Insurance news

• Zurich to drop cat bond

  21-09-2015 20:36
  Global carrier Zurich will not renew its Lakeside Re cat bond when
  it matures at year-end, as it plans to shift the focus of its
  reinsurance buying away from regional covers and towards global
  protections.
  The Lakeside Re bond provided $270mn of limit for US quake
  risk.
  At present Zurich also buys a $650mn US wind programme at 1
  January and a $930mn European all-perils protection in April, with
  a $295mn cover bought for the rest of the world at...
  
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• Zurich latest to merge marine and energy treaties

  21-09-2015 20:36
  Global carrier Zurich is set to become the latest cedant to
  consolidate its marine and upstream energy treaties as it looks to
  streamline its reinsurance buying at 1 January, The
  Insurance Insider has learned.
  Zurich is one of the bigger buyers of offshore energy and marine
  whole account excess-of-loss cover, and the inevitable reduction in
  premium as the cedant prices in the diversification benefit to
  reinsurers will come as a blow to the market.
  The global carrier is following a...
  
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• Zurich aims for new fac facility at 1.1

  21-09-2015 20:36
  The trend for soft treaty capacity to absorb business previously
  ceded to the facultative market is set to continue with a new fac
  facility being planned by global insurer Zurich, sister title
  Inside FAC reported today (21 September).
  The move continues the trend towards greater centralisation of
  reinsurance purchasing, which has been a predominant theme among
  major cedants in recent years, with Zurich understood to be eyeing
  a 1 January launch, assuming that it can get the appropriate
  back-end
  
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• XL Catlin to push through rapid reinsurance integration

  21-09-2015 20:36
  Much of the consolidation of XL's and Catlin's reinsurance
  buying will be accomplished by 1 January, as the enlarged group
  comes to market with a range of combined covers, The
  Insurance Insider understands.
  Sources said that the architecture of the new reinsurance buying
  has largely been determined, with a unified set of programmes set
  to assume all of the group's outward cessions by 1 July when
  other covers roll off risk.
  The new structures are expected to cause a substantial...
  
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• Shadow minister fears Flood Re is 'a waste of public money'

  21-09-2015 20:36
  The UK's Flood Re scheme could prove a waste of public money,
  according to the shadow minister for environment, food and rural
  affairs.
  Barry Gardiner MP made the comments last week (15 September)
  when the remaining secondary legislation to make Flood Re fully
  operational was considered by a House of Commons Delegated
  Legislation Committee of MPs.
  "It is likely that the transition [to risk-reflective
  pricing] will compromise the availability and affordability of
  flood insurance, and that needs t
  
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• Liberty injury lines quota share to renew flat at 34%

  21-09-2015 20:36
  The so-called "injury lines" variable quota share treaty
  placed for Liberty Mutual is set for a flat renewal with a 34
  percent ceding commission, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  The terms on the Aon Benfield-placed programme appear to provide
  evidence that the casualty market has bottomed out- at least on the
  pro rata side - with the economics of these deals not allowing
  buyers any further headroom to push ceding commissions higher.
  However, the combination of a meaningful deterioration of...
  
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• Japanese flood bill rises

  21-09-2015 20:36
  Japanese insurers are facing a growing claims bill after heavy
  storm activity in the country during August and September led to
  severe flooding and landslides.
  Large swathes of central and eastern Japan were left underwater
  following a string of typhoons and tropical storms during the last
  few weeks - starting with Typhoon Goni in late August and
  culminating in Tropical Storm Etau, which has abated in the past
  week.
  Japan's big three non-life insurers - MS&AD Insurance
  Group, Tokio Marine...
  
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• Heritage trades up on buyback authorisation

  21-09-2015 20:36
  P&C (re)insurance stocks edged down last week as
  The Insider 30 declined by 0.35 percent on average.
  Floridian insurer Heritage made the biggest gains after its
  share price rose climbed by 7.4 percent, likely driven by the
  company's announcement of a $20mn share repurchase
  authorisation.
  Beazley traded up by 3.7 percent, while AmTrust's share
  price rose by 2.65 percent. Last week (18 September),
  The Insurance Insider revealed that
  AmTrust was in advanced talks to buy Texas-based insurer Repu
  
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• Guy Carpenter continues fac talent raid

  21-09-2015 20:36
  Guy Carpenter has hired a further five staff from Aon Benfield
  as it continues the aggressive build-out of its facultative
  reinsurance team, as the broker looks to double its revenues from
  fac reinsurance over the next five years.
  Sources told sister publication Inside
  FAC that well-regarded producers Steve Jewell, Rob
  Johns and Ben MacGregor were the latest to hand in their notices at
  Aon Benfield, alongside former head of operations Ben Graves.
  Gary Barnett, the former head of London market...
  
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• Guy Carp: regulatory change will test balance sheets

  21-09-2015 20:36
  The cost of managing looming regulatory changes is likely to hit
  reinsurers' bottom lines, according to Guy Carpenter.
  The reinsurance broker claimed in a report released last week
  (14 September) that upcoming regulations - including Solvency II
  and the accompanying Own Risk and Solvency Assessment - will have a
  profound effect on (re)insurers' balance sheets and risk
  management practices.
  Under the European Union's Solvency II Pillar 2 reporting
  requirements, which set out the fundamentals of c
  
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• Endurance to enter aviation with facility deals

  21-09-2015 20:36
  Bermudian carrier Endurance is set to enter the aviation insurance
  sector by writing two broker facilities in the London market,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  It is understood that the carrier will write airline business
  through facilities structured by JLT and Marsh. The business is
  expected to be written by Endurance's Lloyd's platform,
  which it picked up as part of its $1.9bn acquisition of Montpelier
  Re.
  Sources said that Endurance was eyeing a line of up to 3 percent
  on...
  
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• Edey to join AmTrust at Lloyd's with Frost to depart

  21-09-2015 20:36
  Janet Edey is to join AmTrust at Lloyd's as head of
  professional lines, The Insurance Insider
  has learned.
  Meanwhile, the former active underwriter of AmTrust's
  Syndicate 2526, Dominic Frost, is set to depart the Lloyd's
  managing agent.
  Edey will join from AJ Gallagher's UK-owned managing general
  agency (MGA) Pen Underwriting.
  She has been technical underwriting director for general
  commercial at OIM - AJ Gallagher's other UK MGA - since 2014.
  OIM moved under the Pen moniker in May this year....
  
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• Darag launches Maltese protected cell vehicle

  21-09-2015 20:36
  Darag has launched a Maltese run-off platform in a bid to bring
  more private equity money into the legacy space.
  The German legacy carrier has secured a licence for the
  protected cell company (PCC), which will act as a vehicle to run
  off discontinued business.
  Group CEO Arndt Gossmann told The Insurance
  Insider the vehicle would serve as a platform for
  private equity capital to sit behind a book of liabilities, which
  would be run off by Darag.
  It is...
  
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• Cyber models must tackle aggregation

  21-09-2015 20:36
  Firms creating cyber models must tackle the problem of aggregation,
  according to a senior figure in the cyber insurance market.
  Speaking to The Insurance Insider,
  Mark Camillo, head of cyber EMEA at American International Group,
  said that examples of cyber aggregation events included cloud
  providers being breached or viruses impacting numerous companies at
  once.
  "These are some of the examples being brought up by
  government and regulatory authorities. But the likelihood of those
  events actually
  
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• CEO exit places The Hanover in M&A crosshairs

  21-09-2015 20:36
  US and Lloyd's insurer The Hanover is widely being seen as
  vulnerable to a takeover after its CEO Fred Eppinger unexpectedly
  announced last week that he would step down as soon as a successor
  can be found.
  Buoyed by precedents for companies that have been taken out when
  the CEO succession was uncertain, investment bankers are scrambling
  to mobilise bidders for the $3.5bn market cap
  Massachusetts-headquartered insurer.
  A range of companies in the sector including Chubb,
  Transatlantic Re, IPC and.
  
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• AmTrust closes on Republic acquisition

  21-09-2015 20:36
  AmTrust could increase its top line by up to a fifth via the
  acquisition of Texas-based Republic Group, The
  Insurance Insider revealed last week.
  Sources said that the expansionist New York-listed insurer and
  Republic Group are currently in a period of exclusive negotiations,
  which is expected to lead to a sale.
  In 2014, Republic Group wrote $1.20bn of premium on $252mn of
  surplus. On a net basis, the company wrote $245mn last year.
  At year-end 2014, the business had $252mn...
  
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• Amtrak subsidiary enters cat bond market

  21-09-2015 20:36
  Amtrak subsidiary Passenger Railroad Insurance has begun
  marketing a $200mn cat bond in what is only the second
  insurance-linked securities transaction to focus on storm surge
  risk, sister publication Trading Risk
  reported last week.
  The PennUnion Re bond would also cover earthquake and wind
  damage from named storm events, using parametric triggers that are
  based on the physical characteristics of a disaster.
  This would ensure a rapid payout for the rail operator in the
  event of a claim.
  Earlier
  
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• Chile quake could cost insurers up to $900mn: AIR

  21-09-2015 18:45
  Insured losses from the earthquake that rocked the Chilean coast
  last week could hit $900mn, according to estimates from AIR
  Worldwide.
  The modelling firm has given an initial loss estimate of between
  $600mn and $900mn for the magnitude 8.3 quake, which struck off the
  coast of central Chile on 16 September.
  Authorities have said that at least 12 people were killed as a
  result of the earthquake, which was felt as far away as São
  Paulo, Brazil, 3,000 km from...
  
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• Driverless cars concerns can be overcome, claim insurers

  21-09-2015 17:18
  
  Francesca NymanPostonline Concerns around the vulnerability of driverless car systems to hacking have merit but do not present an insurmountable obstacle to mainstream uptake, according to insurers involved in the development of autonomous vehicles.
  
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• Scott Egan to start at RSA on 1 October

  21-09-2015 15:45
  
  Announcement closely follows Zurich deal breakdown
  
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• Future bids expected for RSA as Zurich pulls plug on acquisition

  21-09-2015 14:00
  
  James Verrinder Postonline RSA's appeal as an acquisition target has not been diminished by Zurich's decision to pull the plug on takeover talks, according to market analysts, who have nevertheless suggested that a future deal is unlikely to take place in the short term.
  
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• UK motor market value set to decline over coming years

  21-09-2015 13:52
  
  Francesca NymanPostonline The real value of motor insurance markets in the UK and Italy are likely to decline over the next few years, as emerging Asian markets continue rapid expansion, according to Finaccord.
  
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• L&G Kingswood staff vote for strike action over job cuts

  21-09-2015 13:28
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline Staff at Legal & General's Kingswood site in Surrey have voted in favour of strike action after 1700 jobs were put at risk following the company's decision to vacate the site by 2017.
  
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• Lloyd's players launch cyber consortium

  21-09-2015 13:16
  Beazley, Aspen and Brit have joined forces to launch an
  international cyber consortium at Lloyd's that will bring an
  extra $60mn of capacity to the market, it was announced today (21
  September).
  The consortium, which will see syndicates managed by Aspen and
  Brit Global Specialty work together with Beazley as consortium
  manager and claims handler, will focus on providing data breach
  cover to non-US businesses with revenues in excess of $5bn.
  The consortium will write business on a primary and...
  
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• Lloyd's insurers launch cyber scheme for large non-US corporates

  21-09-2015 12:59
  
  The consortium will provide cover against data breaches to non-US businesses with revenues in excess of $5bn
  
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• Higos post-tax profit rockets 75% to £752,000 in 2014

  21-09-2015 12:44
  
  Turnover grows by 12.7%
  
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• L&G staff vote for strike action amid potential job losses

  21-09-2015 12:40
  
  The insurer is looking to move out of its Surrey based Kingswood site
  
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• RSA's shares drop 20% as takeover deal with Zurich collapses

  21-09-2015 12:13
  
  Stock market analysts downgrade their recommendations for RSA.
  
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• Lloyd's cyber consortium launched by Beazley, Aspen and Brit

  21-09-2015 11:55
  
  Callum BrodiePostonline Beazley has joined forces with Lloyd’s syndicates managed by Aspen and Brit Global Specialty to launch the International Cyber Consortium.
  
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• Microinsurance and terrorism among top emerging risks opportunities for reinsurers

  21-09-2015 11:53
  
  Francesca NymanPostonline Aon Benfield has identified seven emerging risks it believes will provide reinsurers with business opportunities over the next five to 10 years.
  
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• Legal & General staff vote to strike over 1700 possible job cuts

  21-09-2015 11:42
  
  Insurer promises more information about possibly relocating staff to more "cost-effective" locations.
  
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• Brokers stunned as Zurich/RSA deal collapses

  21-09-2015 11:41
  
  Market expects to see a new bid tabled for the insurer
  
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• RSA stock falls 21% after Zurich abandons bid

  21-09-2015 11:29
  UK insurance group RSA's share price fell dramatically this
  morning (21 September) after Zurich announced it was walking away
  from its proposed £5.6bn ($8.7bn) acquisition offer.
  The stock had plummeted by 21 percent just 10 minutes after
  trading opened, leaving the share price at 401.8p.
  Analysts had warned earlier this morning that RSA's shares
  would be hit, predicting falls of 5 to 10 percent.
  The abandonment came after Zurich forecast that it would make a
  $200mn loss from its general..
  
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• Compass adds 20 new members in six months

  21-09-2015 10:57
  
  Network takes members from Willis and Broker Network.
  
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• Zurich withdraws RSA offer

  21-09-2015 10:05
  
  Zurich has abandoned the takeover bid of RSA following a “deterioration in trading performance”.
  
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• IFB's five-year fraud strategy 'on track'

  21-09-2015 10:04
  
  Testing to identify organised fraudsters on claims database has begun
  
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• RSA's shares fall 21.5% as Zurich ends acquisition talks

  21-09-2015 09:37
  
  Zurich decision triggered by deterioration in GI business as result of large losses and US motor woes
  
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• RSA acquisition talks end as Zurich's GI profits deteriorate

  21-09-2015 09:00
  
  Zurich Group GI chief exec Kristof Terryn will conduct an in-depth review of the business
  
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• Large losses and US motor woes ruin Zurich's RSA bid

  21-09-2015 09:00
  
  Zurich Group GI chief exec Kristof Terryn will conduct an in-depth review of the business
  
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• Enterprise Bill gets tough on claims payment times

  21-09-2015 09:00
  
  The Enterprise Bill proposing to penalise insurers for late payment of claims unless there is a good reason for a delay.
  
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• Gallagher network Compass hits £645m GWP as 20 brokers join

  21-09-2015 08:56
  
  Regional brokers Waltons and Pace Ward join from Willis Networks and Broker Network
  
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• Zurich abandons RSA approach

  21-09-2015 07:51
  
  Andrew Tjaardstra Postonline Zurich has abandoned its bid to buy UK rival RSA.
  
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• Executives see technology investments as priority for boosting profitability

  21-09-2015 07:00
  
  Francesca NymanPostonline Insurance executives are beginning to recognise the importance investments in technology can play in boosting profitability, according to research by Interim Partners.
  
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• IFB to present business case to GIC in November

  21-09-2015 01:05
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline The Insurance Fraud Bureau is to present its business case to the General Insurance Council on 26 November with work to test the feasibility of identifying organised fraud networks in claims underwriting data expected to start this month (September).
  
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