Insurance news

• AM Best affirms ACR's A- rating in wake of sale

  15-12-2016 21:59
  AM Best has affirmed its crucial A- financial strength rating
  for Asia Capital Re (ACR) which was put under review following the
  Singapore-based reinsurer's sale earlier this year.
  In October, The Insurance Insider revealed that ACR was set to be acquired by
  Chinese provincial government-owned entity Shenzhen Qianhai
  Financial Holdings (QFH) and Shenzhen Investment Holdings (SIHC)
  for $1bn in cash.
  After the deal was confirmed AM Best announced a review of its
  rating implications.
  But in a state
  
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• Probitas gives reassurances after Istmo downgrade to 'E'

  15-12-2016 19:17
  Probitas majority owner Istmo Re was downgraded to an "E"
  rating by AM Best because of concerns about its capital levels this
  week after the Panamanian insurance regulator took control of the
  carrier.
  The events will almost certainly necessitate a sale of
  Istmo's majority stake in the service company, and also of
  Istmo's corporate member.
  Founding Probitas CEO Ash Bathia stressed that the business is
  insulated from the troubled Panamanian reinsurer, with Istmo
  Re's share of 2017 underwriting cap
  
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• Neon mulls Dublin operation

  15-12-2016 19:17
  Neon Underwriting is considering setting up a Dublin operation
  if the UK loses access to the single market in the wake of the
  country's exit from the EU.
  Speaking to Reuters, Neon CEO Martin Reith said the company was
  working on plans to shift some business to the EU as soon as the UK
  launches proceedings to exit the bloc.
  He said: "We are looking at our own plans as well should
  the Lloyd's contingency plans not work out or...
  
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• Probitas 1492 sees business as usual amid Istmo Re problems

  15-12-2016 16:45
  Probitas Syndicate 1492 has dismissed concerns about the
  financial problems of founding investor Istmo Re, which was seized
  by the Panamanian insurance regulator this week because of capital
  worries.
  On Monday (12 December) the Superintendent of Insurance and
  Reinsurance of Panama (SSRP) made an intervention at Istmo Re,
  after it warned that a capital shortfall at the reinsurer meant it
  was unable to continue operating without harming policyholders.
  Probitas 1492 CEO Ash Bathia noted that the Pa
  
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• IG reinsurance rates fall 10%

  15-12-2016 16:45
  Group reinsurance rates for shipowners in the reinsurance programme
  for the International Group (IG) of protection and indemnity
  (P&I) clubs have dropped by between 5 percent and 10 percent.
  The costs from the overall programme are charged as separate
  fixed costs together with 2017 advance call rates, giving the
  clubs' members the full benefit of the reduction.
  The 2017 group reinsurance rates for both dirty tankers and dry
  cargo vessels fell by 9.32 percent year-on-year to $0.59 and $0.41
  p
  
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• Lloyd's confirms EU subsidiary plans

  15-12-2016 14:37
  Lloyd's has confirmed it is planning to establish a
  subsidiary in Europe should UK passporting rights not be secured
  following Brexit.
  In a statement to The Insurance
  Insider, a Lloyd's spokesperson said:
  "Following the referendum we committed to looking at the
  options that would allow the Lloyd's market to continue trading
  seamlessly with the EU. This included establishing a subsidiary
  model amongst others.
  "We will continue to develop our plans on creating a
  subsidiary and will provide a detai
  
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• Fosh invests in Novae after share crash

  15-12-2016 14:37
  Novae CEO Matthew Fosh has purchased shares in the carrier worth
  over £50,000 a week after the share price plunged 25 percent.
  A filing with the London Stock Exchange revealed that Fosh
  purchased 8,000 shares at a price of 677.0p in a stake worth
  £53,360 ($67,566).
  On 8 December Novae's share price fell 24.4 percent after
  the London carrier announced a profit warning for the full year
  related to larger individual losses in the second half of 2016.
  The stock...
  
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• ABI slams new proposals for FSCS funding

  15-12-2016 13:14
  
  Trade body said it was concerned that insurers could bear additional costs.
  
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• Kumamoto quake leads 2016 catastrophe losses

  15-12-2016 12:50
  The Kumamoto earthquake was the most expensive catastrophe loss for
  insurers in 2016, just surpassing claims from Hurricane Matthew,
  according to Swiss Re Sigma estimates.
  Insured losses for 2016 catastrophe events came in at $49bn, up
  almost a third from $37bn last year.
  However, the total was slightly below the annual average of
  $46bn for the past decade.
  The April earthquake that struck the Kumamoto prefecture in
  Japan produced insured losses of $5bn.
  Hurricane Matthew was just behind with cl
  
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• Clarification: Guy Carp promotes Nash to lead international group

  15-12-2016 12:50
  Guy Carpenter promoted James Nash into the newly created role of
  president, international, reporting to the reinsurance broker's
  president and CEO Peter Hearn.
  Currently in charge of Asia Pacific operations, Nash will
  relocate to London as part of the change, the company said today.
  In his new job, Nash will oversee Emea as well as Latin America and
  his old Asia stomping grounds in the new international
  division.
  The firm said it will name a successor to Nash in the...
  
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• In Focus: Technology and schemes

  15-12-2016 12:31
  
  Eleanore Robinson examines how new technology is impacting on the schemes market for brokers.
  
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• Cyber insurance market has 'hit a fork in the road' in 2016

  15-12-2016 12:13
  
  Cyber policy writing has reached a ‘fork in the road’ as the industry is pulling in different directions when it comes to policy cover.
  
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• InsurTech Futures: Five Insurtech predictions for 2017

  15-12-2016 12:09
  
  John Warburton predicts how the tech landscap will develop and affect brokers next year
  
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• Christmas Q&A with James Sharp

  15-12-2016 11:34
  
  The Ten Insurance director reveals his Christmas favourites.
  
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• Video: TT Club takes a view on freight

  15-12-2016 11:19 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Our Broker Expo Live session is now available on demand.
  
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• Christmas Q&A with Bluefin's Kenny Hogg

  15-12-2016 11:17
  
  The managing director discusses floods, Brexit and IPT.
  
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• Scor expands contingent capital facility

  15-12-2016 10:43
  Scor has renewed a contingent capital facility with an extra
  EUR100mn ($106mn) of capacity, the company announced today.
  The facility would see BNP Paribas invest EUR300mn in Scor
  shares in the event of annual aggregate catastrophe claims from
  natural catastrophe or mortality events that reach a pre-defined
  trigger.
  The agreement replaces a EUR200mn deal with UBS.
  Scor said the solution offered a cost-effective alternative to
  traditional retro and insurance-linked securities (ILS).
  The three-yea
  
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• AM Best downgrades Istmo Re after regulator warning

  15-12-2016 10:43
  Credit rating agency AM Best has slashed the financial strength
  ratings of Istmo Re to E after the local regulator swooped on the
  Panamanian reinsurer.
  On Monday (12 December) the Superintendent of Insurance and
  Reinsurance of Panama (SSRP) warned that a capital shortfall at the
  reinsurer made it unable to continue operating without harming
  policyholders.
  AM Best chopped the reinsurer's financial strength rating
  from B to E and the long-term issuer rating from BB+ to E.
  The reinsurer provides ca
  
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• Yahoo admits 1 billion accounts hacked

  15-12-2016 10:05
  
  More than a billion Yahoo users have had their information stolen in a “state-sponsored” hack, the largest of its kind in history.
  
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• Hiscox CUO sells £505,000 shares in company

  15-12-2016 09:46
  
  Hiscox’s chief underwriting officer has sold shares in the company worth £505,000.
  
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• Internet giant suffers huge data breach

  15-12-2016 09:02
  
  Large number of users affected in data breach
  
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• Marsh valued Bluefin as highly as Jelf

  15-12-2016 08:35
  
  Marsh paid a high earnings multiple for Bluefin
  
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• Russian insurance market expected to grow in 2017

  15-12-2016 08:00
  
  As Standard & Poor's is revising its outlook on Russia upwards, local insurers are predicting the market will grow in 2017.
  
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• Over a billion Yahoo accounts hacked in further attack

  15-12-2016 01:04
  More than a billion Yahoo users have been hacked in a massive
  cyber-attack that the company believes was separate to the breach
  that was revealed in September.In a statement that was released after markets closed, the
  Nasdaq-listed internet firm revealed the hack which occurred in
  2013.It said names, email addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates,
  hashed passwords and encrypted or unencrypted answers to security
  questions were all thought to have been stolen."Yahoo is notifying potentially affe
  
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