Insurance news

• Xchanging shares rocket on news of takeover bids

  06-10-2015 23:45
  Xchanging shares soared more than 50 percent at market opening
  on 5 October following the news it had received two separate
  takeover approaches.
  The London-listed outsourcing and insurance services firm
  informed the stock exchange it had received bids from rival Capita
  and private equity house Apollo.
  Xchanging stock opened at 170p per share on 5 October - a 53.5
  percent increase on the Friday 2 October closing price of
  110.75p.
  It emerged that Capita submitted three rejected bids for the...
  
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• UK regulator to cut Solvency II red tape

  06-10-2015 23:45
  The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will work with
  Lloyd's to streamline some of the administration around
  Solvency II, the market's chairman revealed at a gala dinner
  late last month.
  Speaking at the annual Lloyd's City Dinner, John Nelson said
  that regulation had to keep pace with the significant changes
  across financial services.
  "The Solvency II experience we have all been through over
  the past two or three years has been particularly wearing and
  costly - unnecessarily so.
  "I am please
  
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• Time to rethink high yield?

  06-10-2015 23:45
  Relatively unnoticed, there has been a quiet revolution in
  insurers' attitudes to fixed income investments over the past
  few years.
  From having overseen portfolios dominated by AAA to A rated
  debt, it's now not unusual for insurers to maintain an
  allocation to high yield. This is a step change from pre-crisis
  allocations, according to Richard Sarsfield, European head of
  insurance at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM).
  "For non-life insurers with a short-dated book, where the
  yield curve
  
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• Stone Ridge adds to stake in Sector Re sidecar

  06-10-2015 23:45
  US mutual fund manager Stone Ridge Asset Management added to its
  portfolio of reinsurer sidecars in the mid-year renewals, investing
  a further a $100mn in Swiss Re's Sector Re vehicle, sister
  publication Trading Risk reported late
  last month.
  The new investment will significantly add to the size of the
  Sector Re vehicle, which Trading Risk
  estimated was about $277mn in April 2015.
  The new investment was made into a class of US multi-peril notes
  issued by Sector Re, adding to...
  
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• Severe weather losses to hit Q4

  06-10-2015 23:45
  Only six days into the fourth quarter of the year, a number of
  weather events have occurred that could threaten insurers with
  below-threshold cat losses.
  At the beginning of October, the US East Coast avoided being hit
  by Hurricane Joaquin after it battered the islands of the eastern
  Bahamas as a Category 4 storm.
  As of 6 October, the US National Hurricane Center said that
  Joaquin was moving northeastward over the North Atlantic well away
  from land. However, the 790-foot...
  
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• September P&C stocks beat market indices

  06-10-2015 23:45
  P&C (re)insurance stocks comfortably beat the
  performances of both the FTSE 100 and Stoxx Euro 600, with the
  Lloyd's carriers leading the way.
  The Insider 30 increased by 2.78 percent in September,
  outperforming the Euro Stoxx 600 (-4.14 percent), FTSE 100 (-2.8
  percent) and the S&P 500 (0.32 percent).
  RSA was the worst performer in the Insider's universe last
  month, as its shares fell by 22.67 percent after Zurich decided to
  withdraw its bid to acquire the business.
  Other fallers...
  
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• Securitisation proposals excite insurance CIOs

  06-10-2015 23:45
  Insurance investment chiefs have responded positively to the
  proposed changes to securitisation regulations announced last week,
  and hinted at the possibility of increasing their exposures as a
  result.
  The European Commission's Capital Markets Union action plan,
  published on 30 September, outlined proposals for the simple,
  transparent and standardised (STS) securitisation framework, which
  would create a series of requirements that securitisations would
  need to satisfy to make them applicable for
  
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• Secret CEO

  06-10-2015 23:45
  From: XXXXXSent: 16/09/2015To: Petra Smith, EA to XXXXXXXCc:Subject: Re: Tonight
  All sounds good. I've stood Derek down, but give him a call
  anyway. Don't want him to be bloody 'helpful' by second
  guessing, like he did after Glyndebourne. I've spoken with
  Sarah. Assuming she's noticed. Which in fact she has, because
  she'd got us down to go to dinner the other side of Crowborough
  with some hay-burner she met eventing. I've said I can't
  get back...
  
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• New BCAR tackles long-tail recoverables and counterparty concentration

  06-10-2015 23:45
  As well as addressing cat risk, the revised AM Best Capital
  Adequacy Ratio (BCAR) points to a new approach to reinsurance
  recoverables for longer-tail business.
  Under the existing framework, capital required to be held
  against reinsurance recoverables on any kind of insurance business
  is tied to the credit ratings of reinsurers the risk is ceded
  to.
  But the new model also looks at the duration, or tail, of the
  business written, potentially increasing capital charges against
  reinsurance recoverab
  
  Read more

• JLT's Australian local council operation faces further scrutiny

  06-10-2015 23:45
  JLT's near-monopoly on local council business in Australia
  has come under further scrutiny following a report by the auditor
  general of South Australia.
  The report, released last month, questions formulas used to
  calculate the broker's remuneration, which differ from those
  detailed in its contract with the local government.
  It follows hot on the heels of a highly critical report from the
  auditor general of another Australian state - Victoria - which
  criticised the way insurance was procured by l
  
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• Hunt for market share pressures UK solicitors' PI rates

  06-10-2015 23:45
  Players in the UK solicitors' professional indemnity (PI)
  market suffered another tough round of renewals at 1 October, with
  a handful of markets accepting 25 percent rate reductions in a bid
  to grow market share.
  Market sources told The Insurance
  Insider that while rate reductions of between 5 and
  10 percent were witnessed across firms of all sizes, both new
  entrants and one or two established players were taking a more
  aggressive approach to pricing.
  As a result, smaller solicitor...
  
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• G-SII capital requirement raised by 33%

  06-10-2015 23:45
  The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has
  concluded its initial development of the higher loss absorbency
  (HLA) requirement for global systemically important insurers
  (G-SIIs), the organisation announced on 5 October.
  The IAIS developed the basic capital requirement (BCR) as a
  foundation for the HLA in 2014, ensuring that carriers deemed
  "too big to fail" were capitalised adequately to avoid
  collapse.
  G-SIIs will be required to hold capital no lower than the BCR
  plus HLA
  
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• European action plan to free up capital

  06-10-2015 23:45
  EU commissioner Jonathan Hill launched the European
  Commission's Capital Markets Union action plan late last month,
  unveiling five initiatives to diversify funding for European
  businesses.
  One of the proposed initiatives is the simple, transparent and
  standardised (STS) securitisation framework, which would create a
  series of requirements for securitisations to satisfy in order to
  become open to all types of European investor.
  Under the guidelines, securitisation assets would have to be
  homogene
  
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• Covea gets home with 15%+ reduction

  06-10-2015 23:45
  French mutual insurer Covea has secured EUR1.6bn ($1.8bn) of
  catastrophe reinsurance at a rate reduction of more than 15
  percent, in an ill omen for the 1 January renewals, The
  Insurance Insider understands.
  Some senior market sources had privately forecast
  that the French cedant would be unable to get over the line on its
  1 October renewal with a rate reduction of this scale, particularly
  given the size of the placement. They had expected the pricing to
  go up or...
  
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• Catco prepares to bulk up listed fund

  06-10-2015 23:45
  Newly acquired fund manager Catco is preparing to expand its
  listed retro fund, the Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund, after
  setting a $750mn upper limit for new potential share issuances over
  the coming year.
  Catco said the $750mn limit was not a firm fundraising target
  but was rather intended to give the board flexibility over the
  course of the share placement programme.
  The company first announced its intention to raise funds to
  expand its January 2016 portfolio last month, saying it...
  
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• BCAR's unintended consequences?

  06-10-2015 23:45
  Willis Re's Raju Bohra highlighted a number of unintended
  consequences that could impact the P&C sector as a result of
  the revisions to AM Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR)
  model.
  Smaller companies could see their BCAR scores drop dramatically
  under the updated model. The changes could also make it harder for
  a carrier to enter a new line of business as the charge is based on
  the amount of business in a particular line rather than the overall
  size of...
  
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• Allianz to take AGCS aggregate programme net

  06-10-2015 23:45
  Allianz will put 100 percent of the major aggregate cover
  purchased by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) last
  year through its intra-group reinsurance vehicle at 1 January,
  The Insurance Insider understands.
  Sources said that the decision to cede all of the innovative
  treaty to Allianz Re will take some way less than $50mn of premium
  out of the market, given that a share had already been ceded to the
  group's reinsurance unit.
  It is understood that increased proportional cessions...
  
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• $85mn fraud trial postponed until 2017

  06-10-2015 23:45
  The trial in a long-trailed $85mn fraud case over the loss of the
  Brillante Virtuoso in 2011 - which has been linked to the
  murder of a British loss adjuster - has been postponed.
  The case is now expected to be heard in February 2017 after the
  ship's owner repeatedly defied court orders by failing to
  provide documents according to a strict timetable.
  A claim was brought against 10 Lloyd's insurers after they
  failed to pay out for the vessel,...
  
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• $31mn hull claim expected from El Faro loss

  06-10-2015 23:45
  Allianz, XL Catlin, RSA and QBE are among the marine insurers
  facing shares of a $31mn hull loss from the believed sunken El Faro
  cargo ship, market sources have told The Insurance
  Insider.
  The ship, which has been missing since Thursday (1 October), is
  thought to have sunk with all 33 crew members on board after
  mechanical failure left it stranded in the Bahamas before the
  advancing Category-4 Hurricane Joaquin.
  Logistics company Saltchuk had a $24mn hull and machinery policy...
  
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• Editor's Comment: Never say never again

  06-10-2015 16:54
  
  Stephanie Denton Postonline This week, the Economic Minister to the Treasury Harriet Baldwin reportedly accused claims management companies of having gotten “completely out of control”, as the government called for evidence to make good on its summer budget promise of looking into the ways these firms are regulated.
  
  Read more

• FCA ban on opt-outs for add-ons in force from April 2016

  06-10-2015 15:59
  
  FCA says ban on opt-out selling will prevent firms defaulting customers into products they would be charged for
  
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• Penny Black's Insurance Week: 8 October 2015

  06-10-2015 15:21
  
  Penny Black Postonline Last week, Penny was filled with dread as the calendar turned to October and the countdown to her most hated month of the year began.
  
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• MoJ changes spells end for Autonet Law deal

  06-10-2015 15:15
  
  MedCo means Autonet Law has to end deal with preferred medical reporting partner 
  
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• Postscript: 8 October 2015

  06-10-2015 15:09
  
  James Verrinder Postonline Fresh from Facebook; Did you see; The Big Picture and The Big Debate.
  
  Read more

• Insurers need to act fast to take advantage of connected homes opportunity

  06-10-2015 14:58
  
  Marcus Alcock Postonline Insurers need to act now or risk losing out on the significant opportunity provided by the rapid emergence of connected homes, CP Consulting has urged.
  
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• Insurance Act: Let's pretend

  06-10-2015 14:47
  
  Ishaani Shrivastava Postonline Mock trial puts the Insurance Act to the test.
  
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• Cyber Security: Masked intruder

  06-10-2015 14:37
  
  Sam Barrett Postonline A whopping 81% of large organisations suffered a cyber-attack last year. With the number of attacks on the increase, are insurers offering new areas of coverage to protect policyholders in the event of a data breach?
  
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• Brightside chief ops officer Tony Coram exits

  06-10-2015 14:25
  
  Coram’s departure follows that of chief executive Andy Wallin last month
  
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• In Series: Liability and Collaboration: Collective conscience

  06-10-2015 14:08
  
  Edward Murray Postonline Champions of compulsory public liability insurance say insurers have a moral obligation to redress claimants, while opponents say that forcing mandatory cover on businesses is not addressing the real problem. So who’s right?
  
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• Interview: Susan Stevenson: Keeping the customer happy

  06-10-2015 13:29
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline A background in marketing at American Express has helped Cigna CEO Susan Stevenson make sure customer service comes at the top of her list.
  
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• AXA launches Faster Payments system

  06-10-2015 13:22
  
  Claims paid within two hours of approval
  
  Read more

• Compass in tie-up with ex-TV Apprentice Ruth Badger

  06-10-2015 12:58
  
  Together they will run roadshows for caravan park owners
  
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• Market Moves - 8 October 2015

  06-10-2015 12:40
  
  James Verrinder Postonline All the latest movers and shakers on the insurance scene
  
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• Willis launches European motor risk analyser

  06-10-2015 12:22
  
  Data driven tool will help clients negotiate better rates with insurers
  
  Read more

• C-Suite - Insurer: Looking after your own

  06-10-2015 12:14
  
  Peter Sinden Postonline Supporting colleagues breeds loyalty, which can extend to the customer, too, says Peter Sinden, general insurance director of sales and service, LV.
  
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• Higos buys AJP Partnership

  06-10-2015 12:01 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  The broker's 26 staff joins Higos.
  
  Read more

• Insurance Europe launch climate change awareness campaign

  06-10-2015 11:39
  
  James Verrinder Postonline Insurance Europe has launched a new campaign to raise awareness about the need to take steps to limit global warming.
  
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• Compre given capital backing for acquisition trail after CPBE deal completes

  06-10-2015 11:36
  
  Marcus Alcock Postonline Private equity house CBPE Capital has pledged that extra capital will be available to fund acquisitions following the completion of its takeover of UK-based legacy specialist Compre for an undisclosed sum.
  
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• Co-operative insurance moved from subsidiary to main group

  06-10-2015 11:36
  
  James Verrinder Postonline The Co-operative has moved its general insurance operation from its banking subsidiary into the main group.
  
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• Video: Peter Blanc

  06-10-2015 11:35 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Peter Blanc, executive chairman at Aston Scott Group, faces the Insurance Age cameras and explains what the biggest challenge for brokers is.
  
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• Gallagher launches mobile app for group travel

  06-10-2015 11:34 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Broker says TravelCert removes a lot of admin for large organisations and provides accurate data to insurers.
  
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• Benign weather coming to an end as insurers face up to climate change impact

  06-10-2015 11:32
  
  James Verrinder Postonline Insurers have been told to brace themselves for similar losses to those experienced in the aftermath of the 2007 and 2013 floods as benign weather conditions subside and the impact of climate change increases over the coming years.
  
  Read more

• Validus reveals $63.9mn loss estimates from Tianjin and Chile

  06-10-2015 11:27
  Bermudian short-tail specialist Validus has published its first
  loss estimates from the 12 August port explosion in Tianjin and the
  8.3 magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Chile on 16
  September.
  The net impact of the Tianjin event on Validus Re and
  Lloyd's arm Talbot was $43.9mn, while the Chilean earthquake
  generated a net loss estimate of $20mn, the carrier said.
  The estimates were based on exposure analysis and industry loss
  estimates. However, Validus warned that the absence...
  
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• South Carolina flood damage to 'easily exceed $1bn': Aon Benfield

  06-10-2015 11:27
  Days of relentless rain across much of the state of South
  Carolina have caused economic losses that will easily exceed $1bn,
  according Aon Benfield's Impact Forecasting.
  The 1-in-1,000-year event has resulted in 11 deaths, while
  hundreds of residents remain stranded after heavy rains in the last
  week of September were followed by consecutive days of rainfall
  from 1-5 October. Some areas received up to 10 inches of rain on 3
  October.
  While the rain has stopped across most of the...
  
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• QBE appoints Grote as SVP

  06-10-2015 11:27
  Walter Grote has joined QBE North America as senior vice president
  for commercial and P&C.
  Grote will be responsible for leading QBE's commercial lines
  insurance business, including the small and middle market
  segments.
  He began his career at Travelers, where he spent 25 years in a
  range of commercial insurance roles including chief underwriting
  officer and chief operating officer.
  Grote joins QBE from Allianz, where he was senior vice president
  and zone leader for the Midwest.
  Commenting on
  
  Read more

• MarketScout: Commercial rates down 1% in September

  06-10-2015 11:27
  The US commercial insurance market officially became soft again in
  September with a composite rate change of minus 1 percent,
  according to MarketScout.
  Commercial property rates fell by 1 percent last month - down
  from August - while every other line was flat except commercial
  auto, where rates increased by 2 percent.
  MarketScout CEO Richard Kerr said he expected pricing on most
  lines to be adjusted downwards, with a few exceptions such as
  commercial auto, transportation risks and accounts with.
  
  Read more

• Lloyd's requires ANV Syndicate 5820 premium reduction

  06-10-2015 11:27
  ANV Syndicates Limited (ASL) has revealed that it has received
  oral feedback from the Lloyd's capital planning group
  indicating that, in its view, a reduction in gross premium is
  required at the firm's Syndicate 5820 for the 2016 year of
  account syndicate business forecast.
  The managing agency has responded by saying it will review the
  feedback and the potential impact of any revisions on the former
  Jubilee syndicate's business plan, and will update the
  syndicate business forecast in due course.
  
  Read more

• FCA fee increase threat

  06-10-2015 11:00 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Biba calls on regulator to spend wisely as FCA consults on PPI claim time limits and considers whether to increase fees to pay for marketing campaign.
  
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• Axa launches new system for claims payments

  06-10-2015 11:00
  
  Insurer says Faster Payments applies to liability, motor and property claims.
  
  Read more

• Gallagher International launches group travel mobile app

  06-10-2015 10:51
  
  App designed to cut admin burden and improve data flow to insurers
  
  Read more

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