Insurance news

• UK Supreme Court allows AIG Europe appeal on PI claims

  23-03-2017 21:27
  The UK Supreme Court on Wednesday (22 March) handed a partial
  victory to AIG Europe in a three-year-old court case involving
  investors in Moroccan and Turkish holiday developments who are
  pursuing claims under a defunct law firm's professional
  indemnity (PI) insurance.
  The ruling rolls back two lower court verdicts, which would have
  curtailed the insurer's ability to aggregate certain PI claims
  and thus cap exposure. But the Supreme Court judges stopped short
  of allowing AIG Europe to treat all
  
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• Chubb's ceded premium to ABR Re jumps 150%

  23-03-2017 21:27
  Chubb lifted reinsurance premiums ceded to its captive reinsurer
  ABR Re by 150 percent to $288mn in 2016, according to its annual
  filing.
  It also recognised a 120 percent year-on-year increase in ceded
  commission from ABR Re, with the total reaching $66mn.
  Chubb was due to earn 2 percent of ABR Re's gross written
  premiums as an access fee charged to the vehicle, on top of a 50
  percent profit commission on its underwriting results if its
  combined ratio was...
  
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• Assurant favours US flood programme multi-year extension

  23-03-2017 21:27
  A reauthorisation of the National Flood Insurance Program should
  include provisions to bring more private carriers into the space
  and it should cover several years to avoid disrupting the programme
  and the US housing market, a key executive with a major flood
  underwriter said.
  With the NFIP set to expire at the end of September, Congress
  has begun the process of renewing it and is eying ways to reform
  the programme to reduce its reliance on taxpayer subsidies.
  "Everyone's in...
  
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• Arthur J. Gallagher acquires Farallone Pacific

  23-03-2017 21:27
  Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) has taken over its second regional broker
  in less than a week, as the US intermediary continues on its
  acquisitive path through the property and casualty mid-market
  sector.
  Retail broker Farallone Pacific is Gallagher's latest
  acquisition. The Novato, California-based broker's clients
  include private individuals, schools, charities and community
  housing projects.
  Farallone Pacific will continue to be run by CEO Dan Costello
  and his team.
  The business will fall under the
  
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• UK cyber insurance penetration just 14% among SMEs

  23-03-2017 17:14
  Cyber insurance penetration among UK small and medium-sized
  enterprises (SMEs) remains low, with just 13.7 percent of companies
  taking up the product last year, according to a report.
  However, demand is rapidly increasing. In 2014, just 2.4 percent
  of companies had purchased cyber insurance, according to the report
  by GlobalData.
  Cyber security at UK firms should improve considerably as a
  result of the government's new National Cyber Security Strategy
  and the EU's General Data Protection Regulat
  
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• German cedants up reinsurance buying: AM Best

  23-03-2017 17:14
  Germany's biggest cedants increased the amount of reinsurance
  they bought in 2015, as insurers took advantage of cheap
  reinsurance prices to protect themselves from losses, according to
  AM Best.
  The rating agency reported today that Germany's 20 biggest
  insurers bought 13.1 percent more non-life reinsurance in 2015 than
  the year before.
  However, the rate of increase was skewed by the four largest
  cedants, Allianz, HDI Versicherung, Munich Re and Deutsche
  Rückversicherung. Excluding these fo
  
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• Opinion: John O'Roarke on the changing face of insurance

  23-03-2017 16:35
  
  The key to success: A lot has changed in the market over the last decade, but insurance is still fundamentally a people business, says John O’Roarke
  
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• Fake emails circulating in FCA's name, watchdog warns

  23-03-2017 14:29
  
  The Financial Conduct Authority has warned against a fake email being sent out under its name.
  
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• Esure CEO to get £1.47m share package by 2020

  23-03-2017 14:16
  
  Esure CEO Stuart Vann will gain options over company shares worth £1.47m as part of an executive incentive deal.
  
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• FCA warns of fake emails that appear to use its address

  23-03-2017 13:54
  
  Regulator urges recipients to delete emails without opening them.
  
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• CIBA: Insurers need to offer more comprehensive cyber policies in time for GDPR

  23-03-2017 13:44
  
  New methods of hacking and types of cyber breach could lend themselves to greater fines following the incoming General Data Protection Regulation. 
  
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• Trade bodies approve single claims agreement model

  23-03-2017 13:17
  The development of a single claims agreement model for
  non-complex claims moved a step closer today after the London
  market's major trade bodies gave its creation the go-ahead.
  In June 2016, The Insurance Insider
  revealed that the London & International Insurance Brokers'
  Association (Liiba) had drafted
  a proposal for the model.
  Now the structure has been backed by the Lloyd's Market
  Association (LMA), the International Underwriting Association (IUA)
  and Lloyd's.
  The organisations want to es
  
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• Strategy head Wartchow leaves Wells Fargo

  23-03-2017 13:17
  Wells Fargo's head of insurance strategy and analytics Todd
  Wartchow has left the bank's retail broking arm,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  The executive vice president parted company with the San
  Francisco-based bank this month and has been tipped to re-emerge at
  a banking and insurance broking rival, according to sources.
  A Wells Fargo Insurance representative confirmed Wartchow is no
  longer with the company.
  A replacement has not yet been identified to fill the
  position.
  Chicago-based Wart
  
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• Opinion: AIG management

  23-03-2017 13:17
  AIG management will have the opportunity later today to begin
  the challenging task of restoring their credibility with investors
  after a disastrous couple of months at the insurer.
  Minus outgoing CEO Peter Hancock, AIG's insurance heads Rob
  Schimek and Kevin Horgan will join CFO Sid Sankaran fora sit-down with sell-side analysts.
  Investors will doubtless be looking for any sign that the
  company will shift away from the stalling turnaround strategy
  Hancock set in motion just over a year ago....
  
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• Former QBE Europe CEO Burns named Novae non-exec

  23-03-2017 13:17
  London-listed carrier Novae has appointed Steven Burns as an
  independent non-executive director, effective from 31 March.
  Burns will also join the group's audit and risk committee,
  along with the board of Novae Syndicates Limited.
  Best known for his role as CEO of QBE Europe, Burns has more
  than 30 years' experience in the insurance industry.
  In 2013, the executive hit the headlines after hereversed his decision to relinquish his role as CEO of QBE
  Europe to become group CFO...
  
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• Everest Re seeks $600mn from two cat bonds

  23-03-2017 13:17
  Everest Re is hoping to raise $600mn from new two Kilimanjaro Re
  II cat bonds, sister publication Trading
  Risk reported yesterday.
  The new transactions are Everest Re's fourth and fifth cat
  bonds to date. It already has a combined $1.58bn of cat bond cover
  from previous deals, with $450mn maturing next April.
  But it has returned to the insurance-linked securities market to
  take advantage of softening rates, with the new Kilimanjaro Re
  2017-1 and 2017-2 issuances set to provide the...
  
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• Beazley names ex-Guy Carp MD for US marine push

  23-03-2017 13:17
  Specialty insurer Beazley named former Guy Carpenter managing
  director Stephen Vivian to lead its push into the US marine
  market.
  Vivian was responsible for new business production and marketing
  in New York for Guy Carpenter, Beazley said in announcing the
  appointment. The company said he comes to the new job with over 30
  years of experience as a marine insurance and reinsurance
  broker.
  "Steve's decades of experience in handling all aspects
  of marine risks in the US market will help...
  
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• IGI walks away from SPA plans

  23-03-2017 13:17
  International (re)insurer International General Insurance (IGI)
  has decided to postpone its plans to set up a Lloyd's special
  purpose arrangement (SPA) owing to the state of the market and
  timing issues.
  IGI had been in conversations with managing agent Argo about
  establishing an SPA during the final quarter of the year, but
  ultimately decided to abandon the project at the end of 2016.
  Speaking to The Insurance Insider, IGI
  president Waleed Jabsheh said: "Lloyd's is still being
  considered by IGI
  
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• Broking success: Alan Smith, Chambers and Newman

  23-03-2017 13:15
  
  The business may have had humble beginnings but director Alan Smith has refocused the broker and used new technology to aid the firm and staff
  
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• Brokers and insurers urged to act over FCA fake email scam

  23-03-2017 12:57
  
  FCA fake email scam triggers a warning from regulator
  
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• Has the heyday of schemes passed?

  23-03-2017 12:25
  
  SchemeServe's Ed Halsey explores how the Insurance Act has impacted delegated authority business.
  
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• CIBA: Cyber policies are evolving to meet expanding risks

  23-03-2017 12:22
  
  Cyber policies are evolving to cover more risks but certain exposures remain underpriced, Allianz has warned.
  
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• Bexhill launches leasing service

  23-03-2017 11:34
  
  The provider will now offer leasing arrangements to brokers and their clients.
  
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• HDI Global sees 42% rise in profit

  23-03-2017 11:26
  
  German industrial insurer HDI Global SE saw a 42% rise in profit in spite of an “intense” rate environment.
  
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• David Beckham becomes health ambassador for AIA Group

  23-03-2017 11:11
  
  Ex-footballer and England captain David Beckham will become the global ambassador for pan-Asian life insurance firm AIA Group.
  
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• VIG P&C business returns to profit

  23-03-2017 10:42
  
  The Vienna Insurance Group has seen its property and casualty business return to profit after suffering a hit last year.
  
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• Blog: Using a rainbow to lead across generations

  23-03-2017 09:59
  
  Diversity and inclusion has been a hot topic in the insurance industry for a fair few years, but it took the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundations's conference for me to realise the true breadth of diversity and how it could drive the unlocking of future talent in the workplace.
  
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• HDI profit soars on improved underwriting

  23-03-2017 09:28
  Operating profit at HDI Global jumped 42 percent to EUR296mn
  ($319.7mn) in 2016, as a result of "portfolio
  optimisation" measures to improve underwriting performance,
  the firm announced today.
  The Talanx unit reported a combined ratio of 96.8 percent for
  the full year, which was a 2.4 percentage point improvement on the
  previous year. The underwriting result for 2016 also surged to
  EUR73mn from just EUR18mn the previous year.
  The improvement in the underwriting performance was largely down
  to po
  
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• The Cyber Insurer and Broker Assembly 2017 - as it happens

  23-03-2017 08:39
  
  The Cyber Insurer and Broker Assembly is taking place on Today (23 March). Post's journalists will be reporting live from the event.
  
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• HCC's ProAg buys $67.4mn crop MGA

  23-03-2017 05:35
  Tokio Marine HCC's crop insurance unit Producers Ag has
  agreed to acquire agriculture managing general agent International
  Ag, ProAg announced late Wednesday.
  The MGA based in West Des Moines, Iowa manages multi-peril crop,
  crop hail and named peril crop insurance, ProAg said.
  Last year, the company managed gross premiums of $67.4mn, ProAg
  said, citing National Crop Insurance Services. International Ag
  says on its website that it is a general agent for Swiss Re
  Corporate Solutions with products
  
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• Generali plans to sell 3 Latin American units: Reuters

  23-03-2017 00:24
  Generali reportedly has put three of its Latin American
  subsidiaries up for sale as the Italian insurance giant seeks to
  streamline its operations as part of a wider efficiency drive.
  The insurer has appointed investment bank Rothschild to sell its
  Colombian, Ecuadorian and Panamanian subsidiaries, Reuters
  reported, citing sources it didn't name.
  The insurer recently fended off Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, which
  dropped its pursuit after being met with resistance from Generali.
  While the lender
  
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• Fairfax wins vote on $4.9bn Allied World deal

  23-03-2017 00:24
  Fairfax Financial won approval from Allied World shareholders
  for its proposed $54-a-share offer to acquire the Bermuda-based
  carrier in a special stockholders' meeting, the companies
  said.
  Fairfax earlier this month raised the cash component of its
  offer to $28 a share, including a $5 dividend to be paid by Allied
  World which also won approval in the meeting today.
  The vote moves the acquisitive Canadian P&C holding company
  a step closer to completing its biggest deal yet.
  The Alberta Inves
  
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• Beazley names ex-Guy Carp manager to head US marine bid

  23-03-2017 00:24
  Specialty insurer Beazley named former Guy Carpenter managing
  director Stephen Vivian to lead its push into the US marine market.
  Vivian was responsible for new business production and marketing
  in New York for Guy Carpenter, Beazley said in announcing the
  appointment. The company said he comes to the new job with over 30
  years of experience as a marine insurance and reinsurance
  broker.
  "Steve's decades of experience in handling all aspects
  of marine risks in the US market will help...
  
  Read more

• AIG management lines up for analysts' inquisition

  23-03-2017 00:24
  AIG's management team, absent lame-duck CEO Peter Hancock,
  can expect a grilling from sell-side analysts tomorrow in a first
  meeting since Hancock's resignation earlier this month.
  CFO Sid Sankaran, commercial insurance CEO Rob Schimek and
  consumer insurance CEO Kevin Horgan are due to meet with the
  analysts at noon.
  And the executives are likely to face a barrage of questions
  about the search for a new CEO and any potential shift away from
  the strategic path the ailing insurer has...
  
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