bn

  19-10-2017 09:23
  India's GIC has priced its IPO at 912 rupees per share,
  valuing the offering at just under 111.8bn rupees ($1.7bn).
  Based on the 877.2 million shares outstanding after the sale,
  the offer assigns a market value to GIC of 800bn rupees.
  The IPO comprised 124.7 million shares, including 17.2 million
  new shares and 107.5 million held by the state. The sale reduces
  the government's stake from 100 percent to 85.78 percent.
  A discount of 45 rupees per equity share on...
  
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• Ironshore Singapore hires Lim

  19-10-2017 09:21
  Ironshore Singapore has hired Sam Lim as an underwriter in its political risk team.
  
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• Q3 hurricanes to cost Zurich $700m

  19-10-2017 07:58
  Switzerland-headquartered global insurer Zurich is estimating its costs from three giant hurricanes that hit the US and Caribbean at $700m (£530m).
  
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• Zurich's Guy Miller on climate change

  19-10-2017 07:00
  Guy Miller, head of macroeconomics at Zurich, looks at the risks associated with extreme weather and anti-climate change initiatives.
  
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• Blog: Don't overlook commercial fire risk

  19-10-2017 07:00
  Allan Macpherson, operations chief engineer at FM Global, explains how the commercial damage caused by fire can be mitigated.
  
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• RLI beats as reserve releases offset dent from cats

  19-10-2017 00:55
  RLI confounded analysts' expectations in the third quarter
  as it revealed a $1.7mn operating profit with reserve releases
  partially offsetting a $31.7mn hurricane bill.
  The $0.04 per share result was notably ahead of the less than
  consensus $0.01 per share loss estimate of seven Wall Street
  analysts surveyed by MarketWatch.
  The firm's chairman and CEO Jonathan Michael said the result
  reflected RLI's "conservative approach to risk management,
  the strength of our diversified product portfolio and
  
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• Blue Capital puts Q3 cat losses at $57.5mn

  19-10-2017 00:55
  Blue Capital estimated net catastrophe losses at $57.5mn for
  third quarter, citing Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria as well as
  the two major Mexican earthquakes in the period.
  As a result of the losses, Blue Capital said today that its book
  value per share would drop to $14.48 as of the end of September.
  That's down 30 percent from $20.70 as of 30 June.
  The cat losses led Blue Capital's London-listed Alternative
  Income fund to report a 26 percent loss...
  
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• Assurant gets a boost from Warranty Group deal

  19-10-2017 00:55
  Assurant shares climbed 6.2 percent today in New York trading
  after the US insurer announced a cash and stock deal to buy The
  Warranty Group in a transaction valued at $2.5bn, including assumed
  debt.
  Shares of Assurant closed at $101.80 after rising as much as 6.6
  percent. The stock closed yesterday at $95.86 on the New York Stock
  Exchange.
  The deal with TPG Capital, the private equity firm that controls
  the provider of consumer guarantees and specialty insurance
  products, will...
  
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