Insurance news

• Manchester Underwriting enters casualty with QBE hires

  27-04-2017 21:01
  UK MGA Manchester Underwriting Management (MUM) has appointed
  Antony Broome and Pat Wood as joint managing directors of its new
  casualty division, The Insurance Insider
  can reveal.
  The duo join from QBE.
  Broome has been in the industry for more than 27 years and
  previously worked for DA Constable (Syndicate 386), which became
  part of QBE. He is based in MUM's Manchester office.
  Wood also worked at DA Constable (Syndicate 386) and QBE, and
  will be based in the company...
  
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• Willis Towers Watson promotes Bernstein to GB broking head

  27-04-2017 16:54
  Willis Towers Watson has named Clyde Bernstein as its broking
  head for Great Britain.
  Bernstein, who has worked at Willis for 25 years, was previously
  director of broking for fine art, jewellery and specie.
  In his new role he will develop and implement Willis'
  broking strategy in Great Britain.
  He will report to Philip Smaje, global head of broking at Willis
  Towers Watson, and Alastair Swift, head of corporate risk and
  broking - GB. Smaje was previously head of Willis&...
  
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• Political risk top of insurance investment agenda

  27-04-2017 16:54
  Political risk has become the number one concern for insurance CIOs
  and CFOs, according to an annual survey of 317 insurance asset
  portfolio managers by Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM).
  Over a quarter of respondents, or 26 percent, named political
  risk as the top concern for insurance investment, up from 3 percent
  in the same study in 2016. The previous version of the study took
  place before the UK's Brexit vote and the election of Donald
  Trump as US president....
  
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• Nichols receives $8mn in severance from Axis

  27-04-2017 16:54
  Former Axis Re CEO Jay Nichols received $8mn in severance pay from
  Axis Capital, according to yesterday's first quarter results
  filing.
  Nichols' resignation was announced on 14 February this year,
  with the executive leaving the business on 31 March after a
  transitional period.
  In an 8K filing on 3 March, Axis Capital announced that Nichols
  would receive severance of $2.9mn alongside the accelerated vesting
  of his outstanding equity awards.
  And in the Q1 filing the firm revealed that a total...
  
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• Guy Carpenter posts 4% organic growth in Q1

  27-04-2017 16:54
  Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC)'s reinsurance arm Guy
  Carpenter generated 4 percent underlying revenue growth for the
  first quarter of 2017, it reported today.
  The result took Guy Carpenter's total revenue to $385mn for
  the quarter.
  Elsewhere in MMC's risk and services division, insurance
  broker Marsh's total revenue total rose to $1.6bn, representing
  organic growth of 5 percent. The division as a whole returned 5
  percent organic growth to reach $2.0bn of underlying revenue.
  International o
  
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• Further IPT increases likely: FiscalReps

  27-04-2017 16:54
  Insurance premium tax (IPT) is likely to rise further after
  three increases in less than two years, according to the CEO of tax
  consultancy FiscalReps.
  IPT will increase from 10 percent to 12 percent on 1 June, after
  rising from 6.0 percent to 9.5 percent in November 2015 and then
  climbing by another half-point last October.
  Most general insurers will have to pay that standard 12 percent
  rate, although the life sector and certain niche segments enjoy
  exemptions. The new...
  
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• Debbie creates small loss for Tower NZ reinsurers

  27-04-2017 16:54
  Tower Insurance said its reinsurers would pick up NZ$5mn-NZ$7mn
  ($3.4mn-$4.8mn) of its losses from Storm Debbie as it passed over
  New Zealand.
  The insurer estimated gross claims for storms associated with
  Cyclone Debbie would reach NZ$10mn to NZ$12mn, with its aggregate
  reinsurance picking up the first NZ$5mn and its per-occurrence
  reinsurance paying for claims in excess of NZ$10mn.
  Tower said its net financial loss was expected to be NZ$3.6mn
  after tax.
  The insurer had NZ$10mn of total limit av
  
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• AJ Gallagher holds dividend firm before quarterly results

  27-04-2017 16:54
  AJ Gallagher announced a quarterly dividend of $0.39 before it
  releases first quarter results later today.
  The broking firm said the dividend will be payable on 16 June to
  shareholders on its register as of 2 June. The amount is unchanged
  from the previous quarterly dividend, which was $0.01 up on that
  for the prior three months.
  The firm will announce first quarter results after markets
  close. The average estimate of analysts polled by Marketwatch.com
  for earnings per share is...
  
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• Swinton potential job cuts are sign of changing market

  27-04-2017 15:43
  
  But experts are not worried about the future of the personal lines broker.
  
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• Axa adds management liability product to Applied Systems TAM platform

  27-04-2017 15:11
  
  The product is targeted at limited companies, charities, UK clubs and associations and partnerships.
  
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• Allianz backed insurtech Simplesurance in UK launch

  27-04-2017 14:29
  
  Allianz sponsored e-commerce insurer Simplesurance has expanded to the UK with Munich Re as underwriter
  
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• Motor premiums set to rise by 29% by 2018

  27-04-2017 12:45
  
  Motor premiums will rise by up to 29% by January 2018 due to hikes to Insurance Premium Tax, increasing repair costs and the EU's Vnuk ruling.
  
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• Towergate holding company posts £73m pre-tax loss for 2016

  27-04-2017 12:35
  
  Losses have reduced compared to the preceding year.
  
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• Motor premiums set to rocket by almost a third

  27-04-2017 12:07
  
  The discount rate cut, tax increases, higher repair bills and a European court ruling are all expected to push motor premiums higher
  
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• Towergate earnings rise on broking results

  27-04-2017 12:03
  Insurance broker and underwriter Towergate has reported an 11.9
  percent rise in 2016 adjusted Ebitda to £84.2mn ($108mn), as
  the company continues its restructuring efforts.
  Profits were propelled by the firm's insurance broking arm,
  which reported a near-34 percent rise in adjusted Ebitda to
  £38.1mn.
  Revenues fell by 4.4 percent to £324.6mn, but job cuts
  helped reduce the group's staff-related expenses by 12.8
  percent.
  Chief executive David Ross said: "We have grappled with
  so
  
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• Scor merges European hubs

  27-04-2017 12:03
  Global reinsurer Scor has decide to combine its Paris-London and
  Zurich-Cologne hubs, creating a single Emea operation.
  The new hub will be led by Malcolm Newman as managing director,
  reporting to Romain Launay, group chief operating officer. It is
  understood no job losses will result from the merger.
  Scor launched the Zurich-Cologne hub in 2014 and the
  Paris-London hub in March 2015.
  The new set-up is aimed at consolidating processes, with a
  flatter management structure.
  Bernd Langer, who was f
  
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• Perils names new Asia Pacific head

  27-04-2017 12:03
  Catastrophe data aggregator Perils has appointed Darryl Pidcock
  to the new role of head of its Asia Pacific operation.
  Pidcock is a former Swiss Re executive who worked for the
  company in Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea and China, before
  heading to Singapore in 2015 to lead the client management team at
  Swiss Re's life and health division in southeast Asia.
  He previously spent eight years in the banking industry.
  Sydney-based Pidcock will develop Perils' business in the
  region, including...
  
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• Opinion: AIG dream team?

  27-04-2017 12:03
  Since Brian Duperreault wasidentified as the frontrunner for the top job at AIG last week,
  the focus has shifted to who might join him at the helm to steer
  the insurer back on course.
  In recent weeks, sources have suggested that the task of turning
  around AIG was such that it was unlikely that the former Ace and
  MMC chief would be expected to take it on alone.
  The executive has made his name and fortune on building the...
  
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• Ogden charge hits Scor Global P&C profits

  27-04-2017 12:03
  Scor Global P&C reported a first quarter 2017 operating
  result of EUR149mn ($162.5mn), which was down 37.7 percent on the
  same period of last year and missed the analysts' consensus
  forecast by 13.9 percent.
  Analysts had predicted a P&C operating result of EUR173mn.Scor Global P&C also reported a net technical result of
  EUR161mn, which was down 22.2 percent on Q1 2016.
  The result was impacted by a pre-tax hit of EUR116mn from the UK
  government's decision to change the...
  
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• JLT Specialty wins clients in first quarter

  27-04-2017 12:03
  JLT has said that key client wins in its specialty division
  helped offset tough trading conditions in the first quarter.
  In a quarterly trading statement, JLT said losses in its US
  Specialty business, in which it has been investing to build up,
  were expected to fall over 2017.
  The specialty division's acquisition of a 50.1 percent stake
  in US brokerage Construction Risk Partners, agreed on 27 January,
  is on schedule, JLT noted.
  The London-listed insurance broker and employee benefits
  consultancy
  
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• Floridian demand could stabilise June renewals: Doucette

  27-04-2017 12:03
  Private market Floridian insurers' incremental demand could
  help to foster more stable rates at the 1 June renewals, according
  to Everest Re reinsurance CEO John Doucette.
  Speaking on a first quarter earnings call with analysts earlier
  this week, the CEO said some early 1 June placements had indicated
  that the market was broadly in for flat renewals.
  Doucette explained that some Florida insurers are seeking
  additional reinsurance capital support as they struggle with higher
  attritional claims du
  
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• Disruptive Capital invests £8mn in start-up Reg

  27-04-2017 12:03
  Edi Truell-managed investment fund Disruptive Capital has taken a
  majority stake in counterparty risk management start-up Reg for
  £8.0mn ($10.3mn).
  The investment values the tech business, which was launched in
  2014, at £20mn. Founder and CEO Michael Phair will retain his
  20 percent stake in the venture.
  In a statement Disruptive Capital said the investment was aimed
  at supporting Reg's expansion into key international markets,
  beginning with the US.
  The Reg platform uses data captur
  
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• Towergate in "robust shape", says David Ross

  27-04-2017 11:58
  
  CEO states business is past its lowest point and starting to see organic growth.
  
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• Big Data practices 'will trickle down from health to GI'

  27-04-2017 11:27
  
  Health insurers may be leading the way with data analytics but best practices will eventually trickle down to general insurance, the CEO of a health tech start-up said.
  
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• CII gazes into the future of commercial broking

  27-04-2017 11:02
  
  Standards body says value-added services are key to broking’s success
  
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• InsurTech Futures: Brokers uptake of social media is growing

  27-04-2017 11:00
  
  Insurer finds that the use of social media is increasing but is unsure whether brokers are using it in a smart way to engage with customers.
  
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• Towergate posts Ebitda profit of £34.5m for 2016

  27-04-2017 09:47
  
  Income dips slightly to £324.6m.
  
  Read more

• Towergate returns to organic growth and boosts profit

  27-04-2017 09:32
  
  Towergate returns to organic growth after years of shrinking
  
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• Axis misses as reinsurance profits plummet

  27-04-2017 08:08
  Axis reported first quarter operating income of $0.59 per
  diluted common share, 27.2 percent short of analyst consensus
  expectations of $0.81 per share.
  Meanwhile, annualised operating return on equity shrank by 3.7
  percentage points to 4.0 percent for the period.
  The carrier ran up an underwriting loss in the quarter as its
  combined ratio took on 10.2 percentage points year-on-year to 102.1
  percent.
  The majority of the increase was due to a 9.4 point increase in
  the loss ratio, which...
  
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• Blog: Driverless cars, potential for cyber mayhem?

  27-04-2017 08:00
  
  Nothing is truly resilient against hacking. There’s always a trade-off between utility and the cost of protecting those systems according to Mark Hawksworth, technology specialist practice group leader at Cunningham Lindsey.
  
  Read more

• XL beats despite cat and reserve hits

  27-04-2017 02:13
  XL Group posted first quarter operating net income of $0.50 per
  share, ahead of Wall Street's consensus estimates of $0.47 per
  share and the $0.35 per share posted in the same period of 2016.
  The company posted a Q1 annualised operating return on equity of
  5.0 percent, up from the 3.5 percent a year ago.
  The carrier's combined ratio for the P&C unit rose by
  1.8 percentage points to 94.3 percent for the quarter, driven
  higher by a deteriorating loss...
  
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• Validus misses as underwriting profits slide

  27-04-2017 02:13
  Validus profit fell 36.8 percent in the first quarter as the
  Bermudian reported net operating income of $76.8mn.
  The $0.95 per share result fell well short of the consensus view
  of $1.19 per share based on nine Wall Street analysts surveyed by
  MarketWatch.com.
  Gross written premium increased by 1.5 percent to $1.19bn for
  the quarter however net premiums earned edged just 0.7 percentage
  point higher and underwriting profit dropped 40 percent.
  The group reported a combined ratio that climbed 8.1..
  
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• Markel cites Ogden hit as underwriting profit erodes

  27-04-2017 02:13
  Markel's operating income fell by almost half to $127.4mn in
  a first quarter that saw the firm preannounce an $85mn reserve
  charge that tipped it into an underwriting loss.
  The specialty carrier reported a break-even 100 percent combined
  ratio that rose 12 points compared with the year-ago quarter.
  The surge was driven by Markel's reinsurance unit which bore
  the brunt of the reserve charge as a result of its UK auto casualty
  book, which was put into run off in...
  
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• Florida lawmakers step closer to AOB reform

  27-04-2017 02:13
  Florida's House of Representatives passed a bill designed to
  curb assignment of benefits abuses that have sharply inflated
  insurance costs in the Sunshine State, but whether a measure
  addressing the issue will emerge from the Senate remains uncertain
  with the legislative session near its end.
  In a 91-26 vote today, the House moved to end excessive
  litigation stemming from Florida's assignment of benefits (AOB)
  law, which property and casualty carriers have blamed for adding as
  much as $20,000 pe
  
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• Cincinnati Financial beats even as cat losses cut profits

  27-04-2017 02:13
  Cincinnati Financial's first-quarter profit beat Wall Street
  estimates even as it dropped 34 percent after ballooning
  catastrophe losses from widespread storms in the US South and West
  punished underwriting results.
  The insurer said operating profit slid to $0.59 a share while
  analysts had forecast $0.51, the consensus of seven estimates
  compiled by MarketWatch.com. Cincinnati Financial had previously
  released an estimate of cat losses.
  Cat losses added 9.2 points to the company's property and
  c
  
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• Aspen outpaces consensus despite profits slide

  27-04-2017 02:13
  Aspen narrowly topped analyst consensus figures in the first
  quarter, despite weaker underwriting results that dragged earnings
  down by a third.
  The headline combined ratio was 5 points weaker year-on-year at
  96.6 percent, but marked a return to profitability for the New
  York-listed carrier after a fourth-quarter loss driven by its
  insurance arm.
  The Bermudian (re)insurer's diluted operating earnings per
  share came in at $0.79, $0.05 ahead of Wall Street's consensus
  estimate, according to a Mark
  
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• Allied World scrapes up underwriting profit

  27-04-2017 02:13
  Allied World fell 23 percent short of analyst consensus
  expectations with operating earnings per share of $0.53 in the
  first quarter in what is likely to be the firm's final set of
  results as a public company following its agreed sale to Fairfax
  Financial.
  The headline combined ratio slipped by 3.2 points to 99.2
  percent, the company said late today as the expense ratio tracked
  out by 1.5 points to 33.3 percent and the loss ratio widened by 1.7
  points...
  
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