Insurance news

• Wells Fargo names Prichard insurance head as Shupbach moves

  29-03-2017 23:23
  Wells Fargo has named Tim Prichard to lead its insurance
  business, replacing Laura Schupbach after she moved to its dealer
  services unit, The Insurance Insider can
  reveal.
  According to an internal announcement seen by this publication,
  Prichard, who heads up the employee benefits national practice and
  west region for Wells Fargo Insurance (WFI), will start the new job
  next week.
  Schupbach took over as chief of the insurance unit in 2011 after
  a 19-year career with the San Francisco-based bank,..
  
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• Slice rolls out test of on-demand rideshare coverage

  29-03-2017 23:23
  InsurTech startup Slice has rolled out a test on-demand product
  designed for drivers who work with Uber, Lyft and other ride-share
  services.
  The company - whose financial backers include Munich Re and XL
  Innovation - said the policy is designed to cover periods when
  ride-share drivers are online with an app such as Uber and
  available to pick up passengers but are not on the way to a fare or
  providing a ride.
  A coverage gap during these periods can...
  
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• Everest hires AIG exec McKeown to lead casualty unit

  29-03-2017 23:23
  Everest Re has continued to build out its US
  insurance platform with the hire of Chris McKeown from AIG to run a
  unit targeting upper middle market casualty business.
  As head of commercial casualty business at
  Everest Insurance, McKeown will report to David Sandler, his former
  AIG colleague who now leads the carrier's risk-management
  group.
  McKeown will oversee the unit from New York as
  it looks to write multi-line, primary casualty accounts with loss
  picks between $250,000 and $1mn, Everest...
  
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• Citizens reports $27.1mn loss for 2016

  29-03-2017 23:23
  Citizens Property Insurance Corporation will turn a $27.1mn net
  loss in 2016, its first annual loss since 2005.The state-backed insurer had warned previously that it could post a
  loss because of spiraling litigation involving water-damage claims
  during the year amid a surge in assignment of benefit (AOB)
  abuses.
  Citizens incurred minimal damage from last year's Hurricane
  Matthew, the first major hurricane to impact Florida in 11
  years.
  The AOB situation involves policyholders signing over policy
  
  Read more

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• Fosun reshuffles board on CEO exit

  29-03-2017 18:26
  Financial services and industrial conglomerate Fosun has changed
  its CEO after the resignation of co-founder Liang Xinjun for health
  reasons.
  The executive, who as vice chairman was the right-hand man to
  chairman Guo Guangchang, stood down with immediate effect
  yesterday.
  He is replaced by director Wang Qunbin, one of Fosun's four
  co-founders and former deputy CFO.
  Another Fosun director, Ding Guoqi, resigned from the board at
  the same time as Liang to devote "more time to family
  commitments", F
  
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• Endurance gets AM Best upgrade to A+

  29-03-2017 18:26
  AM Best has lifted the credit ratings of Endurance's operating
  subsidiaries following the completion of its $6.3bn takeover by
  Japanese insurer Sompo.
  The ratings agency upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR)
  of Endurance Specialty Insurance and subsidiaries to A+ from A and
  the long-term issuer credit ratings (ICR) to aa- from a.
  In addition, AM Best ended a review of the ICR rating of
  Endurance Specialty Holdings - the top holding company - and
  upgraded it to a- from bbb....
  
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• Donna Willis replaces Tim Yorke as ERS COO

  29-03-2017 15:54
  
  Donna Willis has been promoted to the role of chief operations officer at ERS as Tim Yorke departs from the company at the end of March.
  
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• Biba: Broker business models under serious threat from Brexit

  29-03-2017 15:22
  
  UK’s top spot in European insurance market also faces threat from Brexit, says Steve White
  
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• Regional review: Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire

  29-03-2017 15:11
  
  Stoke-on-Trent is on the up, according to brokers in the city that is synonymous with ceramics and recently renowned for backing Brexit
  
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• ERS operations chief to depart as IT overhaul complete

  29-03-2017 14:25
  
  New ERS operations chief promoted from within will lead on next stage of IT strategy
  
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• Biba calls for EU free trade agreement as Article 50 is invoked

  29-03-2017 13:53
  
  The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has called on Prime Minister Theresa May to make "urgent progress" in setting up a new free trade agreement with the European Union now that Article 50 has been invoked.
  
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• $10bn US flood cover gap can be closed: Swiss Re

  29-03-2017 13:27
  Swiss Re recommended several ways to help close a $10bn gap that
  opens annually between damage caused by flooding in the US and
  insured losses, suggesting that new technologies could improve risk
  assessment.
  The reinsurance giant also called for more frequent updates of
  flood hazard maps and the development of risk assessments that take
  into account the potential effects of climate change, as well as
  public-private partnerships that hold prices for required flood
  cover to affordable levels.
  And
  
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• Sompo Canopius to retain autonomy post-Endurance deal

  29-03-2017 13:27
  Sompo Canopius will continue to be run as an independent business
  following the closure of parent company Sompo's $6.3bn deal to
  acquire Bermudian (re)insurer Endurance.
  In a statement announcing the on-schedule completion of the deal
  yesterday, the Japanese big three insurer said that Endurance would
  form the main part of a newly created segment called Sompo
  International. Endurance John Charman will lead that segment as
  chairman and CEO.
  However, it said that Lloyd's carrier Sompo Canopius, wh
  
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• Opinion: Cutting costs

  29-03-2017 13:27
  There are certain types of people that try and make everything the
  same, flattening out the complexity, smoothing over the specifics
  and accentuating the generic.
  People who like simplicity.
  Journalists are typically that kind of person, at least
  professionally.
  They will kill for a trend. Nuance tends to catch the first
  bullet. Subtlety, that troublemaker, is dispatched next. Truth
  takes a third bullet in the worst cases.
  Yesterday we broke two stories about staff reductions at the
  reinsurance
  
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• Novae and Fidelis form North American cat partnership

  29-03-2017 13:27
  Novae has reached an agreement with Fidelis to cede a 50 percent
  share of its $50mn North American property catastrophe reinsurance
  book and to cooperate on optimising the book, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Sources had previously suggested that Novae was in talks with a
  number of parties about a renewal rights deal for the portfolio,
  but it has now opted to continue to write the class.
  Richard Holden, who leads the Fidelis North American property
  cat account, is understood...
  
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• Industry blockchain club closes to new members

  29-03-2017 13:27
  The (re)insurance blockchain initiative B3i has temporarily closed
  its doors to new members so it can focus on developing a prototype,
  XL Catlin's head of enterprise architecture said.
  The 15-member group of insurers and reinsurers was founded in
  October 2016 by Aegon, Allianz, Munich Re, Swiss Re and Zurich. XL
  Catlin joined the initiative in November.
  B3i is developing technology to allow insurers and reinsurers
  access to the same data set, known as a shared ledger. The
  technology would help..
  
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• Earnings tumble at Fosun's Peak Re

  29-03-2017 13:27
  Financial services and industrial conglomerate Fosun reported an
  88 percent decline in earnings at its Peak Re division in 2016, and
  an underwriting loss at its soon-to-be-jettisoned Ironshore
  unit.
  In group full-year results Fosun said Peak Re's net profit
  fell by 88 percent to $6.9mn as the division's investment
  return fell to 1.5 percent from 6.4 percent in 2015.
  Peak Re's premium income rose by 20 percent in 2016 to
  $698.2mn, said Fosun, which gave little detail on the segmental...
  
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• Criminal gang sentenced after five year investigation carried out by IFED

  29-03-2017 12:18
  
  A criminal gang have been sentenced for their involvement in sophisticated fraud following an investigation carried out by the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department.
  
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• Sompo closes Endurance deal, launches International unit

  29-03-2017 12:08
  
  Sompo Holdings has completed its $6.3bn acquisition of Endurance Specialty, and will integrate the Bermudian carrier through a new unit, Sompo International.
  
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• Motor broking surge boosts Saga insurance profit

  29-03-2017 11:58
  
  Saga insurance profit grows despite discount rate hit and lower underwriting unit profits
  
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• Connected garage among topics of IBIS 2017

  29-03-2017 11:44
  
  The collision repair market and the connected garage are among the topics that will be discussed by the International Bodyshop Industry Symposium at its global summit 2017 taking place in June in Madrid.
  
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• Biba teams up with Mactavish on resolution scheme

  29-03-2017 11:28
  
  Trade body says scheme was developed in response to brokers' demands and deals with resolution of large and complex claims.
  
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• High Net Worth Society: Meet-up one

  29-03-2017 10:30
  
  The choicest cuts from the first meeting of the exclusive High Net Worth Society.
  
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• Biba raises unsuitable products concerns ahead of CMA investigation into aggregators

  29-03-2017 10:19
  
  Trade body pleased with further investigation including into “most favoured nation” clauses.
  
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• Fire claims: Not getting burnt

  29-03-2017 08:50
  
  The Enterprise Act may expose inefficiences in the way claims are handled – and fire investigators could feel the heat, as any delay in investigating may cost
  
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• WR Berkley takes a $30mn Ogden hit in first quarter

  29-03-2017 03:21
  Commercial carrier WR Berkley's first-quarter results will
  be reduced by $22mn due to the Ogden rate change declared by UK
  regulators earlier this year, the US insurer said, with the impact
  felt mostly in its reinsurance segment.On a pre-tax basis, the cut in earnings will be $30mn, the
  Greenwich, Connecticut-based (re)insurer said late today in a
  statement. The reduction will take the form of an increase in
  prior-year loss reserves.
  The Ogden rate is used to calculate lump-sum bodily...
  
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• Third Point Re keeps AM Best grades but warned on UW

  29-03-2017 03:21
  AM Best has affirmed the financial strength and credit ratings
  of Third Point Re in a welcome move for the hedge fund reinsurer
  after a challenging end to 2016.
  The rating company noted however that it is
  "concerned" with Third Point Re's recent underwriting
  performance and is looking for it to "reverse
  course".
  And AM Best said it would continue to closely monitor the
  Bermudian, warning that if underwriting trends at the reinsurer
  deteriorate further it could place negative pressure...
  
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• Sompo closes $6.3bn Endurance deal

  29-03-2017 03:21
  Sompo Holdings completed its $6.3bn acquisition of Endurance
  Specialty and plans to use the (re)insurer as the basis for Sompo
  International, a new unit to be located in Bermuda.
  Sompo's deal, announced in October, was the biggest in 2016
  involving a Bermuda-based carrier and set the stage for further
  consolidation in the industry, including the pending $4.9bn
  acquisition of Allied World by Toronto-based Fairfax.
  The new Bermuda business will focus on commercial insurance and
  reinsurance and wil
  
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• Reinsurers brace for losses from Debbie

  29-03-2017 03:21
  Reinsurers are preparing for major losses from Australian carriers
  after Cyclone Debbie made landfall on the north-east Australian
  coast as a Category 4 storm.
  Debbie hit between Bowen and Airlie Beach in Queensland as a
  category four storm, with gusts of up to 263km/h (163mph), at
  12:15pm local time Tuesday. It had earlier lashed the tourist
  resorts of the Whitsunday Islands.
  It is currently moving inland as a category 1 storm, according
  to local media reports.
  However, local media reported...
  
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• Lloyd's chooses Brussels for EU subsidiary

  29-03-2017 03:21
  Lloyd's has made a surprise decision to locate its new EU
  subsidiary in Belgium's capital city Brussels, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  The Lloyd's Franchise Board today decided that it will
  recommend the Council ratifies a decision tomorrow to establish a
  capitalised subsidiary in Brussels, which is also home to several
  prominent EU institutions.
  An announcement of the decision will be made alongside the
  Lloyd's annual results on Thursday, a day after UK prime
  minister Theresa May is due to.
  
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• Closing $10bn US flood cover gap can be done: Swiss Re

  29-03-2017 03:21
  Swiss Re recommended several ways to help close a $10bn gap that
  opens annually between damage caused by flooding in the US and
  insured losses, suggesting that new technologies could improve risk
  assessment.
  The reinsurance giant also called for more frequent updates of
  flood hazard maps and developing risk assessments that take into
  account potential effects of climate change, as well as
  public-private partnerships that hold prices for required flood
  cover to affordable levels.
  And the company
  
  Read more

• AIG brings back DeMaio as chief auditor

  29-03-2017 03:21
  AIG has named Donna DeMaio as executive vice president and chief
  auditor, replacing Martha Gallo after her recent appointment as
  chief information officer at the giant US insurer.
  DeMaio will join the executive leadership team after her move
  over from United Guaranty Corporation (UGC), where she was
  president and CEO prior to the sale of the AIG unit to Bermudian
  Arch Capital. She was an Arch executive vice president after the
  sale closed in January.
  As CEO of UGC under...
  
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