Insurance news

• XL Catlin adds to M&A insurance team

  25-04-2017 22:45
  XL Catlin has hired two additional M&A insurance underwriters
  in the US, the company has said.
  The carrier announced the hires along with an expanded suite of
  M&A products.
  The newcomers are Hilary Weiss, previously an M&A underwriter
  in the Americas at AIG, and Reagan Tangney, who was previously an
  equity research analyst at Asian investment bank CLSA.
  Both will be based in New York.
  The hires follow the arrival of Richard Winborn as international
  head of M&A insurance on...
  
  Read more

• Vertafore adds RiskMatch as a standalone unit

  25-04-2017 22:45
  Brokerage software and services provider Vertafore has acquired
  InsurTech start-up RiskMatch, which will become an operating unit
  within its new owner.
  The four-year-old Greenwich, Connecticut-based target offers
  brokers and insurers ways to examine options for clients while
  reducing costs and speeding up transactions, according to Kabir
  Syed, the company's founder and CEO. At its core the company is
  an analytics provider.
  RiskMatch takes data and "turns it into real value" in
  helping brokers pl
  
  Read more

• Kemper latest victim of US cat losses

  25-04-2017 22:45
  New York-listed insurer Kemper Corporation has become the latest
  carrier to surprise investors with higher-than-expected first
  quarter cat losses as it warned major claims could cost as much as
  $70mn for the period.
  The figure was well above the expectations of JMP analyst Matt
  Carletti who had forecast that the losses would be around $24mn.
  In a statement last night, Kemper revealed that pre-tax cat payouts
  for the quarter were likely to cost between $60mn and $70mn.
  "The company does...
  
  Read more

• Industry should look outside for innovation path: Branch

  25-04-2017 22:45
  (Re)insurers should not obsess over pure innovation and must
  look to other sectors for industry-changing ideas, according to XL
  Accelerate chief executive Vincent Branch.
  Taking and developing existing ideas to suit the specific needs
  of the sector can be the easiest route to innovation, Branch said
  in remarks to the Acord London Forum today.
  The executive pointed to the example of telematics as a
  technology that developed outside the sector but which is directly
  relevant to the business of comm
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Generali grows US team in Western push

  25-04-2017 22:45
  Generali Global Corporate & Commercial (GC&C) has hired
  a trio of senior underwriters and opened offices in Chicago and San
  Francisco in a move that will bolster the Italian carrier's US
  footprint.
  In an announcement yesterday, Generali revealed that former-XL
  Catlin exec Jennifer Winters had joined its ranks as vice president
  for foreign casualty in New York.
  She was joined by Peter Ignell who left Zurich, where he was
  regional property director for the Midwest, to become vice
  president
  
  Read more

• FM Global chooses Luxembourg for EU base

  25-04-2017 22:45
  Property insurance mutual FM Global has picked Luxembourg to house
  a new continental European hub after the UK's vote to leave the
  European Union last year.
  The company has formed a Luxembourg subsidiary, FM Insurance
  Europe, to write business in the EU and other countries, according
  to its annual report for 2016, which cited the Brexit vote.
  "We implemented our contingency plan," the company
  said, noting that it "will allow us to continue to deliver
  seamless coverage throughout the EU&q...
  
  Read more

• Earnings beat propels Everest Re to 5% gain

  25-04-2017 22:45
  Everest Re shares jumped as much as 5.4 percent in New York
  trading today after the company easily beat Wall Street's
  first-quarter earnings expectations as revenue rose while costs
  fell.
  The stock traded as high as $252.44, a new 52-week high, before
  retreating slightly by early afternoon as traders reacted to the
  company's report late yesterday of an operating profit of $6.29
  a share, above the consensus of analyst expectations for $5.31 per
  share.
  The result was up 21 percent...
  
  Read more

• US commercial rates show signs of modest uptick

  25-04-2017 17:38
  After a dip in pricing this time last year nominal US commercial
  P&C rates appear to be in modestly positive territory again, if
  early Q1 reporters Travelers and RLI prove to be indicative of the
  rest of the sector.
  In the first three months of last year, Travelers reported that
  renewal premiums in its domestic business insurance operation had
  fallen by 0.1 percent.
  Fast-forward a year and price growth has
  accelerated slightly, with renewal premiums returning to the black
  as...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Towergate confirms staff facing more job cuts

  25-04-2017 17:38
  Towergate has put 133 staff on notice that they may lose their
  jobs, as the UK personal and commercial lines broker's
  restructuring efforts continue.
  The employees work in Leeds and Maidstone in analytics and data
  roles.
  A spokesperson for Towergate said: "We can today announce
  that we are proposing to restructure a number of central finance
  processing teams.
  "Regrettably, this has resulted in 133 employees being
  placed at risk of redundancy."
  The consultation process will last 45 days. Towergat
  
  Read more

• Third deal this year for club cat bond platform

  25-04-2017 17:38
  The Resilience Re club cat bond platform run by Willis Towers
  Watson Securities has completed its third deal this year with a
  $173mn insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuance, according to a
  Bermuda Stock Exchange announcement.
  In January, QBE used the platform to raise $187mn of collateralised
  reinsurance protection.
  This was followed in February by a $63mn deal for an unknown
  sponsor.
  The latest Resilience Re 1741A deal takes private cat bond
  issuance to $431mn for the year, according to figu
  
  Read more

• Tech opens markets as it drives insurer challenges

  25-04-2017 17:38
  New technology often introduces novel risks. And these
  exposures, such as the threat of identity theft by internet hackers
  or car accidents resulting from texting while driving, can present
  opportunities for insurers.
  But while technological innovation can produce new risks almost
  overnight, it typically takes time to gather sufficient data to
  evaluate the hazard and properly price policies, according to Alice
  Underwood, executive vice president and head of analytics at Willis
  Re.
  Speaking on a
  
  Read more

• Standalone cyber growth 'crucial': JLT Re

  25-04-2017 17:38
  The growth of the standalone cyber (re)insurance market is
  "crucial" if the industry is to provide a sustainable
  long-term solution to cyber risk, according to JLT Re.
  In its cyber Viewpoint report, published yesterday, JLT Re said
  it believed greater resilience to cyber risk in the (re)insurance
  market can be created by considering cyber as a standalone line of
  business, rather than a peril.
  Some participants have previously argued that the standalone
  market is not sustainable in the long term,
  
  Read more

• Other US states look to follow Rhode Island run-off push

  25-04-2017 17:38
  At least two more states in the US have followed Rhode Island by
  introducing legislation that could pave the way for a run-off
  sector in the country that looks more like the UK or continental
  European market.
  The states are mulling rules that would allow insurers to
  offload legacy books that are weighing on their balance sheet.
  It follows the move by the country's smallest state Rhode
  Island, which has put into law a mechanism that allows carriers to
  transfer...
  
  Read more

• Opinion: French election

  25-04-2017 17:38
  The markets had a nice morning yesterday, with
  stocks surging. For the first time in almost a year investors
  passed a major political milestone that seemed to bring greater
  rather than reduced certainty.
  And that will last for at least two weeks.
  While our trust in pollsters may not have been entirely restored
  by the triumph of centrist Emmanuel Macron in the first round of
  France's presidential election, it seems to have eased the
  nerves of Europe's investors anxious about...
  
  Read more

• Market puzzled by FCA aviation probe

  25-04-2017 17:38
  The initial shock at a major intervention from the
  consumer-focused Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the aviation
  insurance market has given way to perplexity about the target of
  the investigation.
  The Insurance Insider revealedlast week that the FCA had swooped simultaneously on five
  aviation brokers in London earlier this month, seizing IT equipment
  from Aon, JLT, Marsh, Willis Towers Watson and UIB.
  Marsh made clear in its statement that the probe was a
  "civil competition investigation",
  
  Read more

• London ILS framework delayed until after election

  25-04-2017 17:38
  The final regulations for London's insurance-linked securities
  (ILS) hub have been delayed until after the UK general election on
  8 June.
  Redrafted regulations were expected to be released before Easter
  and enter the parliamentary process soon after, before Prime
  Minister Theresa May announced a snap election.
  However, there will still be time for the regulations to be
  published and considered by parliamentary committee before the
  summer recess begins on 20 July.
  The government had hoped to have
  
  Read more

• Liberty Specialty hires Sutherland to lead liability

  25-04-2017 17:38
  Stuart Sutherland, UK head of casualty at AIG, has resigned to
  become head of liability at Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM),
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Sutherland joined AIG in May 2015, having moved across from XL,
  where he was regional casualty manager for the UK, Australia and
  Scandinavia.
  He is understood to have run a book of more than $600mn in
  casualty premium while at AIG. Sutherland's move to Liberty is
  understood to be part of a wider drive by...
  
  Read more

• Insider View: Road to Rhode Island

  25-04-2017 17:38
  So far, the development of a burgeoning US run-off market that
  mimics that in the UK has been all sizzle and no steak.
  In 2014, the market was abuzz with excitement over a law passed
  in the state of Vermont that gave live carriers the ability to
  transfer books of legacy business to newly formed run-off
  companies.
  But unlike the UK's Part VII transfer mechanism,
  Vermont's Legacy Insurance Management Act did not require court
  approval and only applied to surplus...
  
  Read more

• FCA shines spotlight on wholesale market

  25-04-2017 17:38
  The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)'s investigation into
  the wholesale insurance market highlights mounting concern around
  the changing relationship between brokers, insurers and insureds,
  according to observers.
  On releasing its 2017/18 business plan last week (18 April), the
  UK watchdog said it would conduct a market study on the wholesale
  segment and a review into the general insurance distribution
  chain.
  Its wholesale market study will "assess how effectively
  competition is working in thes
  
  Read more

• Elseco secures $75mn of airline capacity

  25-04-2017 17:38
  Dubai-headquartered MGA Elseco has landed $75mn of capacity for
  its growing aviation insurance platform, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Sources said the company had secured backing from Allied World,
  AmTrust, Hamilton and Swiss Re to enlarge its aviation book to
  include airline business.
  It is understood carriers that backed Elseco's previously
  established general aviation platform, including Talbot and Sirius,
  will remain as capacity providers on the expanded aviation book but
  with a reduced
  
  Read more

• Core Heritage layers renew broadly flat

  25-04-2017 17:38
  Heritage has put out firm order terms (FOTs) to the market that
  appear to be broadly flat on the two core layers of its cat
  excess-of-loss tower, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  According to sources, the Florida homeowners' insurer will
  pay a rate-on-line (RoL) of 27.25 percent on the first $110mn
  layer, which is being placed above a $50mn xs $40mn underlying
  layer.
  That layer would drop down to $40mn if it was
  exhausted under the cascading structure put together...
  
  Read more

• Carriers face EUR250mn Abengoa insolvency loss

  25-04-2017 17:38
  (Re)insurers in the trade credit and surety sector could suffer
  net losses of up to EUR250mn ($271mn) from the collapse of
  Seville-based multinational renewables group Abengoa,
  The Insurance Insider has learned.
  Carriers with significant exposure to the loss include Swiss Re,
  Munich Re, Hannover Re and Zurich, with PartnerRe and Scor also set
  to pay out claims.
  Upfront losses could be as much to EUR700mn-EUR1bn, according to
  sources.
  However, it was suggested that the eventual net loss will tota
  
  Read more

• Brexit threatens to create environmental liability confusion

  25-04-2017 17:38
  Environmental liability underwriters could face pricing and
  policy wording challenges because of Brexit, Cunningham
  Lindsey's head of environmental solutions has warned.
  Graham Hawkins said any UK deviation from the EU's
  Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) after Brexit could create
  uncertainties around the policies of larger insureds, exacerbating
  those already caused by different interpretations of the ELD across
  the now-28-nation bloc.
  Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to transfer the
  
  Read more

• American Integrity's debut cat bond prices at lower end

  25-04-2017 17:38
  Spreads for American Integrity Insurance Company's debut cat
  bond Integrity Re 2017-1 settled at the lower end of revised
  guidance, according to sources.
  The final spreads on the deal's main layers came in 6 to 13
  percent lower than the initial midpoint of forecasts, continuing a
  trend for significant reductions during the marketing of new cat
  bonds this year.
  The three-year deal is divided into four tranches and covers
  named storm events in Florida on an indemnity, per occurrence
  cascading...
  
  Read more

• ABI holds cross-sector roundtable on discount rate

  25-04-2017 14:38
  
  The Association of British Insurers held a cross-sector roundtable yesterday to discuss the reduction to the Ogden discount rate.
  
  Read more

• InsurTech Futures: Aviva launches 'Ask It Never' initiative

  25-04-2017 14:30 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Insurer aims to eliminate question asking process by using big data.
  
  Read more

• EU warns Britain not to assume free trade deal for financial services

  25-04-2017 13:20
  
  Biba chief executive Steve White says trade body continues to ask for barrier free access to the EU market.
  
  Read more

• Japan Post: a heavy Toll

  25-04-2017 13:10
  Cultural oversensitivity is as much to blame as the mispricing to buy logistics group
  
  Read more

• Texas Mutual WC carrier plans to pay $260mn dividend

  25-04-2017 12:59
  Texas Mutual Insurance Company plans to pay a record $260mn in
  dividends to its customer-owners this year.
  Distribution of the dividend to the carrier's more than
  66,000 qualifying business customers will begin in June.
  Texas Mutual covers 40 percent of the workers' compensation
  market in the Lone Star State.
  In the past five years, the Austin-based insurer has paid out
  more than $1bn in dividends, the company said last week.
  "We're pleased to reward safe practices in a way that...
  
  Read more

• Aon Benfield sees $4.5bn insurance bill for Matthew

  25-04-2017 12:59
  The catastrophe modelling unit of Aon Benfield has estimated
  insured losses from Hurricane Matthew at $4.5bn.
  Impact Forecasting said Matthew, which hit the US and Caribbean
  last October, generated economic losses of $15bn, with more than
  two-thirds of these incurred in the US.
  The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and insurers have
  paid out nearly $4.0bn in claims so far, Impact Forecasting
  said.
  "Hurricane Matthew was the most intense October hurricane
  in the Atlantic on record and made
  
  Read more

• AM Best assigns Navigators International 'A' rating

  25-04-2017 12:59
  AM Best has granted Navigators International (NIIC) a financial
  strength rating of A and long-term issuer credit rating of a+.
  Navigators International is a subsidiary formed by its parent
  company last year. The rating agency said its ratings outlook was
  stable, citing support from the Navigators group and an expected
  strong underwriting performance.
  "A.M. Best expects NIIC's medium-term operating
  performance to be good. Earnings are likely to be underpinned by
  solid underwriting profitability a
  
  Read more

• Health insurer uses AI 'medical brain' to aid staff in decision-making

  25-04-2017 12:10
  
  A health insurer is using an artificial 'medical brain' to improve its underwriting and claims.
  
  Read more

• Markel UK launches social welfare policy

  25-04-2017 11:51
  
  Insurer says Markel Care offers opportunities for brokers to grow and develop their business.
  
  Read more

• Building Block expands into Portugal

  25-04-2017 11:51
  
  Malta-based PCC Building Block has partnered with Automovel Club de Portugal to launch health excess insurance to ACP’s members.
  
  Read more

• Spanish lawyers warn over explosion in holiday insurance fraud claims

  25-04-2017 11:16
  
  Holiday insurance fraud claims costing millions will damage package holidays 
  
  Read more

• AIR Worldwide launches cyber risk aggregator tool

  25-04-2017 11:12
  
  Catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide has launched a cyber risk modelling tool to estimate potential insured cyber losses across an insurer's portfolio.
  
  Read more

• Aviva to roll out no questions home insurance - boss Wilson

  25-04-2017 10:50
  
  Mark Wilson plots ‘game changer’ with no questions home insurance following digital garage meetings 
  
  Read more

• Towergate confirms 133 people at risk of redundancy

  25-04-2017 10:12
  
  Job cuts to hit Maidstone and Leeds Airport West offices.
  
  Read more

• Legal Update: When reasonable isn't enough

  25-04-2017 08:00
  
  The Supreme Court judgment in Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board opens a new avenue for claims against professionals, explains Alisdair Matheson, partner at Brodies.
  
  Read more

• Blog: Brokers' bad reputation

  25-04-2017 08:00
  
  So what’s the worst thing you can say to a broker? Accuse them of being commission driven? Question what value they add to customers? Definitely best not to stray into the territory of online comparison sites, says Adrian Saunders, commercial director at Ecclesiastical.
  
  Read more

• New insurance rules fail to make life easier for investors

  25-04-2017 06:01
  Solvency II has done little to clear up industry’s complex reporting, research shows
  
  Read more

• Aviva buys out Vietnam operation

  25-04-2017 04:28
  
  UK-headquartered insurer Aviva has bought 50% of the remaining shares in VietinBank Aviva Life Insurance for an undisclosed amount.
  
  Read more

• WR Berkley falls to reinsurance underwriting loss

  25-04-2017 02:44
  WR Berkley's reinsurance division slipped to an underwriting
  loss in the first quarter as a $30mn reserve charge took its toll
  on the segment's combined ratio.
  The New York-listed carrier's operating earnings per share
  were in line with the Wall Street consensus at $0.70 per share,
  according to Janney analyst Larry Greenberg, as the net result came
  in broadly flat.
  Late last month, the carrier revealed that its results for the
  first three months of the year would take a...
  
  Read more

• Horace Mann profit slides on record cat losses

  25-04-2017 02:44
  Horace Mann Educators posted a 39.8 percent drop in operating
  profits as catastrophe and other weather-related losses climbed to
  $17.2mn, a first-quarter record for the carrier.
  The insurer reported operating profit of $0.37 a share, widely
  missing analysts' consensus estimate for $0.55 a share, based
  on four forecasts compiled by MarketWatch.com.
  Severe US weather during the first quarterdrove down profits at several large P&C carriers this year,
  including Travelers, while Allstate said cat
  
  Read more

• Everest Re posts big earnings beat

  25-04-2017 02:44
  Everest Re handily topped Wall Street expectations with a
  first-quarter operating profit of $6.29 a share, as its
  underwriting margins held up and investment performance
  strengthened significantly.
  Analysts had looked for operating profit of $5.31 a share,
  according to the consensus of 10 analysts compiled by
  MarketWatch.com, modestly ahead of the $5.19 earnings delivered in
  the year ago period.
  Earnings were also boosted by 7.6 percent growth in net earned
  premiums to $1.31bn, as Everest contin
  
  Read more

Follow @Insurance_UKnws on Twitter!