Insurance news

• Sompo Canopius profit falls by a fifth in 2016

  19-05-2017 23:03
  Lloyd's carrier Sompo Canopius saw its net income fall 21.3
  percent to 5.9bn yen ($53mn) in the year to 31 March, according to
  filings from parent company Sompo Holdings.
  The disclosure also revealed that net premiums written during
  the period were 133bn yen, up 4.8 percent year-on-year, with the
  forecast for fiscal 2017 5.0 percent.
  The decline is reflective of the downturn in profits seen at
  Sompo Canopius's Syndicate 4444, which saw its profits plummet by 85 percent to
  £8.2mn...
  
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• AM Best puts Sompo Canopius' Swiss reinsurer under review

  19-05-2017 23:03
  AM Best has placed the ratings of Sompo Canopius' Swiss
  reinsurance arm under review with developing implications.
  In a statement released today, AM Best said the move reflected
  "uncertainties over Sompo Japan Canopius Reinsurance AG's
  future business profile and its strategic importance within the
  Sompo group" following the company's acquisition of
  Endurance last year.
  The rating agency said it expected the under review status to be
  resolved once more details of the company's future business
  pl
  
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• Pembroke agency MD Wash departs

  19-05-2017 18:13
  Pembroke Managing Agency managing director Justin Wash has resigned
  his position and will go back to work as a consultant,
  The Insurance Insider understands.
  Sources said Wash has resigned from business after eight years
  in which he held responsibility for the Ironshore Lloyd's
  platform's managing agent.
  As MD of the managing agency, Wash was in charge of
  Pembroke's regulated entity, and would also have been
  responsible for Lloyd's reporting, compliance and risk
  management.
  Wash joined Pembroke
  
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• Opposition to dual role for Chubb's Greenberg mounts

  19-05-2017 18:13
  Nearly a fifth of Chubb shareholders voted against the election
  of CEO Evan Greenberg as chairman of the board of directors at the
  insurer's annual general meeting.
  At the meeting on Thursday, 19 percent of votes cast were
  opposed to the election of Greenberg as chairman. Those voters
  followed the recommendation of proxy advisory firm Institutional
  Shareholder Services (ISS), which was against the CEO retaining the
  additional role.
  The dissenting shareholders held just over 77.9 million Chubb
  sh
  
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• Opinion: Programme chaos offers opportunity

  19-05-2017 18:13
  Much has been written about the challenges facing US P&C
  insurers in the grip of the soft market.
  And the high-profile difficulties that have afflicted some of
  the industry's bigger names - most notably AIG - have led to
  retrenchment from certain lines of business.
  Meanwhile, the fallout from recent M&A is continuing to
  disrupt the sector.
  But where there is upheaval, there is opportunity - or at least
  that was the overwhelming sentiment from players in the programme
  space...
  
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• MS&AD profits up a fifth in 2016

  19-05-2017 18:13
  Group ordinary profits at MS&AD rose by 20.9 percent for the
  full-year 2016 to 353bn yen ($3.18bn), driven by increased profits
  in the domestic non-life insurance business, the carrier reported
  today.
  Net income rose by 15.9 percent year-on-year for the 12 months
  to 31 March to 210bn yen, marking the fifth successive year of net
  income growth.
  Net premiums written increased by 10.7 percent year-on-year to
  3.4tn yen due to the inclusion of MS Amlin in the scope of
  consolidation....
  
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• Maiden CEO Raschbaum testifies in whistleblower trial

  19-05-2017 18:13
  Maiden Holdings CEO Art Raschbaum has vehemently defended the
  Bermudian reinsurer against fraud allegations made by the
  firm's former chief operating officer and general counsel.
  At a hearing yesterday in New York before a US Department of
  Labor administrative law judge, Raschbaum said he did not believe
  that "by any measure" Maiden could be considered to have
  committed a fraud against its shareholders.
  It is the latest development in a long-running case brought by
  former employee Bentzion Turin
  
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• Insurance chief Moulder to leave PRA

  19-05-2017 18:13
  Chris Moulder, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)'s
  most senior non-life insurance supervisor, is to leave the UK
  regulator, The Insurance Insider
  understands.
  Sources told this publication that Moulder's
  responsibilities as director of general insurance will be handed
  over to Anna Sweeney when he exits at the end of June.
  Moulder is understood to be looking to build up a portfolio of
  non-executive directorships rather than taking on another full-time
  role.
  Sweeney's new remit will cover
  
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• HCC boosts Tokio Marine 2016 profits

  19-05-2017 18:13
  The acquisition of HCC bolstered earnings at Tokio Marine Holdings
  as the group's international non-life profit surged by 29
  percent year-on-year, or 24 percent when excluding currency
  effects, to 173.2bn yen ($1.5bn) in the financial year ended 31
  March 2017.
  Non-life net written premiums (NWP) increased by 28 percent to
  just under 1.57tn yen as the impact of the HCC acquisition fed
  through. The Japanese company closed the $7.5bn purchase of the
  Texas-based carrier in October 2015.
  P&C form
  
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• FHCF ponders $1bn reinsurance purchase

  19-05-2017 18:13
  The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) is considering making
  a $1.0bn reinsurance purchase for the forthcoming year in a bid to
  protect its resources for future years.
  The information was contained in a presentation prepared by FHCF
  executive director Ash Williams, who is set to present risk
  transfer options to the organisation's board on 23 May, the
  FHCF's communications director told sister title
  Trading Risk.
  The presentation will reveal that the FHCF is currently in the
  strongest fina
  
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• EC threatens states with court action over Solvency II

  19-05-2017 18:13
  The European Commission (EC) has called on five EU member states
  to fully transpose Solvency II rules and other insurance regulation
  into national legislation or face a referral to the EU Court of
  Justice.
  The EC said that Latvia, Hungary, Poland and Portugal had failed
  to notify Brussels officials of "all measures necessary"
  to implement Solvency II and a related directive about financial
  services oversight by the 31 March 2015 deadline.
  Cyprus had similarly fallen short in the case of...
  
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• Covea GWP hits £666.3m

  19-05-2017 16:25 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Insurer says it overcame Ogden headwind and expects growth to continue as it says Sterling deal is reflected in increased GWP.
  
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• Covea sees profits treble following Sterling integration

  19-05-2017 15:46
  
  Covea has seen its pre-tax profits almost treble from £12.9m to £38.4m last year despite “headwinds” from the Ogden rate change.
  
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• Covéa Insurance profit triples despite Ogden hit

  19-05-2017 15:29
  
  Reserve release boosts Covéa Insurance profit
  
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• State National appoints Evercore for sales process

  19-05-2017 13:12
  Specialist fronting and programme carrier State National has
  appointed Evercore to run a formal sales process, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  According to sources, the fast-growing Texas-based business
  officially appointed the boutique corporate finance firm in recent
  weeks, with a deal book thought to be circulating on the
  insurer.
  State National has carved out a dominant position in the
  fronting space, including through the exclusive arrangement it has
  with Nephila Capita. The deal allows t
  
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• RSG launches independent marine claims adjuster

  19-05-2017 13:12
  Ryan Specialty's RSG Underwriting Managers (RSGUM) has
  formed an independent marine consultancy and claims adjusting
  company.
  The operation, dubbed Smooth Waters, will support RSGUM's
  recently formed marine practice, the Chicago-based company
  said.
  In February RSGUM agreed to acquire specialty marine MGA Trident
  Marine Managers for an undisclosed sum.
  RSGUM chief operating officer Miles Wuller said at the time the
  deal was part of a "continued execution" of its plan to
  build a global specialty m
  
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• Opinion: In defence of nuance

  19-05-2017 13:12
  "InsurTech is an epochal revolution which will change the
  industry forever. Have you ever heard of Google?"
  "InsurTech is a flash in the pan that will never last.
  Weren't you there in the late '90s tech bubble?"
  These entirely contradictory statements will dominate the
  conversation about the development of InsurTech in the coming
  years.
  In a report on the nascent industry by Oliver Wyman released
  earlier this week, the authors said the start-up vanguard currently
  in the industry has in...
  
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• Lloyd's Asia insurers launch political risk consortium

  19-05-2017 13:12
  Three Lloyd's insurers have formed an Asia political risk
  consortium that offers increased capacity for a wide range of
  political and contract frustration risks from the Lloyd's
  Singapore hub.
  Beazley, Chaucer and Talbot will work collectively to provide
  large-scale capacity of up to $130mn for individual risks, with a
  policy period of up to seven years.
  Singapore is the largest Lloyd's market hub outside of
  London, with gross written premiums of $680mn in 2015.
  Key risks that will be covered...
  
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• Hiscox investors show dissatisfaction with exec pay

  19-05-2017 13:12
  Nearly 20 percent of Hiscox shareholders voted against its
  remuneration report for the year at the carrier's AGM
  yesterday.
  Hiscox said 19.26 percent of votes were cast against the
  remuneration report resolution, with a further 15.54 percent of
  votes opposing its remuneration policy.
  Both resolutions were passed, however. The remainder of the
  resolutions garnered the backing of between 97.23 percent and 99.99
  percent of votes cast.
  The company's annual report for 2016 revealed CEO Bronek
  Masojad
  
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• CIRC and OCI to work on equivalence framework

  19-05-2017 13:12
  The Chinese and Hong Kong insurance watchdogs have signed an
  agreement to conduct an assessment into equivalence for the
  insurance solvency and regulatory regimes in the two
  territories.
  The Equivalence Assessment Framework Agreement was signed on 16
  May, and is designed to achieve mutual regulatory recognition for
  China and Hong Kong and enhance cooperation between the two
  agencies.
  Currently, the two bodies are developing their own enhanced
  risk-based solvency regulatory regimes with reference
  
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• UKBA: Be Wiser says win boosted staff morale

  19-05-2017 12:51
  
  Chairman Mark Bower-Dyke recommends brokers to enter following Be Wiser's Training Award win at the 2016 UK Broker Awards.
  
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• This Week: Menace, manifestos and managing general agents

  19-05-2017 12:51
  
  There is a menace in my house in the form of water. First it caused problems in my kitchen (as many of you will remember) and now it's found its way out of the bathroom.
  
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• Beazley to open Birmingham office to tap into regional market

  19-05-2017 11:59
  
  Beazley will open an office in Birmingham with 100 staff to target the intermediated regional market.
  
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• Blog: Comply with GDPR or risk a £17.5m fine

  19-05-2017 11:49
  
  It’s one year until GDPR data regulations are fully in force. Data expert Steve Sands of Synectics Solutions explains what this means for brokers and urges them to act now.
  
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• Tories will slash motor premiums - May

  19-05-2017 11:30
  
  Whiplash reform was in doubt because of snap election but Tory manifesto promises to tackle fraud and slash motor premiums 
  
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• Quizzical questions: 19 May 2017

  19-05-2017 10:53
  
  Test your knowledge of the week's news with our topical quiz.
  
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• Conservative manifesto could lead to reversal of discount rate decision says Apil

  19-05-2017 09:11
  
  The reintroduction of whiplash reform if the Conservatives win the election could come with a reversal of the discount rate, the Association of Professional Injury Lawyers has warned.
  
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• Blog: Driverless cars are just three chicanes away

  19-05-2017 08:00
  
  Before driverless cars take to the road, the public needs to be reassured about their safety and cyber risks need to be mitigated, write Deloitte partners Gurpreet Johal and Nigel Walsh. But once liability is clarified, insurers stand to benefit.
  
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• Prudential replaces Asia chief in management shake up

  19-05-2017 00:12
  Tony Wilkey will be replaced by group finance director Nic Nicandrou
  
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