Insurance news

• Willis Towers Watson appoints Peiser to lead US broking

  21-04-2017 23:23
  Willis Towers Watson has confirmed the appointment of Joe Peiser at
  the helm of its US broking team.
  Peiser, who is head of casualty broking at the company, takes on
  the task of running the US broking division, a part of its
  corporate risk and broking business, Willis Towers Watson said
  today.
  The news confirms this publication'sreport of 20 March, which first disclosed the departure of
  chief broking officer Matthew Keeping and Peiser's
  promotion.
  Peiser joined Willis in September...
  
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• Peak Re's Swiss unit gets A- rating from AM Best

  21-04-2017 23:23
  Chinese reinsurer Peak Re's Zurich-based operation has received
  a financial strength rating of A- from AM Best.
  The carrier has also been granted an issuer credit rating of a-,
  the rating agency said today, adding that the outlook for the
  ratings is stable.
  Peak Re established a Zurich branch, Peak Re AG, in September
  2015, and was awarded a subsidiary licence to underwrite non-life
  reinsurance business by Swiss regulators in December.
  AM Best said it expects the unit to operate...
  
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• P&C debt rises as US underwriting profits drop: Fitch

  21-04-2017 23:23
  Debt levels at US property and casualty carriers rose last year
  faster than the insurers accumulated fresh capital, Fitch Ratings
  concluded in a study of the industry's leverage released
  yesterday.
  The financial leverage ratio among publicly traded debt-issuing
  P&C companies rose to 24.2 percent by the end of 2016, Fitch
  said. The figure stood at 22.6 percent at the end of the previous
  year.
  The ratio is expected to moderate near-term and decline to
  around 23 percent, according to Martha...
  
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• Catalina gets PRA nod to close Hartford legacy deal

  21-04-2017 23:23
  Legacy holding company Catalina has received regulatory approval
  for its acquisition of The Hartford's UK property and casualty
  run-off book, The Insurance Insider
  understands.
  The Hartford agreed to sell Downlands Liability Management (DLM)
  and Hartford Financial Products International Limited (HFPI) to
  Catalina in June 2016. The Prudential Regulatory Authority has now
  allowed the transaction to be completed.
  DLM and HPFI have been mainly in runoff since 1993 and includes
  US and UK asbestos lia
  
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• Marsh brings Nephila cash to retail property insurance

  21-04-2017 23:23
  Marsh and its Schinnerer underwriting management arm have
  launched the first alternative capital-backed retail
  property-insurance vehicle for American companies.
  Called Alternus, the offering managed by a unit of The
  Schinnerer Group is backed by a combination of capacity from
  Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty and alternative investment
  manager Nephila Capital and will be available for 1 May
  renewals.
  Offered exclusively through Marsh to US clients, Alternus will
  provide shared and layere
  
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• Arlene kicks off early Atlantic hurricane season

  21-04-2017 23:23
  Tropical Storm Arlene marked an early start to the Atlantic
  hurricane season this week, as it formed and intensified west of
  the Azores, becoming only the second named storm to develop in
  April since satellites began observing mid-ocean weather in
  1960.
  "Tropical storms in April are rare," said an advisory
  late yesterday from the National Hurricane Center in Miami. A storm
  reaches tropical strength and earns a name when its sustained winds
  reach 39mph (63kph) or higher.
  Officially, the hurricane
  
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• UK hits break-even on £20bn Lloyds Bank rescue

  21-04-2017 19:10 via ft.com
  Dividends and share sales exceed cost of taxpayer rescue at height of financial crisis
  
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• US liability rates drop amid pricing squeeze

  21-04-2017 18:32
  US businesses that switched insurers when renewing workers'
  compensation cover got a 7 percent drop in premium rates in the
  first quarter, according to a report by US wholesaler Lockton.
  Lockton said in its US P&C Market Update report that
  underwriters are cutting rates on renewal in an attempt to retain
  business.
  The broking firm said that general liability rates were also
  falling, although excess liability pricing has "bottomed
  out".
  Prices for high excess layers are already as low as...
  
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• UIB confirmed as fifth broker in FCA probe

  21-04-2017 18:32
  London-based UIB is one of the five brokers to be investigated
  by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as part of its probe into
  the aviation (re)insurance market, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Last night, this publicationbroke the news that the FCA had swooped on five aviation
  brokers in London simultaneously in the first week of April,
  seizing computers as part of an investigation into the misuse of
  confidential client information.
  The Insurance Insider had previously
  named Marsh, Aon, JL
  
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• Former Hiscox cyber head joins Corax

  21-04-2017 18:32
  Marcus Breese has joined cyber security firm Corax as head of
  insurance innovation and strategy.
  This publication revealed in
  January that the cyber head had departed Hiscox late last year
  in the latest salvo of the cyber market's talent war.Corax is a start-up that measures the strength of companies'
  cyber defences and assesses the potential for widespread disruption
  to business infrastructure in the event of an attack.
  Its software is designed to help insurers analyse companies'
  exposures for
  
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• Allianz, AXA, NIG, Aviva & Zurich - who topped the 2017 e-trade rankings?

  21-04-2017 18:23
  
  Acturis and Open GI also ranked in this year’s e-trading survey 
  
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• Fifth broker revealed in FCA aviation probe

  21-04-2017 16:17
  
  Broker says it is ‘co-operating fully’ in FCA aviation probe
  
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• Insurers confident whiplash reform plans will be reinstated

  21-04-2017 14:39
  
  Insurer say temporary delay will enable industry to get whiplash reform plans right
  
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• Innovation Blog: The peak of inflated expectations?

  21-04-2017 13:59
  
  The hype cycle is masking the true ‘enabling’ potential of insurtech, says Sam Evans, founder of Eos Venture Partners
  
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• Willis Towers Watson issues statement on FCA probe

  21-04-2017 13:49
  Global broker Willis Towers Watson has become the latest broker to
  confirm it is cooperating with the UK Financial Conduct Authority
  (FCA)'s investigation into the aviation broking industry.
  The Insurance Insider revealed that
  five brokers, including Willis Towers Watson, werevisited by the FCA earlier this month as the regulator
  investigates allegations of client data being used improperly.In a statement to this publication this morning, Willis Towers
  Watson said: "The Financial Conduct Authori
  
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• Snap election forces whiplash bill delay

  21-04-2017 13:49
  Prime Minister Theresa May's decision to call a snap election
  has led to the shelving of the Prisons and Courts Bill, which
  included reforms for the personal injury sector.
  Parliament will be dissolved in a little over three weeks'
  time, meaning all parliamentary business has to be concluded by 3
  May.
  And while legislation can be pushed through in the so-called
  wash-up period, there is not enough time to pass the Prisons and
  Courts Bill as it is yet to...
  
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• Opinion: Weathering the storm

  21-04-2017 13:49
  Batten down the hatches, the first quarter reporting season looks
  to be set to be a bumpy one.
  This quarter has seen thunderstorms cause more than $5.7bn of
  insured losses in the US, up almost 12 percent year-on-year,according to Aon Benfield meteorologist Steve Bowen.
  Early reporters in the US, such asTravelers, Allstate, State Auto, Cincinnati and Progressive,
  have all reported higher-than-expected cat losses, following the
  unseasonal weather events.
  Take US bellwether Travelers as an example.
  
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• JLT confirms FCA probe

  21-04-2017 13:49
  London-listed broker JLT has confirmed that it is a target of an
  investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) into the
  aviation insurance sector.
  The Insurance Insider revealed that
  five brokers, including JLT,were visited by the FCA earlier this month as the regulator
  investigates allegations of client data being used improperly.In a statement this morning, JLT said: "Jardine Lloyd
  Thompson Group plc notes recent press comment regarding an
  investigation by the FCA into the aviation in
  
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• FCA broker investigation focused on competition: Marsh

  21-04-2017 13:49
  Marsh has become the fourth broker to confirm its involvement in
  the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)'s aviation broking probe.
  It added that the watchdog is investigating whether Marsh and
  others have been "sharing competitively sensitive information
  within the aviation (re)insurance sector".
  The Marsh statement also confirmed that the UK regulator has
  conducted an on-site inspection at the broker's London office,
  and that it is conducting its own review.
  Marsh said: "In connection with a civi
  
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• Ecuador quake losses hit $575mn: Fedeseg

  21-04-2017 13:49
  Insured losses from last year's Ecuadorian earthquake are
  likely to hit $575mn, according to estimates from the country's
  insurance association.
  Sister publication Inside FAC reported
  that the Federación Ecuatoriana de Empresas de Seguridad
  (Fedeseg) said 35,764 claims have been paid for $422.1mn, with
  about 4,099 requests pending, equivalent to $153.3mn.
  Around 90 percent of the claims have been covered, corresponding
  to 73 percent of total payments. Fedeseg suggested that the total
  cost
  
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• Claims uptick a return to 'normal service': Bolt

  21-04-2017 13:49
  Improved global economic growth is driving an increase in claims
  frequency that signals a return to "normal service" after
  several years of muted activity, according to Berkshire Hathaway
  Specialty Insurance (BHSI) Southern Europe president Tom Bolt.
  Speaking at The Insurance
  Insider's London Market Claims Council (LMCC) at
  the City of London Club yesterday, Bolt warned that carriers
  focused on cost cutting in the midst of a soft cycle needed to
  "step up to deal with the kind of claims flows&
  
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• AJ Gallagher plans to narrow wholesale panel again

  21-04-2017 13:49
  AJ Gallagher (AJG) is in the process of making significant cuts
  to its US wholesaler panel in the latest consolidation move by
  retail brokers in the sector, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  According to sources, the Itasca, Illinois-based firm is looking
  at winnowing the core panel of wholesale intermediaries that its
  retail broking business will deal with to a handful of
  relationships that are said to include AmWins, BB&T-owned CRC
  and Brown & Riding.
  The panel will also include the...
  
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• This week in Post: Snap decisions, Can-can and costs

  21-04-2017 13:29
  
  In a snap decision just after Christmas I agreed it would be fun to attend a Moulin Rouge secret cinema perfomance, with little thought to the effort this would involve or the costume I'm currently having to source.
  
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• Allianz makes strategic investment in Lemonade

  21-04-2017 13:08
  
  Allianz has made a strategic investment in US insurtech start-up Lemonade.
  
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• rhg Insurance Brokers switches from SSP to Applied Systems

  21-04-2017 12:25
  
  Broker states it is still suffering from the effects of SSP’s outage in August 2016.
  
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• Quizzical questions: 21 April 2017

  21-04-2017 12:18
  
  Test your knowledge of the week's news with our topical quiz.
  
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• Motor premiums remain at record levels

  21-04-2017 12:01
  
  ABI says rising motor premiums show no signs of falling as a result of continuing market pressures
  
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• Top brokers embroiled in FCA aviation conduct probe

  21-04-2017 11:45
  
  Four of the biggest global brokers admit they are part of FCA aviation conduct probe
  
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• Allianz takes stake in Lemonade

  21-04-2017 11:34
  
  German insurer becomes Lemonade’s eighth investor to fuel international expansion
  
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• Major brokers caught up in FCA aviation probe

  21-04-2017 11:08
  
  Regulator reported to be looking into "suspected conduct" but declines to comment.
  
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• Average UK car insurance premiums up 8% in a year

  21-04-2017 10:54
  
  Association of British Insurers says typical cover is now £462 as whiplash claims and tax hikes hit motorists hardHigher taxes and whiplash claims have pushed the average car insurance premium up by 8% over the last year, adding £34 to the average annual cost for drivers, according to the Association of British Insurers.The increases takes the typical premium to £462, the highest level since the ABI started collecting the quarterly data in 2012. “This reflects continuing
  
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• R&Q identifying MGAs for disposal

  21-04-2017 10:51
  
  R&Q chairman and CEO Ken Randall has said the group is looking to simplify its business model as it identifies non-key assets for disposal.
  
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• ABI supports shelving of whiplash reforms ahead of general election

  21-04-2017 10:26
  
  Government opts not to force through prison reform Bill before 8 June.
  
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• Blog: Know your customer... and your opposition

  21-04-2017 08:00
  
  ‘In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity', wrote the great military strategist Sun Tzu a mere 25 centuries ago. His observation still holds true in these strange times of disruption. And seizing the opportunity is vitally important to modern businesses says Ashwin Mistry, chairman of Brokerbility.
  
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• RLI drops 9.5% on commercial auto-driven miss

  21-04-2017 03:07
  Shares in US carrier RLI dropped as much as 10 percent in New
  York trading after it posted first-quarter earnings that missed
  Wall Street expectations.
  The stock traded as low as $52.51 in late morning yesterday as
  investors reacted to a 19 percent fall in operating profit after
  commercial auto claims pushed the group's
  casualty division to an underwriting loss. The shares pared
  losses to close at $53.01, a 9.5 percent decline.The casualty unit reported a combined ratio of...
  
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• PE-backed Risk Strategies buys another NY broker

  21-04-2017 03:07
  Risk Strategies has acquired personal lines broker Friedman
  & Friedman to bolster the New York metro market presence of the
  private-equity backed acquirer.
  Terms of the deal announced today by the Boston-based broker
  were not disclosed.
  Friedman & Friedman, based in Westbury, New York,
  specialises in serving "successful families" and private
  clients who provide more than half its revenue. The broker also
  offers estate planning and asset protection to high net worth
  families, Risk Strateg
  
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