Insurance news

• Wholesalers won't be disintermediated: DeCarlo

  10-05-2016 20:59
  AmWins CEO Steve DeCarlo has strongly defended wholesale
  brokers, arguing that they are an essential part of the insurance
  foodchain and should not be disintermediated.
  Speaking at the InsiderScope New York 2016 conference
  today (10 May), the broking executive said that use of a wholesale
  broker was in the client's best interest.
  In contrast, he argued, the increasing use of panels to place a
  risk with an insurer could lead to regulatory scrutiny similar to
  that unleashed on the industry...
  
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• Swiss Re appoints new ILS co-heads

  10-05-2016 20:59
  Judy Klugman and Jean-Louis Monnier have been promoted to become
  the new co-heads of its global insurance-linked securities (ILS)
  business.
  This follows the recent departure of the firm's former head
  of ILS structuring, Philipp Kusche, to TigerRisk Capital
  Markets.
  Kusche's role has been taken over by London-based Monnier,
  who also retains his former title of head of the P&C structured
  solutions team for the UK and Africa.
  Klugman remains global head of ILS distribution for Swiss Re
  Capital
  
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• Insurance industry must act to stay relevant: Benchimol

  10-05-2016 20:59
  The insurance industry must respond to emerging risks, harness
  data and analytics, and provide greater value to clients if it is
  to remain relevant, according to Axis president and CEO Albert
  Benchimol.
  Speaking at the InsiderScope New York 2016 event this
  morning (10 May), the executive warned that the sector
  "appears to be becoming less relevant to the global
  economy", with many new and emerging risks "inadequately
  protected by insurance".
  "Our value proposition is viewed as wanting.
  Notwithst
  
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• Gard trims premiums for fifth year running

  10-05-2016 20:59
  Norwegian protection and indemnity club Gard has reduced its
  deferred premium call for the fifth consecutive year as it
  benefited from benign development of small and medium-sized claims.
  The company said members of the mutual would pay a deferred call
  for the 2015 policy year of 15 percent of the advance call - 10
  percentage points lower than the original estimate of 25
  percent.
  This represents a $37mn reduction for the year.
  Gard CEO Rolf Thore Roppestad said the results...
  
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• Cyber growth potential huge: XL Catlin

  10-05-2016 20:59
  Emerging casualty reinsurance risks could eventually grow to exceed
  the current alternative capital supporting the reinsurance market,
  according to Greg Hendrick, XL Catlin's reinsurance CEO.
  Speaking at InsiderScope New York 2016, Hendrick
  highlighted cyber in particular as "the next big wave of the
  big risk", but stressed that reinsurers need to "measure,
  aggregate and package [these risks] properly".
  "We're good at insuring things that exist, but we have
  a hard time at intangibles," he commen
  
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• Baker appointed CRO at Hamilton Underwriting

  10-05-2016 20:59
  Hamilton has appointed Alex Banker as chief actuary and chief risk
  officer (CRO) of its Lloyd's arm, the company announced today
  (10 May).
  He will report to CEO Dermot O'Donohue and will work in
  conjunction with group CRO Peter Skerlj.
  Prior to joining Hamilton Underwriting, Baker was chief actuary
  of Chubb Managing Agent Limited (CMAL), where he led the actuarial
  work for the company's Lloyd's Syndicate 1882.
  He previously served as capital modelling actuary at Chubb
  Europe and CMAL from...
  
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• Smart home technology could cut CORs

  10-05-2016 19:30
  
  Smart technology such as leak, fire and theft detectors in the home could reduce insurers’ combined operating ratios (CORs) by 21%, research suggests.
  
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• Carol Brady: No quick fix for CMCs

  10-05-2016 18:44
  
  There is no “quick fix” for the increased regulation of claims management companies (CMCs), warns Carol Brady, who led the government’s recent review into the industry.
  
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• Markerstudy to launch pet insurance aggregator

  10-05-2016 16:14 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  New offering to be called Go Get It
  
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• UK judge throws out Brillante Virtuoso claim

  10-05-2016 15:30
  The UK High Court has struck out a claim brought against 10
  Lloyd's insurers by a Greek ship-owner in a dispute over the
  loss of the Brillante Virtuoso in 2011.
  In a judgment handed down today (10 May) Mr Justice Flaux said
  the story given by ship-owner Marios Iliopoulos was a
  "complete fabrication" and that he had deliberately
  misled the court.
  Flaux said that during the cross examination Iliopoulos was an
  "extremely unsatisfactory" witness.
  "He was evasive and non-responsive and,...
  
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• Premium flight harms African growth prospects: AIO

  10-05-2016 15:30
  African insurance companies are struggling to stop premiums leaving
  the region as foreign competition and a dearth of local skills
  harms their growth potential.
  In its first African Insurance Barometer, the African Insurance
  Organisation (AIO) said that 90 percent of executives based in the
  region that it polled believed foreign companies would have either
  stable or increased market shares over the next 12 months.
  Local companies lacked the underwriting expertise or robust
  capital base to write
  
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• Athene Holding to launch IPO

  10-05-2016 15:30
  Apollo-backed Athene Holding is preparing for an IPO and has filed
  a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange
  Commission.
  The $5.4bn equity retirement services company did not disclose a
  price range or target size for its IPO.
  Apollo manages the investment portfolio for various annuity and
  life insurance subsidiaries of Athene Holding, which began
  operating in 2009.
  The company has grown quickly by acquisition, buying Liberty
  Life in 2011 and Aviva's US life and annuities busin
  
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• AIG exploring sale of $15bn variable annuity book

  10-05-2016 15:30
  American International Group (AIG) is quietly holding
  discussions with a number of buyers about the potential sale of a
  book of old US variable annuity (VA) business, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Sources said that AIG is looking to sell on a tranche of VA
  business with roughly $15bn of face value, and has been holding
  talks with a number of interested parties for some time. Owing to
  the small number of potential acquirers for the assets a full sale...
  
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• Pet insurance aggregator to launch in May

  10-05-2016 14:06
  
  A new pet aggregator site has been launched by Markerstudy, after it identified “a gap in the market”.
  
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• Average combined buildings and contents home policy remains unchanged in Q1

  10-05-2016 14:02
  
  The cost of the average combined buildings and contents home insurance policy remained unchanged in the first quarter from the same period last year, according to the Association of British Insurer’s latest home insurance premium tracker.
  
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• RSA hires chief data officer

  10-05-2016 13:57
  
  RSA has hired a chief data officer in order to develop a “new strategic capability” for the company.
  
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• Markerstudy to launch pet aggregator site

  10-05-2016 12:58
  
  Markerstudy is to launch a pet aggregator site, called Go Get It later this month.
  
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• Brokers split on Brexit impact

  10-05-2016 12:57 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  BLM research shows only half of brokers know what impact the Enterprise Bill will have on late claims payments.
  
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• Norway loses top spot to Switzerland in FM Global’s 2016 annual resilience index

  10-05-2016 12:23
  
  Insurer FM Global’s 2016 survey into business supply chain resilience saw Norway drop to second behind Switzerland, making the central European nation most resilient to disruption according to the index.
  
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• Video: Charles Manchester on brokers' PI insurance

  10-05-2016 12:13 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  The CEO of Manchester Underwriting Management tells Insurance Age how brokers get their E&O insurance wrong.
  
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• James Hallam achieves chartered status

  10-05-2016 11:23 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  CEO Paul Anscombe says improving standards and professionalism is the right course for the insurance broking sector.
  
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• Blog: What you missed from Biba 2016

  10-05-2016 11:00 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Missed out in Manchester? Catch up with all the news and gossip from the 2016 British Insurance Brokers Association with our blog.
  
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• Blog: Live from Biba 2016

  10-05-2016 11:00 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  This year the British Insurance Brokers'Association conference takes place in Manchester.
  
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• Telematics tales: Home is where the app is

  10-05-2016 10:30
  
  For the past five years the general insurance industry has been buzzing about telematics.
  
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• LMG to "take action" following talent report

  10-05-2016 10:29
  
  Group to focus on educating people about insurance as a career, apprenticeships and acting as a talent hub.
  
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• Hiscox sees 10% growth in GWP

  10-05-2016 10:16
  
  Hiscox has seen gross written premiums increase by 10% in the first quarter globally, and by 5.8% in the UK.
  
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• C-Suite Insurer: Zurich's Karl Helgesen on the unprecedented pace of technology

  10-05-2016 10:15
  
  As I look out to the horizon I can't help but feel incredibly excited and perhaps a little apprehensive. We are seeing technology develop at an unprecedented pace, coupled with a sharpened focus on the customer and a reform agenda that could change the structure of the market.
  
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• Stronger than expected combined ratio aids Hannover Re

  10-05-2016 10:04
  Analysts have hailed a strong set of Q1 results for Hannover Re,
  after the reinsurance giant beat profit and combined ratio
  expectations.
  Operating profit fell by 5.2 percent to EUR406.7mn ($463mn),
  while group net income fell by 2.8 percent to EUR271.2mn for the
  first quarter of this year. However, the net result beat analyst
  expectations by 10 percent.
  Not including the special effect of around EUR39mn recognised in
  Q1 2015 in the life and health reinsurance division, group net
  income...
  
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• State National extends Meadowbrook deal

  10-05-2016 10:04
  Fronting specialist State National has extended its relationship
  with Fosun-owned Meadowbrook to at least 2017, delivering minimum
  ceding fees totaling $22.5mn.
  The US insurer announced the extension as it unveiled first
  quarter results that included top and bottom line growth.
  And the company said that, boosted by the updated Meadowbrook
  deal, current programmes and pipeline opportunities, it has
  upgraded its projections for 2016 ceding fees in its programme
  services division from $55mn-$65mn t
  
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• Munich Re's Q1 numbers fall short

  10-05-2016 10:04
  First quarter operating profits at Munich Re fell by 27 percent
  to EUR726mn ($827mn), missing the analyst consensus by 23
  percent.
  The drop off in profits and earnings miss reflected a decline in
  the investment result and significant impairment losses, with the
  combined effect not fully offset by low loss activity.
  The company had previously guided at its annual general meeting
  thatfirst quarter profits would be "well below"
  expectations, causing its stock to come under pressure.
  Munich Re said.
  
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• Hiscox posts double-digit top-line growth

  10-05-2016 10:04
  Hiscox wrote £641mn ($924mn) of gross premiums in Q1, a 10
  percent year-on-year increase, as volume in its retail business
  grew.
  Hiscox USA saw its top line increase by 37.1 percent to
  £85.4mn, while the overall retail division boosted its gross
  written premiums by 11.4 percent to £290mn.
  Hiscox UK also grew by 6.7 percent to £110.5mn, while the
  European business ticked up by 3.1 percent to £66.3mn.
  Two divisions shrank their premium volume. Hiscox Special Risks
  - w
  
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• Hood appoints new residential property head

  10-05-2016 09:31
  
  Affinity insurance provider, Hood Group, has appointed Sarah Smith to the newly created role of head of residential property.
  
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• Correction: Esure and Admiral

  10-05-2016 09:22
  
  The executive pay article in the May 2016 edition of Insurance Times (pages 8 and 9) contained a number of factual errors about esure and Admiral.
  
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• Barbican hires Towergate underwriter Roberts

  10-05-2016 09:05
  
  Barbican Protect, the UK insurance arm of Barbican Insurance Group, said it has hired Alexandra Roberts (pictured) as a development underwriter, financial lines.
  
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• Hiscox group GWP up 10.3% in six months; UK GWP up 5.8%

  10-05-2016 08:54
  
  Hiscox saw group gross written premiums rise 10.3% to £640.5m in the six months to March, up from £561.7m a year earlier.
  
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• Blog: Digital is changing insurance

  10-05-2016 08:00
  
  Digital innovation is changing the way the insurance industry operates, with providers beginning to embrace developments where technology can make life easier for the consumer.
  
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• Covéa and AIG are brokers’ favourite in e-trade survey

  10-05-2016 07:30
  
  Allianz performs well, along with ACE and Aviva. Zurich bottom of table. 
  
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• United Guaranty in $300mn ILS deal for pre-2009 mortgage book

  10-05-2016 03:35
  AIG's up-for-sale mortgage insurance unit United Guaranty
  Corporation (UGC) has secured $298.6mn of reinsurance for its 2008
  and prior book with a second Bellemeade Re insurance-linked
  securitisation.
  The deal is similar to a transaction completed last year, which
  saw UGC secure $298.9mn of collateralised reinsurance from Credit
  Suisse-structured special purpose vehicle Bellemeade Re I for a
  portfolio of policies written from 2009 to the first quarter of
  2013.
  In an announcement today (9 May) AI
  
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• Prosecutor hits Samarco with further $43bn lawsuit

  10-05-2016 03:35
  Brazilian mining company Samarco and parent companies Vale SA and
  BHP Billiton have been hit with a further 155bn reais ($43bn)
  lawsuit related to the tailings dam collapse last November that
  resulted in 19 deaths and widespread environmental damage.
  The Brazilian Federal Public Prosecutor's Office filed the
  lawsuit, which is also aimed at the two state governments impacted
  by the spill, and the Brazilian federal government.
  The prosecutor's office, an independent body sometimes
  described as the
  
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