Insurance news

• Cincinnati Financial raises and widens cat bond cover

  10-02-2017 23:09
  Cincinnati Financial's insurance unit renewed its Skyline Re
  cat bond as a private placement, raising $180mn of reinsurance
  limit and expanding its coverage, JLT Capital Markets said.The announcement followed statements by company executives who said
  that the insurance segment had replaced a $100mn 2014 cat bond with
  collateralised reinsurance. They made the comments during a
  conference call with analysts on fourth-quarter earnings.
  Skyline Re 2017-1 raised $180mn of indemnity limit split into
  t
  
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• Trump's regulatory rollback to affect D&O market

  10-02-2017 18:37
  The new US president's disdain for burdensome financial
  regulation could drive down rates for directors' and
  officers' (D&O) insurance as the potential for losses in
  the line falls.
  A number of proposed policies and executive orders announced by
  Donald Trump are expected to limit the reach of regulatory bodies
  such as the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  Speaking on a panel at the Professional Lines Underwriting
  Society's annual D&O Symposium in New York, Willis Towers
  Watson's financ
  
  Read more

• Price Forbes picks up JLT life sciences team

  10-02-2017 18:37
  Price Forbes has hired a team of four life sciences specialists
  from JLT to expand its seven-strong healthcare brokerage operation.
  The new arrivals include Martin Eddison, who will join as
  executive director focused on life sciences and on supporting the
  wider casualty business. James Bird also joins as executive
  director and will head the expanded life sciences and healthcare
  team.
  They are accompanied by Neil Livingstone as life sciences
  director and Mike Brown as the divisional claims direct
  
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• Insured natcat losses total $39.5bn in 2016 says Willis Re

  10-02-2017 16:01
  
  Global insured natural catastrophe losses totalled $39.5bn (£31.3bn) in 2016, the highest market losses since 2012’s $60bn, according to Willis Re.
  
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• Insured nat cat losses total $39.5bn in 2016 says Willis Re

  10-02-2017 16:01
  
  Global insured natural catastrophe losses totalled $39.5bn (£31.3bn) in 2016, the highest market losses since 2012’s $60bn, according to Willis Re.
  
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• Marine market braces itself for $25mn war loss

  10-02-2017 15:57
  MS Amlin is the lead insurer on a $25mn marine war loss from a ship
  sunk off the coast of Yemen in October, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Sources said the loss related to a UAE-registered aluminium
  catamaran-style vessel named the HSV 2 Swift, which Houthi
  rebels in Yemen claimed to have hit with an anti-ship missile on 1
  October.
  The policy was 100 percent placed via a Marsh marine war
  facility in Dubai.
  It is understood MS Amlin, Talbot,...
  
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• Insured nat cat losses $39.5bn in 2016: Willis Re

  10-02-2017 15:57
  Global insured natural catastrophe losses totalled $39.5bn in 2016,
  the highest level since the $60bn of losses suffered by the
  industry in 2012, according to Willis Re.
  In a report the broker said the increased loss activity in 2016
  contrasted with a trend for reduced nat cat losses between 2011 and
  2015.
  In this period annual insured natural catastrophe losses fell
  from $120bn to $23bn.
  The largest single insured loss of $4.48bn stemmed from the
  Kumamoto earthquake in Japan in...
  
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• Aon reports 3% organic growth in Q4

  10-02-2017 15:57
  Aon's broking operations posted organic revenue growth of 3
  percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, the professional services
  giant said today.
  The result was down from the 5 percent underlying increase
  reported in the corresponding period of 2015.
  The broker disclosed adjusted earnings per share of $2.56, above
  the analyst consensus estimate of $2.49 per share taken from
  MarketWatch.com.
  On a reported basis, earnings per share decreased by 11 percent
  to $1.87.
  Aon Risk Solutions' slower growth s
  
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• Legal expenses insurers to face hit from whiplash reforms

  10-02-2017 15:22
  
  Firms offering legal expenses insurance could face heavy losses from "draconian" whiplash reforms.
  
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• Aon revenue falls 2% in 2016

  10-02-2017 14:14
  
  Aon has reported a 2% drop in revenue in its full year results.
  
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• Aon broking unit grows profit despite Q4 drop

  10-02-2017 13:50
  
  Greg Case hails ‘record’ profit margin for Aon broking unit
  
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• PE firm Sovereign Capital to target brokers in the UK

  10-02-2017 13:22
  
  Statement follows deal backing broker MBO in Ireland.
  
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• Aon reveals 1% profit rise for 2016

  10-02-2017 13:13
  
  However profit for the fourth quarter of the year fell by 14%.
  
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• Profits up for Zurich UK in 2016

  10-02-2017 13:02 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Operating profits up to £147m as COR recovers over 12 points to 97.1%.
  
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• Castle Cover closes to new business

  10-02-2017 13:00
  
  The Ageas owned broker will no longer sell car or home insurance to new clients.
  
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• Willis Towers Watson sees reinsurance stagnation

  10-02-2017 12:57
  Willis Towers Watson is expecting reinsurance business to
  stagnate in 2017 as it targets growth in the wider investment, risk
  and reinsurance (IRR) segment of the business.
  Responding to questions from analysts on the company's Q4
  earnings call, CFO Roger Millay said the outlook for reinsurance
  business was "roughly flat", according to aSeeking Alpha transcript.
  His forecast followed earlier comments on the call from CEO John
  Haley, who said the broker was targeting growth for the IRR
  business i
  
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• Trump's regulatory rollback to shake up D&O market

  10-02-2017 12:57
  The new US president's disdain for burdensome financial
  regulation could drive down rates for directors' and
  officers' (D&O) insurance as the potential for losses in
  the line falls.
  A number of proposed policies and executive orders announced by
  Donald Trump are expected to limit the reach of regulatory bodies
  such as the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  Speaking on a panel at the Professional Lines Underwriting
  Society's annual D&O Symposium in New York, Willis Towers
  Watson's financ
  
  Read more

• Opinion: Florida in flux

  10-02-2017 12:57
  Demotech's statement onFlorida's property insurance market earlier this week has
  cast doubt over the future of some carriers and left others
  scrambling to differentiate themselves to policyholders, reinsurers
  and capital providers.
  Reading between the lines of the wordy release, the ratings
  agency has very real concerns about the sustainability of the
  business model operated by some smaller insurers in the state.
  In the grip of the assignment of benefits (AOB) crisis and
  unfavourable judicial ru
  
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• Ironshore set to rein in reinsurance

  10-02-2017 12:57
  Specialty insurer Ironshore is set to pull significant premium
  from the reinsurance market after its agreed sale to Liberty
  Mutual, The Insurance Insider
  understands.
  According to reinsurance underwriting sources, the Bermudian has
  already opted not to renew its 8 percent whole-account quota share
  with TransRe and PartnerRe.
  Ironshore struck the deal on 1 January 2014 and, according to
  company filings, ceded 6 percent to TransRe and 2 percent to
  PartnerRe in 2015. It was seen as providing contin
  
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• Blackstone clinches unit of Aon Hewitt

  10-02-2017 12:57
  Private equity group Blackstone is understood to have prevailed
  in the auction for Aon Hewitt's benefits outsourcing group,
  agreeing to pay about $4.8bn for the business.
  The price exceeds the $4.5bn that rival PE firm Clayton Dubilier
  & Rice agreed to pay for the unit last month, according to
  Reuters, which was the first to report that Aon had instead struck
  the deal with Blackstone.
  Aon is set to publish fourth-quarter results later today and is
  understood to be preparing...
  
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• Aspen CEO 'very, very confident' about future

  10-02-2017 12:57
  Aspen CEO Chris O'Kane said the company was still confident
  about its standalone future after its insurance operations pushed
  it into the red in the fourth quarter.
  On an earnings call after the group's fourth-quarter
  results, Macquarie analyst Amit Kumar asked O'Kane if the time
  had come for Aspen to "look at alternatives" given its
  size, including a potential sale of the company, according to aSeeking Alpha transcript.
  O'Kane said: "The company is very, very confident
  indeed about its...
  
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• Aon confirms sale of benefits arm to Blackstone

  10-02-2017 12:57
  Global broker Aon has agreed to sell Aon Hewitt's benefits
  administration and HR business process outsourcing platform to
  private equity firm Blackstone for $4.8bn, it confirmed today.
  Thepreviously reported sale comprises a cash consideration of
  $4.3bn at closing and an additional payment of up to $500mn based
  on future performance.
  Aon said it expected to allocate part of the proceeds of the
  deal to its share repurchase programme, which it concurrently
  announced had been increased by $5bn.
  Thi
  
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• Week in Post: Darts, brokers and wooden spoons

  10-02-2017 12:45
  
  The first rule is that you shouldn’t talk about it, but nevertheless I had the pleasure of hearing all about Post’s team visit to trendy Shoreditch darts venue Flight Club this week.
  
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• Aon confirms multi-billion-dollar unit sale

  10-02-2017 12:27
  
  Aon strikes deal to offload outsourcing unit
  
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• WTW UK broking unit grows for third consecutive quarter

  10-02-2017 11:58
  
  WTW group profit halves on restructuring costs but broking profits grow
  
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• Personal insurers are not placing enough digital investment into claims process

  10-02-2017 11:25
  
  Leading personal lines insurers are placing a bigger focus on digital investment for customer acquisition rather than retention, research shows.
  
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• Blackstone to acquire Aon's benefits outsourcing for $4.8bn

  10-02-2017 11:00
  
  Private equity firm Blackstone has agreed to acquire Aon Hewitt's employee benefits outsourcing business for around $4.8bn (£3.8bn), according to Reuters.
  
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• Quizzical Questions: 10 February 2017

  10-02-2017 10:17
  
  Test your knowledge of the week's news with our topical quiz.
  
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• US weather losses exceed $1bn in January

  10-02-2017 10:15
  
  Losses caused by severe weather outbreaks in the United States have exceeded $1bn (£800m) in January, according to the latest Aon catastrophe report.
  
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• Fagen leaves QBE and ICA position

  10-02-2017 07:56
  
  QBE's group chief operations officer Colin Fagen has left the company this week and as a result has relinquished his role as president of the Insurance Council of Australia.
  
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• Fairfax has bid accepted for New Zealand's Tower

  10-02-2017 03:50
  
  Canadian group Fairfax Financial has agreed to buy Auckland-based commercial and personal lines insurer Tower for NZ$197m (£113m).
  
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• Chaucer sale may be best for Hanover: JMP's Carletti

  10-02-2017 02:54
  The Hanover should consider selling Chaucer, its Lloyd's
  syndicate, and a sale could provide a $28.51 per share dividend to
  investors in the US property & casualty carrier, according to
  an analyst who follows the company.
  "We conclude that shareholders would come out ahead by
  between 11 percent to 17 percent if the Hanover were to sell
  Chaucer and dividend the capital back to shareholders," wrote
  JMP Securities analyst Matthew Carletti in a research note
  published today.
  The Hanover agreed..
  
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• United jumps 17% on Raymond James call amid Florida turmoil

  10-02-2017 00:53
  Shares in Florida's United Insurance Holdings climbed 17
  percent today after a bullish analyst upgraded the homeowners'
  insurer to a "strong buy" recommendation.
  The quartet of other publicly traded Floridians were buoyed too,
  with Federated National up 4.2 percent, Heritage rising 3.8
  percent, Universal gaining 2.7 percent and HCI Group closing 1
  percent higher.
  In a turbulent week for Florida property insurers following
  Monday's suspension of guidance and threat of downgrades from
  Demotech, Ra
  
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• Aon Hewitt unit now seen as being sold to Blackstone

  10-02-2017 00:53
  Private equity group Blackstone has reportedly prevailed in the
  auction for Aon Hewitt's benefits outsourcing group, agreeing
  to pay about $4.8bn for the segment, according to Reuters.
  The price exceeds the $4.5bn that rival PE firm Clayton Dubilier
  & Rice reportedly agreed to pay for the unit last month.
  Reuters cited people familiar with the sale without naming
  them.
  Aon is set to report fourth-quarter results early tomorrow.
  Reuters reported that the sale agreement could be announced by
  t
  
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