Insurance news

• WR Berkley profits flat despite uptick in cat losses

  25-07-2016 23:55
  WR Berkley reported flat operating profits at $104.9mn for the
  second quarter of the year despite its share of significant
  industry catastrophe losses that threatened to put pressure on the
  carrier's combined ratio.
  The US specialty insurer reported profits of $105.1mn for the
  same three-month period in 2015.
  The $0.82 per share result represented an outperformance
  compared to Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of
  $0.77.
  Cat losses across its insurance and reinsurance divisions
  totaled $40
  
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• AFG set for $65mn charge after Neon restructure

  25-07-2016 21:04
  American Financial Group (AFG) said it will take a charge of
  $65mn in its second quarter financials in relation to the major
  restructure taking place at its Lloyd's platform, Neon
  Underwriting.
  Neon - the reincarnation of misfiring Lloyd's syndicate
  Marketform - was relaunched under new CEO Martin Reith after a
  strategic review of the business that led to the sale or exit of a
  number of its traditional casualty lines.
  After looking at claims data, former Ascot CEO Reith took...
  
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• Tighter cat bond market expected to boost activity

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Tightening spreads on the cat bond market should lead to a pick-up
  in activity later in the year after a subdued second quarter, Aon
  Securities CEO Paul Schultz said in the company's latest
  insurance-linked securities (ILS) review.
  "Many investors have capital to deploy which should
  continue to lead to further secondary price increases and a
  relative improvement in attractiveness of the efficiency in the cat
  bond market," he said.
  This adds to commentary previously reported by sister
  publication
  
  Read more

• Shenzhen Qianhai Financial the likeliest ACR acquirer

  25-07-2016 19:51
  The formal sales process for Singapore's largest reinsurer Asia
  Capital Re (ACR) is in its final stages with the acquirer likely to
  be announced within weeks, The Insurance
  Insider understands.
  Banking sources told this publication that the likeliest outcome
  was Chinese state-backed Shenzhen Qianhai Financial Holdings
  acquiring the business in a cash deal valuing ACR at approximately
  $1bn.
  The ACR board has decided against pursuing exclusivity with any
  one party in order to secure deal certainty
  
  Read more

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• Qatar Re in final stages of Singapore launch

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Expansive carrier Qatar Re is to open a branch office in Singapore
  in the next few weeks, The Insurance
  Insider has learned.
  Qatar Insurance Company (QIC)'s reinsurance operation
  currently has a representative office in Singapore, but is now
  nearing the end stage of its application to have a branch
  office.
  It is understood that Qatar Re hired Micky Lee, former chief
  underwriting officer at Asia Capital Re, last year to work in the
  representative office and spearhead the application for...
  
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• Nephila partner lifts cat bond target

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Nephila Capital's fronting partner Allianz Risk Transfer more
  than doubled its target size for its second cat bond of the year,
  sister publication Trading Risk reported last week.
  Blue Halo Re 2016-2 has now been set at $225mn after the deal
  launched at $100mn, sources said.
  Pricing for the single-tranche transaction has settled at 825
  basis points (bps), towards the lower end of the 800-875 bps
  guidance range.
  The deal was released only several weeks after Nephila's
  fronting agency Allianz...
  
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• Neon adds $10mn capacity to Icat

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Property catastrophe specialist Icat has teamed up with fellow
  Lloyd's managing agency Neon to provide an additional $10mn of
  per-risk capacity to cat-exposed US commercial properties.
  In an announcement released today, the rebranded Lloyd's
  insurer Neon (formerly known as Marketform), said that the
  partnership would expand Icat's per-risk cat capacity to
  $150mn.
  The partnership will enable Icat to write additional capacity in
  the US excess and surplus lines market.
  Chris Fisher, head of direct
  
  Read more

• National Interstate sale beckons at last

  25-07-2016 19:51
  A deal between American Financial Group (AFG) and National
  Interstate finally appears on the cards after a special committee
  at the commercial trucking specialist recommended a takeover bid
  from the New York-listed insurer.
  Earlier today, AFG said that it had secured the recommendation
  of the special committee of National Interstate's board of
  directors for an offer valuing the business at $32 per share, with
  a $0.50 per share special dividend.
  The purchase price is equivalent to $320mn for the
  
  Read more

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• Markel Catco sets Fort McMurray reserve

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Markel Catco said Canadian wildfire claims will lower the net asset
  value (NAV) of its Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund by 1
  percent or about $3.5mn.
  The manager has created a specific loss reserve for the event
  after previously saying it expected attritional loss reserves to
  absorb the claims.
  The company said it anticipated any further loss development
  above the 1 percent loss threshold to be absorbed by these
  attritional reserves.
  Markel Catco began reserving for attritional losses on a r
  
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• Lloyd's fights back with $635mn specie consortium

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Pembroke, Apollo and Navigators will lead a newly-minted
  Lloyd's market specie consortium as carriers look to reclaim
  control of the streamlining of distribution from brokers.
  The venture is backed by 21 Lloyd's syndicates and will
  provide capacity of up to $635mn per risk globally across fine art,
  jewellery, cash in transit and general specie risks.
  Under the agreement, Pembroke Managing Agency 4000, Apollo 1969
  and Navigators Syndicate 1221 can individually quote and bind risks
  on behalf of al
  
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• Insurers warned over climate change risk to investments

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Insurers are lagging behind other institutional investors in
  protecting their portfolios against climate risk, according to
  climate change investment transparency body the Asset Owners
  Disclosure Project (AODP).
  Just one in eight insurers is taking tangible
  action, compared with one in four pension funds, the group
  said.
  The AODP assessed 116 insurers with $15.3tn of investments and
  compared their performance to 324 pension funds with $15.9trn of
  investments. The two groups account for over 80 p
  
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• Fosun to retain majority of Ironshore post-IPO

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Chinese conglomerate Fosun will continue as Ironshore's
  majority owner after the business is floated on the New York Stock
  Exchange.
  Fosun decided to float Ironshore after it came under pressure
  from ratings agency AM Best, which had raised concerns about the
  strength of the conglomerate's balance sheet.
  Banking and industry sources had speculated that
  Fosun would be forced to sell a majority of the business to satisfy
  AM Best's concerns, but it now seems likely that the ratings
  agency will...
  
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• Enstar presses ahead with Aligned Re launch

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Enstar is pushing on with its total return reinsurance start-up
  Aligned Re, confounding rumours in the market that it may follow XL
  Catlin's Alloy Re in being pulled.
  The Insurance Insider understands that
  the delayed capital raise for the business is now likely to close
  next month, three to four months later than initially
  envisaged.
  The hybrid live-legacy total return reinsurer set out to raise a
  total of $700mn by April this year, with $220mn pledged by Enstar,
  private equity...
  
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• Endurance accused of bid to 'destroy' Sawgrass

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Florida mutual Sawgrass has accused its part-owner Endurance of
  trying to destroy its business after the John Charman-led firm
  threatened to sell the renewal rights of 40,000 homeowner policies
  to a competitor.
  The accusations came as Sawgrass sought an injunction to block
  Endurance from trying to obtain its renewal data.
  The Bermudian carrier is trying to force Sawgrass into
  arbitration proceedings in a bid to obtain valuable proprietary
  information about the mutual's book of business.
  Enduranc
  
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• Clear Blue adds $140mn of premiums from MGA programmes

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Programme transformer start-up Clear Blue has added $140mn of
  projected annual premium from a series of deals signed since it
  launched at the end of last year.
  The Pine Brook-backed company has put seven managing general
  agency (MGA) programmes on its books after securing its A- AM Best
  rating in December 2015.
  They include commercial property, consumer credit protection,
  restaurant general liability and property, transportation physical
  damage, and cargo and non-standard auto.
  The other two cov
  
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• Besso sale draws towards conclusion

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Mid-market private equity house Inflexion and Cantor Fitzgerald
  affiliate BGC Partners are two of the parties in the later stages
  of the sale that will determine ownership of independent
  Lloyd's broker Besso, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Sources said that Toby Esser's start-up Next
  Generation and Randall Goss-led wholesaler US Risk are also among a
  number of other companies still pursuing a deal with Besso.
  It is understood that the valuation of the business could extend
  beyond the £6
  
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• Aviation underwriters put up resistance at July renewals

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Underwriters in the beleaguered aviation market began to push
  back against rate reductions at the July renewals as the segment
  demonstrated resistance to further cuts.
  However, while a growing number of participants are refusing to
  accept reductions, several sources told this publication that
  underwriters are still willing to accept exposure growth to
  maintain premium volumes.
  Also, while the market had begun to show more resilience,
  underwriters were still willing to accept reductions to retain
  
  Read more

• Allied World skyrockets

  25-07-2016 19:51
  Shares in Allied World increased by almost 17
  percent over the week after the Bermudian carrier surprised
  analysts and investors alike with a sterling set of second quarter
  results.
  It closed last week at $41.73 per share, up significantly from
  last Monday's opening price of $35.65.
  After reporting operating profits of $82.7mn, or $0.91 per
  share, for the second quarter, the carrier's stock price
  continued on an upward trajectory until markets closed on
  Friday.
  The operating profit result by far
  
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• Travelers trims Canadian reinsurance treaty

  25-07-2016 19:51
  US insurance giant Travelers has chosen to cut back its Canadian
  reinsurance treaty despite reporting a second quarter hit from the
  Fort McMurray wildfires that blighted carriers' results for the
  period.
  The cedant shrank its Canadian property treaty to provide
  C$450mn ($341mn) of limit on claims above C$100mn up to C$600mn.
  Previously, it had provided C$700mn of limit on losses above
  C$100mn.
  However, Canada exposures are also covered in Travelers'
  main aggregate North American cat reinsurance
  
  Read more

• Atrium departure highlights Singapore challenge

  25-07-2016 19:51
  The shock departure of Atrium from Lloyd's Singapore may
  make those considering an entry to the market think twice about
  taking the plunge.
  Last week (19 July) the managing agency announced it was to
  close Atrium Singapore as it could not see the operation growing to
  the size previously envisaged, given its specialty lines focus.
  The business written in Singapore represented less
  than 2 percent of Atrium's worldwide premium income, or less
  than $10mn.
  Singapore-based sources told this publicatio
  
  Read more

• ERS swoops to rescue Enterprise Insurance's fleet customers

  25-07-2016 17:21
  
  ERS has come to the rescue of policyholders whose insurance policies where underwritten by collapsed insurer Enterprise through the MGA Andeva.
  
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• LV CEO Richard Rowney appointed to ABI board

  25-07-2016 16:59
  
  LV CEO Richard Rowney has been appointed to the board of the Association for British Insurers, to replace retiring LV CEO Mike Rogers.
  
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• National Interstate finally bows to AFG bid

  25-07-2016 16:46
  American Financial Group (AFG) has finally reached agreement
  with National Interstate over its $32 a share bid for the
  commercial auto insurer after the deal was sweetened with the
  promise of a one-time $0.50 a share special dividend.
  The purchase price is equivalent to $320mn for the 48.7 percent
  of National Interstate shares not already held by AFG, valuing the
  carrier at around $660mn, including assumption of debt.
  Although shareholders are yet to vote on the offer, the
  agreement between...
  
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• XL Group completes Bermuda redomicile

  25-07-2016 15:28
  XL Group, the top holding company of XL Catlin, has completed
  its planned redomestication from Ireland to Bermuda, it announced
  today.
  As previously announced, the name of the new holding company is
  XL Group Ltd, replacing XL Group plc as the ultimate holding
  company.
  The carrier first announced its intention to move its domicile
  from Ireland to Bermuda, after the island was confirmed to be
  Solvency II-equivalent last year.
  CEO Mike McGavick said the decision was a "natural
  step" given...
  
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• Telematics data used to defend policyholder in court for first time

  25-07-2016 14:07
  
  Telematics data has been used for the first time to successfully defend a policyholder in a liability trial at Wandsworth County Court.
  
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• Hiscox could set up EU carrier following Brexit

  25-07-2016 14:05
  
  Hiscox could set up a separate EU registered business if the UK loses access to the common market, the company’s CEO has said.
  
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• FSCS in talks with Enterprise's regulator over customer impact

  25-07-2016 14:03
  
  The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is in discussions with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (FSC) over what the failure of Enterprise Insurance means for UK policyholders.
  
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• Hiscox to focus on cyber and e-trade

  25-07-2016 12:39
  
  Group chief underwriting officer Richard Watson says that insurer hopes to continue to grow alongside broker partners as it develops cyber and SME offering.
  
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• Blog to the future: One day, more than 10 customer interactions – could this be an insurer reality by 2030

  25-07-2016 12:28
  
  The alarm goes, it is 6:45am on 25 July 2030; and the first thing you do is check your Healthcare Insurer-provided wearable tech-band to see how your sleep rated.
  
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• Enterprise collapse will affect 14,000 motorists

  25-07-2016 11:51
  
  A Zurich-owned Managing General Agent will reimburse outstanding premiums to 14,000 Irish motorists who have been affected following the collapse of Enterprise Insurance on Friday.
  
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• Enterprise Insurance ordered to stop writing new business

  25-07-2016 11:36
  
  The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission states company is insolvent and that it intends to appoint a liquidator.
  
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• Four 'cash for crash' fraudsters jailed in scam against Allianz

  25-07-2016 11:24
  
  Four fraudsters have been jailed for six months each for their part in a ‘cash for crash’ scam against Allianz.
  
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• Kedney appointed as chief commercial officer at Sompo Canopius

  25-07-2016 11:13
  
  Paul Kedney has joined Sompo Canopius as chief commercial officer, from his previous role as actuarial and risk director at Aegis London.
  
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• Brexit: Hiscox mulls setting up EU-based insurance company

  25-07-2016 11:13
  
  Hiscox has said it is considering setting up a new EU-based insurance company as trading arrangements become clearer following the UK decision to leave the EU.
  
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• Trak Global launches Appy Fleet and announces Tim Holliday as non-executive director

  25-07-2016 11:04
  
  Former Zurich UK personal lines MD and chief underwriting offer Tim Holliday has joined telematics technology company Trak Global as a nonexecutive director.
  
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• Hiscox UK grows GWP to £244.4m

  25-07-2016 10:49
  
  As Hiscox UK and Europe drives down COR to 79.9% for H1 2016 from 86.8% in 2015.
  
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• #Insagepeople: 25 to 31 July 2016

  25-07-2016 10:43
  
  Keep abreast of the movers and shakers in the insurance world this week.
  
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• Hiscox sees growth in London market

  25-07-2016 10:41
  
  Interim results reveal Hiscox's London market grew during the first half of 2016.
  
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• Forex movements boost Hiscox H1

  25-07-2016 10:17
  First-half pre-tax profit at Hiscox grew by 52 percent to
  £206mn ($270mn), as favourable forex moves helped the carrier
  beat analyst consensus of £153mn.
  Foreign exchange gains totalled £87.3mn in the six months
  to 30 June, compared to a loss of £15.7mn the year before.
  Net earned premiums rose 8 percent to £767.5mn, while the
  group combined ratio for the period fell 1.8 percentage points to
  80.7 percent.
  Excluding forex gains, the combined ratio was 88.4 percent, a
  
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• Insurance Octopus bought by Verastar

  25-07-2016 10:06
  
  Commercial broker has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by the service provider.
  
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• AR scandal: FCA document reveals full catalogue of horrors

  25-07-2016 09:35
  
  .
  
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• Irish insurance firms to fund 35% of 3rd party motor claims if insurer fails

  25-07-2016 09:33
  
  The Irish government is planning to extend the Insurance Compensation Fund to cover in full third-party motor claims arising out of the liquidation of an insurance company, with insurers paying 35% of the cost.
  
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• Zurich MGA vows to refund motorists as 14,000 hit by Enterprise collapse

  25-07-2016 09:06
  
  Zurich-owned underwriting agency Wrightway Underwriting which wrote business on behalf of collapsed insurer Enterprise has said it will refund outstanding premiums after 14,000 Irish motorists were hit by the insurer’s failure, according to reports.
  
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• Zurich MGA to refund motorists as 14,000 hit by Enterprise demise

  25-07-2016 09:06
  
  Zurich-owned underwriting agency Wrightway Underwriting which wrote business on behalf of collapsed insurer Enterprise has said it will refund outstanding premiums after 14,000 Irish motorists were hit by the insurer’s failure, according to reports.
  
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• AR scandal: Millions of customers could get insurance compensation

  25-07-2016 08:42
  
  .
  
  Read more

• Hiscox UK and Europe profits up 42.4%, appetite for larger risks grows

  25-07-2016 08:36
  
  Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox’s UK and Europe division made a profit before tax of £65.2m in the first half of 2016, up 42.4% on the £45.8m in the same period last year.
  
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• Roundtable: Have insurers got their IT priorities back to front?

  25-07-2016 08:00
  
  Have insurers mistakenly prioritised digitalisation to the detriment of improving back office processes, with potential consequences in terms of regulatory compliance, productivity and customer service?
  
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• Zurich’s Tim Holliday joins Trak Global board

  25-07-2016 07:30
  
  Former Zurich UK general insurance personal lines managing director Tim Holliday has joined the board of telematics technology firm Trak Global as a non-executive director.
  
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