Insurance news

• PCS Canada wildfire loss figure nudges up to C$4.7bn

  16-08-2016 19:50
  PCS has kept its second estimate of industry insured losses from
  the Canada wildfires largely steady at C$4.67bn ($3.63bn), up
  slightly from an initial projection of C$4.63bn ($3.60bn), sister
  publication Trading Risk reported earlier
  today.
  The average claim from the Fort McMurray disaster totalled
  C$120,159, according to the agency.
  The cost of the disaster has far surpassed the previous largest
  catastrophe loss in Canada, a C$1.9bn storm that hit Alberta in
  2013.
  Reinsurers have picked up a s
  
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• Mortgage insurance will be 50% of Arch earnings

  16-08-2016 19:50
  Arch expects its enlarged mortgage insurance business to
  generate 50 percent of group earnings after the integration of
  United Guaranty Corporation (UGC), chairman and CEO Dinos Iordanou
  said during an analyst call today.
  After markets closed in the US yesterday, Arch confirmed earlier
  reports in the Wall Street Journal that it was to acquire
  AIG's UGC for a total consideration of $3.4bn.
  The deal will create the largest private mortgage insurer in the
  world.
  Investors welcomed the news, with Ar
  
  Read more

• Fitch goes negative on Arch after UGC deal

  16-08-2016 19:50
  Fitch has put a number of Arch Capital's issuer credit
  ratings on negative watch following news that the carrier is to
  acquire AIG's mortgage insurance business United Guaranty
  Corporation (UGC).
  The ratings house went negative on the Bermudian's A-grade
  issuer default rating, its A- senior unsecured notes and its BBB+
  series C preferred shares.
  However, Fitch affirmed the carrier's crucial A+ insurer
  financial strength rating as it maintained a stable outlook.
  The ratings house said it had revi
  
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• FCA in u-turn over client money rules

  16-08-2016 19:13
  
  Changes to client money rules follows industry feedback 
  
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• Biba welcomes cancellation of client money review

  16-08-2016 16:30
  
  Decision on CASS 5 means rules for brokers around client money will remain the same.
  
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• Biba welcomes cancellation of CASS 5 review

  16-08-2016 16:30
  
  Decision means rules for brokers around client money will remain the same.
  
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• Hyperion partners German broker

  16-08-2016 16:13
  Hyperion Insurance Group will partner with German retail broker
  Euroassekuranz Versicherungsmakler to target mid-market clients in
  the country, it announced yesterday.
  The partnership comprises an investment by Hyperion in
  Euroassekuranz, while the intermediary's CEO Helmuth Newin has
  taken a "significant" stake in the carrier.
  Hyperion said the initiative would link the expertise of its
  broking arm Howden in financial lines and marine with the
  industrial, commercial and real estate arms of Euro
  
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• Police launch scheme to fight 'out of control' cyber crime

  16-08-2016 15:36
  
  Two-year project takes a new approach to prosecution
  
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• S&P: Reinsuring cat risk increasingly unprofitable

  16-08-2016 14:47
  Catastrophe risk reinsurers are now twice as likely to fail to
  break even in any calendar year as they were four years ago,
  according to Standard & Poor's (S&P).
  "If reinsurers faced a series of midsize catastrophe
  events, resulting in a slightly above average catastrophe year, the
  sector could move into unprofitable underwriting [territory],"
  the agency warned in a report released today.
  It calculated that reinsurers had a 12 percent chance of posting
  an underwriting loss due to catastr
  
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• KBW: Mortgage insurance to comprise quarter of Arch book

  16-08-2016 14:47
  Mortgage insurance will account for 24 percent of
  Arch's total gross written premium (GWP) after its $3.4bn
  takeover of AIG's United Guaranty Corporation (UGC), according
  to figures from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW).
  After markets closed in the US yesterday, Arch confirmed earlier
  reports in the Wall Street Journal that it was toacquire UGC to create the largest private mortgage insurer in the
  world.Mortgage insurance currently generates 11 percent of Arch's
  total GWP.
  "True to management's
  
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• BHSI inks Australian medical indemnity deal

  16-08-2016 13:38
  Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has signed an
  underwriting agreement with medical indemnity specialist Tego
  Insurance to write business in Australia.
  In a statement released yesterday, the carrier said the product
  would be distributed by Tego and underwritten by BHSI on an
  exclusive basis.
  Tego provides professional indemnity coverage for individual
  medical practitioners, medical centres and day clinics.
  BHSI has launched a number of new offerings in Australia in the
  last six month
  
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• Beechwood Re distances itself from beleaguered hedge fund

  16-08-2016 13:38
  CNO Financial Group reinsurance provider Beechwood Re has
  declared it has minimal exposure to Platinum Partners, a hedge fund
  under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission
  and the Department of Justice.
  In a statement issued yesterday, Beechwood Re said that
  Platinum-related loans represented a small portion of its
  business.
  "As noted, any private loans which Beechwood Re originates
  and/or acquires as part of this process represent a minority of our
  portfolio, and have both in
  
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• AGCS names London product recall head

  16-08-2016 13:38
  Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has appointed
  Stewart Eaton as head of product recall in London with immediate
  effect.
  Eaton joins the firm from Castel Specialty, where he was class
  underwriter for product recall.
  Prior to this he was head of line and class underwriter for
  contaminated products at Sagicor at Lloyd's.
  Eaton will report to Tim Galloway, regional head of liability at
  AGCS.
  AGCS' product recall offering provides cover for recall
  costs, loss of profit and rehabilitati
  
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• Government accused of ‘watering down’ rules over sprinklers in schools

  16-08-2016 13:30
  
  Insurers have accused the government of “watering down” rules over the installation of sprinklers in schools.
  
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• County Group buys G R Plimbley

  16-08-2016 13:11
  
  Acquisition is County Group's second this year.
  
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• H1 catastrophe losses to exceed last years, says Marsh

  16-08-2016 13:02
  
  Global insured catastrophe losses have increased in the first half of 2016 to $27bn, (£21bn) compared to $19bn (£15bn) in the first half of 2015, according to Marsh.
  
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• H1 catastrophe losses to exceed 2015, says Marsh

  16-08-2016 13:02
  
  Global insured catastrophe losses have increased in the first half of 2016 to $27bn (£21bn) compared to $19bn (£15bn) in the first half of 2015, according to Marsh.
  
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• Video: How does the Insurance Act affect brokers and their customers?

  16-08-2016 12:40
  
  In this video, LV’s Kevin Hawkins, head of commercial property & liability underwriting talks about the Insurance Act, what the changes are and how they affect you and your customers.
  
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• Rate declines decelerate despite US woes: Marsh

  16-08-2016 12:36
  Global rate reductions have moderated for the second consecutive
  quarter despite accelerated declines in the US market, according to
  big three broker Marsh.
  In its latest Global Insurance Market Quarterly Briefing
  released yesterday, the intermediary said rate reductions hit an
  average of 3.6 percent worldwide in Q2 compared to 3.8 percent in
  the previous quarter.
  The second quarter marked the 13th consecutive quarter of rate
  reductions.
  However, the US market suffered a faster rate of decline a
  
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• Louisiana disaster declared after record floods

  16-08-2016 12:36
  Flooding in the US state of Louisiana has resulted in
  substantial property damage and six deaths, according to AIR.
  The record rainfall has affected thousands of homes, as well as
  farmland, roads, and commercial and industrial properties,
  according to AIR.
  "Parts of the region received two to four times the average
  total monthly rainfall for August in just three days," said
  AIR scientist Dr Hemant Chowdhary.Some 8.49 inches (21.6cm) of rain fell at the Baton Rouge
  Metropolitan Airport in...
  
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• Indian regulator proposes mandatory listing for carriers

  16-08-2016 12:36
  The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
  (Irdai) has tabled the idea of mandatory listing for Indian
  insurance companies.
  In a paper released on 11 August, Irdai said that it had
  discussed the idea at a meeting held on 15 April in Hyderabad.
  The regulator said that general insurers and reinsurance
  companies should be publicly listed after eight years of operation,
  while life insurers should list after 10 years.
  Listing provides a number of intrinsic advantages, Irdai said,
  inc
  
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• Arch's United Guaranty deal is earnings accretive: analysts

  16-08-2016 12:36
  Analysts have reacted positively to Arch's deal to acquire
  AIG's mortgage insurance business United Guaranty Corporation
  (UGC), claiming the $3.4bn transaction would be earnings accretive
  for the Bermudian carrier.
  After markets closed in the US yesterday, Arch confirmed earlier
  reports in the Wall Street Journal that it was toacquire UGC to create the largest private mortgage insurer in the
  world .Investors welcomed the news, with Arch trading up more than 3
  percent to $77.09 as markets closed.
  
  Read more

• Hastings reserve hike ‘prudent rather than problematic’

  16-08-2016 11:37
  
  Analyst disagrees with previous concern about insurer’s reserve hike
  
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• Una survey shows consumers are influenced by add-ons

  16-08-2016 11:32
  
  Organisation says 70% reported they could be influenced by add-ons, despite the FCA banning opt-out methods of selling in April this year.
  
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• Biba attacks FCA renewal warning

  16-08-2016 11:11
  
  Association criticises the suggested FCA renewal wording, warning it is price focused and hits out at sheer number of new regulations to implement.
  
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• White Mountains closes InsurTech start-up deal

  16-08-2016 11:07
  Bermuda-based carrier White Mountains has agreed a £6mn
  ($7.8mn) super-seed funding round with UK insurance technology
  (InsurTech) start-up Buzzmove.
  Buzzmove provides price comparison and booking services for the
  moving industry as well as tailored coverages based on home and
  household contents data obtained from customers.
  The company is an alumnus of industry start-up accelerator
  Startupbootcamp InsurTech.
  The announcement marks the latest move by a large, established
  (re)insurer into t
  
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• Chubb's Keen promoted in Asia-Pacific

  16-08-2016 11:02
  
  Global insurer Chubb has promoted Paul Keen to head of property and casualty for Asia-Pacific.
  
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• UK man dies in Bulgaria as insurer refuses payout

  16-08-2016 08:57
  
  UK man dies from kidney failure as insurer refuses to pay for medical flight
  
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• Fire claims are getting more costly for insurers

  16-08-2016 08:00
  
  Despite a continuing reduction in the number of fires, the cost of blazes is actually increasing. What can be done to educate the public about the risks involved?
  
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• Axa's David Williams on the unbearable intrusion of CMCs

  16-08-2016 08:00
  
  With two-thirds of the population cold-called on a weekly basis, it’s time to take action
  
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• Hyperion announces ‘significant’ new shareholder

  16-08-2016 07:30
  
  Broking group Hyperion gets new investment as part of partnership
  
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• Bermuda insurer makes big investment in UK insurtech start-up

  16-08-2016 07:29
  
  Insurtech start-up will use investment to continue development of new platform
  
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• AIG sells US mortgage insurer to Arch

  16-08-2016 04:34
  
  AIG has sold its US mortgage insurer United Guaranty to Arch Capital for $3.4bn (£2.6bn) subject to regulatory approval.
  
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• Arch confirms $3.4bn takeover of AIG's United Guaranty

  16-08-2016 01:07
  Arch Capital has confirmed reports from earlier today that it
  has entered into a $3.4bn deal to acquire AIG's mortgage
  insurance business United Guaranty Corporation (UGC).In a statement released after markets closed, Arch said the new
  combined entity would create the largest private mortgage insurer
  in the world.The confirmation of the deal, first reported by the Wall Street
  Journal, ends the prospect that AIG will IPO the business.
  The price tag represents a significant discount to the top-end
  
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