Insurance news

• Zurich to capture $764mn ceded business from crop acquisition

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Reinsurers stand to lose almost $1.0bn in premiums after Zurich
  said it planned to retain all business currently ceded by Wells
  Fargo's crop insurance unit following its deal to acquire the
  division.
  In December Zurich agreed to buy Rural Community
  Insurance Services (RCIS) for an estimated purchase price of
  between $675mn and $1.05bn.
  RCIS has historically ceded 75 percent of its premiums to a
  number of reinsurers, which totalled some $1.1bn in 2014, according
  to a Zurich report released in...
  
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• US securities suits at highest level since 2008

  04-01-2016 19:57
  The number of US securities class actions filed in federal court
  rose to 186 in 2015, along with five IPO-related lawsuits filed in
  a state court, making it the most prolific year for suits since
  2008.
  The 186 federal suits represented a 9.4 percent increase from
  2014, when 170 were filed, according to website D&O Diary.
  The number of new securities suit filings was also 10 percent
  higher than the six-year annual average of 169 for the period from
  2009-2014....
  
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• US-international bifurcation becomes clear at 1.1

  04-01-2016 19:57
  International reinsurance rates continued on a similar downward
  trajectory to that seen 12 months ago on 1 January, but further
  signs of a disjunction became apparent as rate reductions in the US
  slowed up.
  "Rates have continued to soften, but this wasn't a
  Groundhog Day renewal as some have described it," JLT Re's
  global head of analytics David Flandro told The
  Insurance Insider. "What is developing is a
  bifurcated market. The rate of decline in the US - the world...
  
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• Upstream energy premium down 45%: JLT

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Upstream energy (re)insurance premium income for 2015 is likely
  to be down by as much as 45 percent on the preceding year,
  according to JLT Specialty.
  In its January energy newsletter, the broker said that a
  "rout" in oil and gas commodity prices had capped "a
  most traumatic year for upstream energy clients" and was
  likely to have a dramatic knock-on effect for (re)insurers.
  John Cooper, JLT Specialty's senior partner and chief
  operating officer for the energy division, told sister...
  
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• Scor looks to expand Atlas IX at upper pricing range

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Scor is expected to upsize its new Atlas IX cat bond to $300mn from
  a $250mn target as the transaction priced at the upper end of
  initial forecasts, sources told Trading Risk.
  The Atlas IX notes will offer investors an insurance-linked
  coupon of 750 basis points (bps), or a 2.3x multiple of the 3.29
  percent sensitivity-case expected loss.
  The annual aggregate US wind and quake transaction had been
  marketed with an expected spread of 700-750 bps.
  The Atlas deal and...
  
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• RSA profits crumble on McVitie's loss

  04-01-2016 19:57
  RSA has notified its reinsurers that it expects to digest gross
  losses from Storm Desmond of £85mn ($126mn), with the
  London-listed carrier set to be burnt by a £50mn line on a
  McVitie's biscuit factory, The Insurance
  Insider revealed last week.
  Sources told this publication that the loss was projected to hit
  the £25mn excess £75mn layer of RSA's cat programme -
  the first layer to absorb UK exposures.
  As such, RSA looks set for a £75mn net loss. The...
  
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• Reinsurance rates down across the board: Willis Re

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Reinsurance rates have softened in virtually all lines and
  geographies while terms and conditions were relaxed as overcapacity
  and an excessive number of markets continued to weigh on pricing
  that was already heavily discounted, according to big three broker
  Willis Re.
  Rate reductions have continued at similar levels to
  those in 2015 despite average normalised returns thinning to the
  low single digits, with reinsurance brokers set to feel the squeeze
  alongside risk carriers.
  Reinsurers fought ha
  
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• Munich Re raises $360mn for Eden Re renewal

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Munich Re has raised $360mn of third party capital for its Eden Re
  II sidecar in 2016, falling short of its target of obtaining $375mn
  to $450mn of retro support from the vehicle, sources said.
  However, this leaves the carrier with roughly the same amount of
  sidecar capital as it had in 2015, as it was running two Eden Re
  vehicles worth $365mn of limit in total.
  Munich Re had $290mn from its Eden Re II vehicle - a broad...
  
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• Market mourns passing of Brian Caudle

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Veteran Lloyd's property cat underwriter Brian Caudle passed
  away on 1 January at the age of 80.
  In June 2012 Caudle retired as chairman of Lloyd's managing
  agent Advent after 60 years in the market and a farewell
  valediction from the Corporation.
  The acclaimed executive was the active underwriter of Syndicate
  780 from 1974 to 1999 and, to many, personally embodied the
  entrepreneurial spirit of the Lloyd's market.
  Caudle started at Lloyd's broker Leslie & Godwin in 1952
  aged 17....
  
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• Lewin steps down

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Andreas Lewin has stepped down from his role at XL-Catlin asset
  management platform New Ocean, our sister title Trading
  Risk has learned.
  Lewin was one of the first recruits for New Ocean when XL set it
  up in 2013 and was involved in underwriting across various property
  lines of business.
  It is understood the Bermudian executive will continue to work
  for New Ocean on a consultancy basis after stepping down from a
  full-time role for family reasons.
  Lewin had worked...
  
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• Insurers to largely retain UK flood losses

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Reinsurers are likely to escape the brunt of the losses caused
  by the trio of storms that barrelled through the UK in December, as
  cedants count the cost of sizeable retentions.
  Late last month big four accountancy firm KPMG predicted insured
  losses of £1bn-£1.5bn for storms Desmond and Eva
  combined. PwC said total insurance claims from the two storms could
  amount to £900mn-£1.2bn.
  However, for a UK flood event to attach to excess-of-loss
  programmes it would typically hav
  
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• Insured cat losses reach $27bn in 2015

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Global insured catastrophe losses totalled $27bn in 2015, the
  lowest level since 2009, according to Munich Re.
  Overall losses for the year came to $90bn, the reinsurer said.
  This compared to the $110bn of economic losses and $31bn of insured
  losses seen in 2014.
  The 2015 figures were also below the long-term
  inflation-adjusted average from 1985-2014 of $130bn in economic
  losses and $34bn of insured losses.
  Munich Re's figure exceeds that estimated by peer Swiss Re,
  which pinned insured nat...
  
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• Insured cat losses just 0.7% of 2015 global insurer capital

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Insured cat losses accounted for just 0.7 percent of global
  insurer capital in 2015 in what was the lowest proportion since
  2007, Aon Benfield said in its 2016 reinsurance outlook.
  Global insured cat losses are estimated at $32bn for
  last year, down 48 percent from the 10-year average of $61bn, the
  reinsurance broker said.
  For the fourth consecutive year catastrophe-related losses
  continued to decline, following a record tally in 2011. With the
  exception of winter weather and wildfire, natural d
  
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• IAG cat order drops by 20%

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Major Australasian insurer IAG has confirmed that the order on
  its A$7.0bn ($5.1bn) catastrophe reinsurance treaty has been
  slashed to 80 percent following the inception of its strategic
  alliance with Berkshire Hathaway.
  Last year IAG agreed a 20 percent quota share with
  Berkshire Hathaway and has now adjusted its excess-of-loss
  reinsurance purchase to reflect the new pro-rata protection.
  In a statement released today (4 January), IAG said that it had
  also restructured the top end of its catastr
  
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• Cargill to sell US crop book

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Global commodities trader Cargill has announced that it has
  agreed to sell its crop insurance business to the Silveus Insurance
  Group.
  The deal is due to close in the second week of January. The
  terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
  The sale will result in Cargill exiting the crop insurance
  business after nine years.
  Sliding commodity prices and weakening demand in emerging
  markets have made it a tough year for many crop businesses, with
  Cargill reporting its first quarterly...
  
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• Aspen continues Liberty raids

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Aspen Insurance has made three senior hires from Liberty
  International Underwriters as part of a wave of global product head
  appointments.
  Don Harrell, senior vice president of marine at Liberty, will
  join Aspen as global head of marine and COO of the company's
  international operations. He will initially join Aspen in the US
  and then relocate to London in 2016.
  As previously revealed by The Insurance
  Insider, Oliver Brew will also join Aspen as global
  head of cyber risk and...
  
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• Aon Benfield: Reinsurance capital at $565bn in Q3

  04-01-2016 19:57
  Reinsurer capital declined 2 percent from year-end 2014 to reach
  $565bn in the third quarter, according to Aon Benfield.In its 2016 reinsurance outlook, the reinsurance broker said Q3
  reinsurance capital had remained unchanged quarter on quarter.The Aon Benfield statistic is believed to
  incorporate capital that is not purely dedicated to reinsurance,
  and is therefore not comparable with other industry figures that
  attempt to estimate "pure" reinsurance capital.The figure also includes the volume
  
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• Chaucer Insurance gets fresh look as Zenith Marque

  04-01-2016 18:24
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline Chaucer Insurance will be re-branded as Zenith Marque from March following Markerstudy’s acquisition of its UK motor business.
  
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• Chaucer rebrands as Zenith Marque

  04-01-2016 18:12 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  The move follows Markerstudy's acquisition of Chaucer's UK motor business.
  
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• Chaucer Insurance rebrands as Zenith Marque

  04-01-2016 18:12
  
  The move follows Markerstudy's acquisition of Chaucer's UK motor business.
  
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• Markerstudy unveils new brand for Chaucer motor book

  04-01-2016 18:10
  
  Acquired business to be renamed Zenith Marque from March this year
  
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• UK motor reinsurance rates show signs of softening

  04-01-2016 17:20
  
  Loss-free policies got price reductions of up to 10% in January 1 renewals, says Willis Re
  
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• IIS top award for Bermuda-based "trailblazing" CEO Kramer

  04-01-2016 16:15
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline The International Insurance Society will give its top honour to Donald Kramer, chairman and CEO of Bermuda-based ILS Capital Management.
  
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• Munich Re: 2015 losses lowest since 2009

  04-01-2016 14:29
  Last year saw the lowest level of catastrophe losses since 2009
  thanks in part to an El Niño weather cycle, according to
  Munich Re.
  Overall losses totalled $90bn, of which roughly $27bn was
  insured, the reinsurer said today (4 December).
  This compared to $110bn of economic losses and $31bn of insured
  losses in 2014. The 2015 figures were also below the long-term
  inflation-adjusted average for the period between 1985 and 2014, at
  $130bn of economic losses and $34bn of insured...
  
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• Liberty hires new German casualty team

  04-01-2016 14:29
  Liberty Specialty Markets has established a new German casualty
  team based in Cologne, it announced today (4 January).
  The team of four will write a book of primary and excess
  casualty business, reporting to northern European regional manager
  Wolfgang Weis.
  Detlef Offenhau, who has over 20 years of experience in the
  German casualty market, will lead the team. Offenhau has previously
  held posts at Catlin and Axa Corporate Solutions.
  The team also comprises senior underwriter Rainer Rieger and
  und
  
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• IAG confirms 20% drop in cat order

  04-01-2016 14:29
  Australasian cedant IAG has confirmed that the order on its
  A$7.0bn ($5.1bn) catastrophe reinsurance treaty has been slashed to
  80 percent following the inception of its strategic alliance with
  Berkshire Hathaway.
  Last year IAG agreed a 20 percent quota share with Berkshire
  Hathaway and has now adjusted its excess-of-loss reinsurance
  purchase to reflect the new pro-rata protection.
  In a statement today (4 January), IAG said that it had also
  restructured the top end of its catastrophe programme t
  
  Read more

• AIG names Baldwin as UK CEO

  04-01-2016 14:29
  Anthony Baldwin has been appointed UK CEO for American
  International Group (AIG), the carrier announced today (4 January).
  Baldwin will take on the additional duties alongside his current
  role of CEO and board director of AIG Europe and will report to
  Robert Schimek, CEO of commercial.
  His appointment follows the exit of UK managing director
  Jacqueline McNamee, who was among a raft of senior executives given
  notice last year in a major cull.
  Baldwin has 20 years' experience at AIG...
  
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• Ex-DLG MD and Flood Re boss takes reins at Premium Credit

  04-01-2016 14:23
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline Tom Woolgrove, former managing director of UK personal lines at Direct Line Group, will become Premium Credit CEO this month, replacing Andrew Doman.
  
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• FCA denies scrapping insurance customer data study

  04-01-2016 14:20
  
  Regulator says call for input from insurers running until 8 January
  
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• Storms' insured loss estimate increases to £1.4bn

  04-01-2016 13:59
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline Latest estimates from accounting firm PWC suggest insured losses from storms Desmond, Eva and Frank, which battered the UK in December 2015, could reach £1.4bn as Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday (3 January) pledged £40m to repair and improve flood defences.
  
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• Brokers must commit to helping clients on cybercrime

  04-01-2016 13:16
  
  Una’s Tim Ryan says prevention is better than cure when it comes to cybercrime.
  
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• Clark Thomson reports 62% rise in profit

  04-01-2016 13:07
  
  Broker also sees increases in turnover and operating profit for the year to 31 March 2015.
  
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• Market Moves - 24-31 December 2015

  04-01-2016 12:46
  
  Callum BrodiePostonline Find out who have been among the insurance industry's movers and shakers over the festive period...
  
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• LSM expands casualty presence in Germany

  04-01-2016 12:15
  
  Peta Fuller Postonline Liberty Specialty Markets has improved its German position, appointing a four-strong casualty team in Cologne.
  
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• LV= launches legal advice service

  04-01-2016 12:06
  
  Insurer teams up with law firm Lyons Davidson for new offering
  
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• AIG's Baldwin takes on UK CEO role following McNamee exit

  04-01-2016 12:03
  
  Katie Marriner Postonline AIG Europe CEO and board director Anthony Baldwin has been appointed CEO of AIG in the UK.
  
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• Tom Woolgrove to take over as CEO at Premium Credit

  04-01-2016 12:02
  
  He starts work on 11 January following the departure of his predecessor, Andrew Doman, in December.
  
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• Anthony Baldwin to lead AIG in UK

  04-01-2016 12:00
  
  Baldwin has been with insurer for over 20 years.
  
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• Anthony Baldwin named chief executive of AIG's UK division

  04-01-2016 11:58
  
  Baldwin’s appointment follows the departure of Jacqueline McNamee which was reported in November
  
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• Sande Investments buys Houlder

  04-01-2016 11:54
  Sande Investments, the parent company of London-based
  intermediary Lime Street Insurance Brokers, has acquired
  Lloyd's marine broker Houlder Insurance Services for an
  undisclosed fee.
  Paul Nugent, CEO of Lime Street, commented: "In purchasing
  Houlder we recognise that, not only has Lime Street been afforded
  the opportunity to acquire a mature book of marine and specialty
  business, but also one of the oldest, established Lloyd's
  broking arms with a global footprint."
  Dr Ma, director of Houlder's
  
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• RSA completes sale of Italian business

  04-01-2016 11:54
  UK insurer RSA has completed the sale of its Italian operations to
  ITAS Mutua.
  Headquartered in Trento and founded in 1821, ITAS is the oldest
  mutual insurance company in Italy. It sells over 1.2 million
  policies to almost 700,000 insured members and is represented by
  more than 250 agents.
  RSA first struck the deal to offload its Italian businesses in
  October 2014.
  At the time, the carrier said it would pass on insurance
  liabilities of £434mn ($640mn) with their associated...
  
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• Reinsurance demand to grow in 2016: Aon Benfield

  04-01-2016 11:54
  Rating agency and regulatory changes for insurers seeking to expand
  into new lines of business will increase reinsurance demand,
  according to Aon Benfield's Reinsurance Market Outlook report.
  The broker said that many seasoned buyers are re-evaluating
  their buying strategies by moving away from buying only to protect
  tail risk and recognising that new capital potentially provides
  cheaper capital at different points along the risk spectrum.
  Early adopters would secure an advantage in the market,
  
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• Amlin hires lead underwriter for Miami office

  04-01-2016 11:54
  Amlin has hired Lucas Castagnino as lead underwriter for its
  Miami reinsurance office, the Lloyd's carrier announced today
  (4 January).
  Castagnino joins from Scor, where he was vice president of the
  reinsurer's Latin American and Caribbean platform.
  He will report to Louis de Segonzac, head of Amlin's Latin
  America operations.
  The appointment comes as part of the carrier's build-out of
  its Latin American business. In January last year, Amlin hired
  Edward Herrara from Everest Re as senior underwr
  
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• Reports that customer data study set for scrapheap denied

  04-01-2016 11:45
  
  Review of how insurers use customer information still set to take place in some form.
  
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• Ex-Towergate Underwriting personal lines boss joins AXA

  04-01-2016 11:36
  
  Nel Mooy has been appointed as head of travel for the insurer’s intermediated and corporate partnership arm
  
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• Premium Credit hires Tom Woolgrove as new chief executive

  04-01-2016 11:25
  
  Former Direct Line personal lines MD to replace Andrew Doman
  
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• LV enters legal landscape alongside Lyons Davidson

  04-01-2016 11:07
  
  Callum BrodiePostonline LV has become the latest insurer to launch a legal offering after teaming up with law firm Lyons Davidson to unveil LV Legal Services.
  
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• Cost of December storms could breach £3bn

  04-01-2016 10:59
  
  PwC estimates that costs of storms Eva, Desmond and Frank could top £3bn as flooding impacts SME businesses.
  
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• Barbican launches Barbican Protect

  04-01-2016 10:39
  
  New combined operation to focus on small and mid-sized business in UK and Ireland.
  
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• Rating downswing more severe than expected: Vickers

  04-01-2016 10:26
  With rates again showing significant softening at 1 January, Willis
  Re has said that it had expected the drop off in rates to be more
  moderate in this pricing cycle.
  "We had all hoped that with more modelling and more
  sophistication that the severe upswings and the severe downswings
  would be moderated," Willis Re's chairman of international
  James Vickers told The Insurance
  Insider.
  "And to be fair I'm sure if we look back in 10
  years' time we will see...
  
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