Insurance news

• Admiral drops van panel to sell direct

  04-04-2017 17:37
  
  Admiral will underwrite van insurance directly rather than through its broker business Able and its panel of insurers, the group has revealed.
  
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• Succession planning: Taking advice

  04-04-2017 17:36
  
  Getting the right advice is invaluable for brokers looking to sell their business, writes Sam Barrett
  
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• Review: High energy

  04-04-2017 17:26
  
  Chubb Biogas and Solar
  
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• Miles Smith help charity in fight against UK's hunger problem

  04-04-2017 17:22
  
  Miles Smith to help the 8.4m people in the UK struggling to get a good meal by helping charity
  
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• Renters' insurance start-up Jetty launches

  04-04-2017 16:38
  InsurTech start-up Jetty, an insurance provider for renters and
  co-op and condo owners, will be available in five US states from
  today, the company has announced.
  In a statement accompanying the launch, Jetty said its full
  suite of products will be rolled out in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and
  Georgia.
  Jetty offers includes property and liability coverage, loss of
  use policies and medical payments cover.
  In addition its 'Jetty Passport' cover - surety
  protection for renters in lieu of security depos
  
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• Reinsurers come off 'wheels' quota shares

  04-04-2017 16:38
  The dwindling appetite of a number of reinsurers for US trucking
  and transportation treaties is creating more challenging placement
  conditions for brokers on some deals, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  According to multiple sources, several reinsurers have
  retrenched from the so-called "wheels" space, or at least
  become more selective in the quota shares they are willing to
  support, particularly when new treaties are brought to market.
  These carriers are thought to include Third Point Re and T
  
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• Prospects dimming for AOB legislative fix

  04-04-2017 16:38
  Time is running out fast in the 2017 Florida legislative session
  for meaningful reform to address the assignment of benefits (AOB)
  issue that has been swamping Citizens and private homeowners'
  carriers in the state.
  At the board meeting of state-backed Citizens last week (29
  March), president Barry Gilway said he was "highly"
  optimistic the session would bring legislative change.
  But the key insurance industry-sponsored proposal - Senate Bill
  1038 - failed to make it onto the agenda for the Sena
  
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• Opinion: Silicon Valley InsurTech

  04-04-2017 16:38
  The sun-kissed avenues of Northern California which house the
  technologists who have come to run the world are thousands of miles
  away from London.
  And at first glance it appears that the cultures of its
  (re)insurance world is several multiples of that distance apart
  from the traditional strongholds of London, Europe and the US East
  Coast.
  But with the rise of InsurTech in the last two years, Silicon
  Valley has become the epicentre of the biggest figurative
  earthquake to rock...
  
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• Munich Re cedant for $200mn Leo Re vehicle

  04-04-2017 16:38
  Munich Re is managing $200mn of funds allocated to the Leo Re
  vehicle by Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM, sources told
  sister publication Trading Risk.
  The Leo Re debt notes were listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange
  at the start of this year, but the entity's distribution
  channel was not disclosed.
  Munich Re's main sidecar is the $360mn Eden Re II, which
  provides third party capital to support its property catastrophe
  portfolio.
  The reinsurer said when it released its...
  
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• Market asked to support Cockleshell Heroes re-enactment

  04-04-2017 16:38
  The Lloyd's and London market was last week challenged to get
  behind a charity adventure to commemorate the 75th anniversary of
  the daring and celebrated Second World War Operation Frankton
  commando raid on Bordeaux.
  The original raid on ships docked in Bordeaux was carried out by
  10 marines under the command of Major Herbert "Blondie"
  Hasler.
  The mission involved being launched from a submarine at night
  and paddling the full 85 miles of the highly tidal Gironde estuary
  to plant...
  
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• Managing agents face dilemma on use of Lloyd's Europe

  04-04-2017 16:38
  With the decision on the location of Lloyd's
  Brexit-workaround subsidiary taken, managing agents must now take a
  call on whether to use it or to pursue their own contingency plans
  in parallel.
  The Franchise Board's support for a Brussels subsidiary won
  plaudits, as it will give Lloyd's access to an experienced and
  collaborative regulator, as well as a strong position for future EU
  growth.
  Just as importantly, it looks likely to minimise disruption to
  its existing business, with multiple sources.
  
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• Late-cycle Lloyd's M&A rush starts to gather pace

  04-04-2017 16:38
  The Lloyd's market looks on course for a resurgence of
  M&A in the latter stages of the soft cycle with a number of
  situations developing in the wake of Argenta's fully valued
  sale to Hannover Re last month.
  Changes in equity ownership are on the cards for at least six
  Lloyd's businesses, with possible scope for transactions or
  restructures at a number of others.
  In addition, there is a pipeline of other companies that are
  likely to ultimately seek transactions,...
  
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• Insider View: Lloyd's Europe

  04-04-2017 16:38
  After months of speculation (a fair amount of it here) Lloyd's
  has chosen the beach head that it will use to try to attack the
  continental European market after Brexit comes into effect in 2019.
  But as much as the Corporation may want to cast the approaching
  fight as a battle to expand Lloyd's market share in the
  European Union, or at least to defend the vulnerable portion of its
  circa £1.5bn in-force book, there is another equally important
  struggle....
  
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• Insider 50 depreciates in March

  04-04-2017 16:38
  The Insurance Insider's aggregate of
  P&C (re)insurers, The Insider 50, fell into the red
  last month as the market continued to digest annual results.
  The I50 index dropped by 1.2 percent in March to
  1,042.9 index points to fall short of other main market indices,
  which were all in positive territory. The S&P 500 took the lead
  with 3.7 percent growth, while the Stoxx Euro 600 rose by 3.1
  percent and the FTSE 100 advanced by 2.6 percent.
  The Insider...
  
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• Holder joins Blenheim as managing agency plans ramp up

  04-04-2017 16:38
  Lawrence Holder, the former managing director of
  Lancashire's Lloyd's arm Cathedral, has joined Peter
  Scales' start-up Blenheim as non-executive chairman,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  In a February 2016 announcement, Cathedral said Holder would
  step down from his duties at an unspecified point in 2017.
  Furthermore, sources have indicated that Blenheim will look to
  expedite the creation of its own managing agency, eyeing a launch
  within 12 months.
  If Blenheim does secure the green light to
  e
  
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• Fragile energy market nearing 'cliff edge': JLT

  04-04-2017 16:38
  The energy insurance market is approaching a pricing "cliff
  edge" as the sector continues to struggle with both
  overcapacity and the downturn in the global energy industry,
  according to JLT.
  In the broker's Energy Newsletter for March, released last
  week, JLT said the market appeared increasingly fragile, and
  participants across all classes were seeking to lock in current
  pricing levels wherever possible.
  Underwriting teams across the market were operating with
  combined ratios in excess of 100 p
  
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• Floridians tap up cat bond market

  04-04-2017 16:38
  Two Florida insurers have joined a number of carriers seeking cover
  from the cat bond market in the run-up to the hurricane season,
  sister publication Trading Risk reported
  last week.
  One, Security First, is looking to enact its second ILS
  transaction following its inaugural First Coast Re deal last year.
  The second, American Integrity, has issued its first cat bond,
  Integrity Re.
  Both are using reinsurers to front the transactions for them,
  with Swiss Re acting for Security First and...
  
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• Aon Benfield's O'Halleran to retire

  04-04-2017 16:38
  Aon Benfield veteran Michael O'Halleran is to retire after
  37 years at the reinsurance broker, the company has said.
  O'Halleran was the leader of Aon Re at its inception in 1987,
  and led the broker through the acquisition of Benfield in 2008.
  Most recently, he was working as executive chairman of Aon Benfield
  and senior executive vice president of Aon plc.
  O'Halleran will remain in his current role until 1 May and
  will then offer strategic counsel to the firm...
  
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• AmTrust shares rocket 19% after delayed results filed

  04-04-2017 16:38
  Shares in US carrier AmTrust have jumped 19 percent in early
  trading after it filed its delayed full-year 2016 results earlier
  today.
  The stock had risen 19.02 percent to trade at $21.75 as of 14:54
  London time, recouping some of the ground lost after the shares
  plummeted in the wake of the company's February announcement it
  would postpone the filing of its results.
  AmTrust filed the results before markets opened in New York this
  morning, two weeks after the deadline,...
  
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• Endurance loses Japanese business post-Sompo deal

  04-04-2017 16:38
  Endurance has lost a substantial part of its Japanese non-life
  reinsurance book as a result of its $6.3bn takeover by big three
  insurer Sompo.
  The carrier, which is now under the Sompo International brand,
  joins a growing list of firms that have lost out on Japanese
  business as a result of new Japanese ownership.
  There is an unwritten rule between the Japanese big three -
  Sompo, Tokio Marine and MS&AD - that they will not trade with
  one another, including...
  
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• Berkshire unit faces lawsuit over workers' comp plans

  04-04-2017 16:38
  A Berkshire Hathaway company that offers workers'
  compensation programmes that have been banned in California and two
  other states has become the target of a federal lawsuit in New
  York.
  The plaintiffs claimed the policies amounted to a "reverse
  Ponzi scheme" designed to skirt state law.
  The programmes at issue, which include a reinsurance agreement
  and a discount option described as a profit-sharing plan by Applied
  Underwriters (AU) and its affiliates, are loss-sensitive policies
  that use a pat
  
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• Admiral axes van panel to go direct

  04-04-2017 16:18
  
  Admiral axes van panel to underwrite policies directly rather than through its broker business
  
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• Lemonade begins expansion drive with Illinois launch

  04-04-2017 15:52
  
  Lemonade’s Chicago-state expansion marks the P2P home insurer’s first foray outside New York
  
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• Willis Towers Watson and AIG launch cyber cover for global airlines

  04-04-2017 14:40
  
  Willis Towers Watson and AIG have created a cyber insurance product designed to combat the emerging risks facing global airlines.
  
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• County Group’s profit surges after acquisition frenzy in 2016

  04-04-2017 13:52
  
  David Clapp CEO said more deals are “in the pipeline over the next few months”.
  
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• Paul Upton leaves Evolution Underwriting

  04-04-2017 12:45
  
  Upton has been group CEO of Evolution since 2013.
  
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• Over 50s specialist Saga to overhaul IT with new provider

  04-04-2017 11:23
  
  Over 50s insurance provider ramps up policy, billing, rating and data with new provider 
  
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• Biba gives clean bill of health to E-trading platforms

  04-04-2017 11:04
  
  Biba gives clean bill of health to Open GI and Applied
  
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• Open GI and Applied Systems pass Biba software house audit

  04-04-2017 09:58
  
  The two providers announced separately that they passed the review which was prompted by problems with SSP last year.
  
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• Flood Re marks first birthday

  04-04-2017 09:25
  
  Flood Re, the non-profit flood reinsurance scheme, marks its one year anniversary today.
  
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• Roundtable: Tackling the start-ups

  04-04-2017 08:50
  
  As traditional insurers partner with start-up tech companies, the landscape of insurance is changing. Start-ups pose less as threats hellbent on disrupting the industry and more as an opportunity waiting to happen. Post, in association with Mendix, gathered a selection of industry professionals to debate the issue
  
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• Rising Star: Rachel Marks, Crawford & Company

  04-04-2017 08:50
  
  Marks is a loss adjuster focusing on agricultural, rural industries and estates losses at Crawford
  
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• In Depth: Using lie detectors to root out fraud

  04-04-2017 08:50
  
  How broker Only Young Drivers is taking a novel approach to application fraud
  
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• Flood Re changed the market in its first year - chairman

  04-04-2017 08:30
  
  Flood-hit customers now have far more choice, says Flood Re on its first anniversary
  
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• United closes $322mn American Coastal deal

  04-04-2017 03:01
  United Insurance Holdings has closed its acquisition of fellow
  Floridian American Coastal.
  The deal was announced in August 2016 and called for United to
  issue almost 21mn shares to RDX, the owner of American Coastal,
  valuing the deal at just under $322mn based on United's closing
  share price today of $15.33.
  Under terms of the transaction, United's board expanded to
  10 directors from seven with the addition of Michael Hogan, Patrick
  Maroney and Dan Peed.
  Peed, CEO of American Coastal...
  
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• Sirius expands A&H offering with ArmadaGlobal buy

  04-04-2017 03:01
  Sirius has added healthcare specialist ArmadaGlobal to its
  accident and health (A&H) insurance platform.
  The Hunt Valley, Maryland business provides supplemental
  healthcare insurance products and administration services in the
  US.
  ArmadaGlobal will continue to be run by its existing management
  team, including Ed Walker who will take the role of CEO for the
  insurance products company, ArmadaCare, and Steven Schaefer, who
  will be CEO of the healthcare information technology company,
  ArmadaHeal
  
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• QBE targets US transportation with new programme

  04-04-2017 03:01
  QBE North America has tied up with Midwestern Insurance Alliance
  (MIA) and High Point Underwriters (HPU) to launch a new national
  workers' compensation and occupational accident programme for
  the US transportation market.
  The new programme will offer coverage on QBE's A rated
  insurance paper on an admitted and non-admitted basis. The
  Sydney-based carrier's North American unit operates out of New
  York.
  Workers' comp programme administrator MIA focuses on the
  trucking market from its Louisville, K
  
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• Patriot National blows past financial filing deadline

  04-04-2017 03:01
  Insurance services outsourcing provider Patriot National
  reported that it would miss the extended deadline to file its
  annual financial report with the US Securities and Exchange
  Commission, advising the SEC of a new examination of transactions
  related to companies acquired in 2015.
  The company reported a jump in expenses during the 2016 fourth
  quarter related to a $17.5mn goodwill impairment charge stemming
  from the acquisition of Global HR Research in 2015 and several
  one-time items.
  In an SEC
  
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• PartnerRe closes Aurigen life deal

  04-04-2017 03:01
  PartnerRe has wrapped up its acquisition of North American life
  reinsurer Aurigen Capital.
  As previously reported, the Exor-owned Bermudian reinsurer
  agreed to buy Aurigen, which has operations based in Canada and the
  US, for $286mn in cash.
  The transaction came after private equity owners Soros Fund
  Management, Bregal Capital, Pine Brook Capital and EdgeStone
  Capital Partners appointed Evercore to run a sales process of the
  Bermuda-based company.
  Aurigen has grown since its 2007 launch to be a
  
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• Broker M&A pace shows no evidence of slowing: Conning

  04-04-2017 03:01
  There is no sign of a let up in the wave of consolidation that
  is sweeping across the insurance distribution space, according to
  research firm Conning.
  In its 2017 study of M&A in the insurance distribution and
  services marketplace, Hartford, Connecticut-based Conning said it
  recorded a total of 358 transactions in 2016, ahead of the average
  of 348 over the previous five years, as US deals once again
  dominated activity.
  "It appears that sellers remain motivated and, more
  important, demand...
  
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• Lemonade expands to Illinois six months after New York launch

  04-04-2017 02:06
  
  Lemonade has expanded to Illinois as part of its plans to expand nationwide and reach 97% of the US population by 2017.
  
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