Insurance news

• PRA consults on toughening rules for insurer managers

  13-06-2017 21:35
  The Prudential Regulation Authority has proposed bolstering the
  Senior Insurance Managers' Regime (SIMR) by introducing new key
  functions and requiring the separation of the chairman and CEO
  roles at large insurers.
  The changes, outlined in a consultation paper, are designed to
  bring the insurance sector in line with the banking industry. The
  consultation comes 15 months after SIMR replaced the Approved
  Persons Regime for Solvency II insurers and large entities that
  fall outside that framework.
  
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• Hiscox partners with InsurTech startup Bold Penguin

  13-06-2017 21:35
  Hiscox International has agreed to make available to its US
  agents an online marketplace for commercial products through a new
  partnership with InsurTech startup Bold Penguin.
  The agreement announced today by the Columbus, Ohio-based
  technology company will provide Hiscox International agents with
  real-time pricing for risks, making it easier to write coverage,
  Bold Penguin said.
  The portal provided by Bold Penguin is designed to automate much
  of the underwriting process for commercial insurance
  
  Read more

• Fosun's Peak Re wins clearance for Malaysia branch

  13-06-2017 21:35
  Fosun-owned reinsurer Peak Re said it has received
  approval-in-principle to establish a branch in Labuan, Malaysia
  from the Labuan Financial Services Authority.
  The clearance allows the business to write risk with effect from
  23 May.
  Peak Re CEO Franz-Josef Hahn said: "As one of the
  world's fastest growing areas of economic cooperation, ASEAN,
  and in particular Malaysia, plays an important role in Peak
  Re's business strategy."
  He added: "This approval from Labuan FSA will strengthen
  our presence
  
  Read more

• Everest Re adds to energy team with Engelbrecht hire

  13-06-2017 21:35
  Everest Re is poised to announce its latest move to bulk up its
  primary carrier group with the addition of former AIG executive
  Jeff Engelbrecht to the unit's energy team, The
  Insurance Insider has learned.
  Engelbrecht has joined the company as a senior executive in the
  underwriting group, where he is responsible for national account
  relationships and will provide in-house expertise in the
  sector.
  Commenting on the hire, Tom Morelli, head of energy for Everest
  Insurance, said: "We are thrilled..
  
  Read more

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• Anbang confirms chairman detained by Chinese government

  13-06-2017 21:08
  Wu Xiaohui has led company’s sudden emergence in the international business world
  
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• Anbang chairman detained by Chinese government

  13-06-2017 21:08
  Wu Xiaohui has led company’s sudden emergence in the international business world
  
  Read more

• Industry leaders divided on Brexit readiness

  13-06-2017 19:48
  
  Majority of Airmic delegates believe the insurance industry is ill prepared for Brexit
  
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• GRP picks up second broker in southern England

  13-06-2017 19:37
  UK broker consolidator Global Risk Partners (GRP) has acquired a
  majority stake in regional commercial and personal lines
  intermediary Green Insurance Group.
  The 80-strong broker specialises in property cover for small to
  medium- sized entities. Based in Bexhill in southeast England and
  often referred to as Greens, it has six branches and was
  established in 1973.
  The deal comes hot on the heels of GRP's acquisition of
  another regional broker, Higos Insurance Services, earlier this
  year.
  Higos ha
  
  Read more

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• TT Club underwriting profit falls as claims rise

  13-06-2017 17:32
  UK-based marine mutual carrier TT Club grew its top line by 3.3
  percent in 2016, while underwriting profitability dwindled.
  Gross earned premiums increased by $5.8mn from the previous year
  to $177.8mn.
  However, TT Club reported a 95.3 percent combined ratio, up from
  94.4 percent in 2015.
  Gross paid claims were $108.6mn last year. That was higher than
  the $90.0mn it reported in 2015, when the insurance market was hit
  by the devastating explosion in the Chinese port city of
  Tianjin....
  
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• Mapfre takes control of Indonesia's ABDA

  13-06-2017 17:32
  Spanish insurer Mapfre has completed its EUR90mn ($100.9mn)
  acquisition of an additional 31 percent stake in Indonesia's
  Asuransi Bina Dana Arta (ABDA) in a transaction that gives it
  control of the company.
  Mapfre bought an initial 20 percent of ABDA in 2013 as part of a
  push to expand in southeast Asia. It has now closed last
  October's agreement after obtaining regulatory approval to buy
  the additional shares.
  With control of ABDA secured, Mapfre must now make a public
  offer...
  
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• Investment income bolsters Skuld's 2016 profit

  13-06-2017 17:32
  Net profit before members' credit at Skuld rose almost
  threefold year-on-year to $50.6mn in 2016, as a surge in investment
  income offset a weaker underwriting performance.
  The result was the highest in six years, and compared to $17.9mn
  in 2015, Skuld said in its annual report.
  Skuld's combined ratio was 98 percent after members'
  credit, compared with 95 percent in 2015.
  Equity market strength pushed investment income up to $35.5mn
  last year, an improvement on the investment loss of $9.4mn...
  
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• Looming Essar sale offers hope for indebted corporate India

  13-06-2017 17:26
  Business hopes disposal of oil-refining unit will help free up banks to lend again
  
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• IBIS 2017: Connected cars will send first notice of loss 'as early as next year'

  13-06-2017 17:06
  
  Connected cars will dispatch emergency services and send first notice of loss as early as next year, predicted Sean Carey, president of SCG Management Consultants.
  
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• Election result makes whiplash reform less likely to go through in proposed form

  13-06-2017 15:53
  
  The general election result makes whiplash reform less likely to go through in its proposed form, experts said.
  
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• GRP invests in Green Insurance as MVP exits

  13-06-2017 15:46
  
  Broker teams up with Peter Cullum-backed vehicle having sold minority stake to Cullum-backed MVP in 2014.
  
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• World Bank launches pandemic bond

  13-06-2017 15:22
  The World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and
  Development (IBRD) is targeting $100mn from its first pandemic cat
  bond, which forms part of plans to raise a larger pandemic
  financing facility.
  The World Bank had hoped to raise a total of $500mn of insurance
  cover to help it respond more quickly to future pandemics following
  the outbreak of Ebola virus in 2014.
  The three-year cat bond is split into two tranches and will
  trigger on a parametric, per-occurrence basis using...
  
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• The Insider 50 outpaces the wider market

  13-06-2017 15:22
  The Insider 50 advanced by 0.3 percent to 1,088.94
  index points in the first full trading week of June, reaching the
  highest point since the inception of the index at the end of last
  year.
  Moreover, our index of 50 P&C
  (re)insurance companies outperformed other major market indices in
  the period.
  The Stoxx Euro 600, S&P 500 and FTSE 100 were all down in
  the week, posting decreases ranging from 0.3 percent to 0.6
  percent.
  But not all the sub-groups...
  
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• Swiss Re Corporate Solutions names Australasia head

  13-06-2017 15:22
  Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has appointed Melanie Slack as CEO for
  Australia and New Zealand.
  She is currently head of life and health products for Swiss Re
  Asia and will relocate from Hong Kong to Sydney for her new
  position.
  Slack has been with Swiss Re since 2002 and during that time has
  held a range of senior management positions in Asia, Europe and the
  US.
  Swiss Re Corporate Solutions established its Australian and New
  Zealand operations in 2010, and...
  
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• RFIB-Tysers: a deal years in the making

  13-06-2017 15:22
  Around 10 years after RFIB and Tysers first considered a
  transaction and 18 months after the Calera Capital-backed broker
  renewed its interest, the two intermediaries seem to be edging
  closer to a deal.
  Sources have said meaningful talks about a combination are
  ongoing, but exclusivity is not believed to have been granted to
  RFIB at this point and Tysers is unlikely to be short of
  alternative suitors.
  It is understood that the two sides held talks as far back as...
  
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• ProSight run-off a symptom of Lloyd's malaise

  13-06-2017 15:22
  ProSight's unhappy innings at Lloyd's is drawing to an
  end, with the US program insurer's decision to place its
  syndicate into run-off set to prompt a new round of
  self-examination for the troubled marketplace.
  The Insurance Insider revealed last
  week that ProSight hadcalled time on its Lloyd's operation, weeks after it
  repatriated the lion's share of the business to the US,
  following a sale process that failed to generate a bidder that
  could command the Corporation's confidence.
  That a...
  
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• Opinion: RFIB-Tysers talks

  13-06-2017 15:22
  The death of the London market's independent broking sector has
  been called repeatedly in recent years, amid a succession of deals.
  But a significant portion of EC3's business continues to be
  placed by intermediaries that are owned either by staff, or by a
  combination of staff and financial investors.
  And there is no sign that this is going to end any time
  soon.
  What is clear, however, is that the analytics arms race mounted
  by the mega-brokers and escalating compliance...
  
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• Market faces $500mn Huntsman loss

  13-06-2017 15:22
  The property fac market is facing a potential $500mn loss
  following a fire at US chemical corporation Huntsman's titanium
  dioxide manufacturing facility in Finland, according to sister
  publication Inside FAC.
  Operations at the plant in Pori were halted after the fire broke
  out on 30 January.
  The plant is now running at only 20 percent of its former
  capacity, and aims to be fully operational around year-end
  2018.
  In the first quarter Huntsman recorded a loss of $32mn for the...
  
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• Insurance Act implementation 'inconsistent': Airmic CEO

  13-06-2017 15:22
  The Insurance Act has been implemented inconsistently and in a
  way that is sometimes contrary to the spirit of the legislation,
  according to the outgoing CEO UK risk manager trade body
  Airmic.
  Ten months after the most radical change in UK insurance law in
  a century came into force, Airmic CEO John Hurrell said that some
  brokers have adopted a "legal, contractual" approach to
  dealing with the legislation.
  The Insurance Act puts a greater onus on insurance buyers to
  present...
  
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• Hudson Structured targets further workers' comp deals

  13-06-2017 15:22
  Michael Millette's Hudson Structured Capital Management said
  it hoped to do further transactions with Bermudian reinsurance
  platform MultiStrat after completing a $20.1mn run-off deal linked
  to workers' compensation liabilities.
  The fund manager was the major investor in a $35.3mn reinsurance
  vehicle set up by MultiStrat Advisors.
  The deal also involved $110bn fixed income asset manager Payden
  & Rygel, which will manage the investment portfolio connected
  to the workers' compensation transact
  
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• Global cyber reinsurance market sized at $525mn

  13-06-2017 15:22
  The global cyber reinsurance market hit approximately $525mn of
  premium in 2015, according to a study by Aon.
  In its Global Cyber Market Overview published today, the broker
  said 95 percent of this premium was written on a quota share
  basis.
  Around 15 reinsurers actively write standalone cyber treaties,
  though the market itself is still in its infancy.
  Longstanding supporters of the market have built their book over
  time and are able to offer 20 percent to 30 percent participation...
  
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• Generali seeks first European flood cat bond

  13-06-2017 15:22
  Generali is targeting EUR200mn ($223.5mn) from its Lion II Re
  2017-1 cat bond, which is the first insurance-linked securities
  (ILS) deal to include European flood risks, sister publication
  Trading Risk reported last week.
  The bond will also cover European windstorm and Italian
  earthquake perils, on an indemnity, per-occurrence basis.
  The first flood cat bond was the $150mn Blue Wings deal issued
  by Allianz in 2007, but this only covered UK risks.
  Since then, the MetroCat bonds for the New York..
  
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• Further Jubilee creep could take loss to $1.5bn

  13-06-2017 15:22
  (Re)insurers could find themselves on the hook for around $1.5bn
  of claims from the Jubilee fields loss as the largest insured
  involved, Tullow, prepares to increase its claim, The
  Insurance Insider can reveal.
  The Tullow portion of the claim is currently reserved at $490mn,
  but sources have said that a new loss adjuster's report will
  indicate a need for this to rise substantially.
  Including interest payments, the new market reserve to cover the
  deterioration will probably have to be comfortably
  
  Read more

• Everest Re added to S&P 500

  13-06-2017 15:22
  Everest Re has joined the likes of Chubb, XL Group and Berkshire
  Hathaway as a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
  The carrier will join the index at the beginning of next week.
  It was previously a member of the S&P MidCap 400.
  Everest will replace Mead Johnson Nutrition, which provides
  nutritional supplements for babies and children, on the S&P 500
  index.
  Meanwhile, Tennessee-based bank Pinnacle Financial Partners will
  take Everest's old spot on the S&P MidCap 400....
  
  Read more

• Embrace change or face disruption, InsiderTech delegates told

  13-06-2017 15:22
  Embracing technological change does not always come naturally to
  the fiercely traditional London market.
  But as speakers at The Insurance Insider's
  inaugural InsiderTech London event explained, traditional carriers
  and brokers may have little choice but to welcome the wave of
  technology start-ups looking to enter the market.
  More than 200 delegates gathered in London last week for the
  event, which examined a wide range of topics focused on the
  burgeoning InsurTech space.
  But amid discussion over
  
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• Darag considers equity raise

  13-06-2017 15:22
  European legacy acquirer Darag has appointed Macquarie to advise
  on an equity raise as it looks to secure funds for its deal
  pipeline, The Insurance Insider
  understands.
  Sources told this publication the firm was still in the
  relatively early stages of exploring its options, but it would be
  raising equity rather than debt.
  Darag, which has around EUR100mn ($112mn) of net assets, is
  owned by private equity firm Keyhaven Capital.
  Banking sources said that Darag will look at both a...
  
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• Centerbridge among Sabre bidders

  13-06-2017 15:22
  Private equity house Centerbridge is among the bidders for UK motor
  insurer Sabre, with minority backing from the Qatar Insurance
  Company (QIC), The Insurance Insider
  understands.
  Sources said a number of other bids are believed to have been
  lodged for the company, and Warburg Pincus is understood to be
  among the suitors.
  It has been suggested that the bids are in the region of
  £500mn ($635mn), some way short of owner BC Partners'
  £600mn target price, and this could still...
  
  Read more

• Airmic warns about facilities conflicts

  13-06-2017 15:22
  The use of facilities in the commercial insurance market risks
  creating a "conflict of interest", according to a report
  by UK risk managers' association Airmic.
  In a report released at the 2017 Airmic conference in
  Birmingham, the trade body raised concerns about brokers pushing
  risk managers towards facilities with higher fees.
  The paper said: "Due to the enhanced commission received
  from facilities, there is potential conflict of interest that must
  be addressed to avoid insurance buyers being
  
  Read more

• Qatar Re eyes Sabre in £500m bid - report

  13-06-2017 15:20
  
  Qatar Re eyes Sabre in a joint bid for the motor insurer
  
  Read more

• Applied Systems launches live webchat facility

  13-06-2017 15:16
  
  Allianz and Axa lead the way on new offering.
  
  Read more

• GRP regional hub model gets boost with latest buy

  13-06-2017 15:11
  
  Acquisition forms part of the GRP regional hub model
  
  Read more

• Last chance to enter tech and innovation awards

  13-06-2017 14:42
  
  Deadline for entries is June 14 
  
  Read more

• Airmic 2017: Risk managers need to focus on the short term to tackle unpredictable risks

  13-06-2017 14:34
  
  The risks facing UK firms are changing at such a pace that risk managers need to focus on the immediate short term and not just the risks of the future, members of the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers heard.
  
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• Airmic 2017: Market not yet consistent on Insurance Act, Airmic warns

  13-06-2017 13:21
  
  Brokers are adopting different approaches to achieving a fair presentation of the risk under the Insurance Act, the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers has warned.
  
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• Centerbridge vies for motor insurer Sabre

  13-06-2017 12:59
  Private equity house Centerbridge, which has minority backing
  from the Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), is among the bidders for UK
  motor insurer Sabre, The Insurance
  Insider understands.
  Sources said a number of other bids are believed to have been
  lodged for the company, with Warburg Pincus believed to be among
  the suitors.
  It has been suggested that the bids are in the region of
  £500mn ($635mn), some way short of owner BC Partners's
  £600mn target price, and this could still...
  
  Read more

• Qatar Re makes £500m takeover bid for Sabre, reports

  13-06-2017 12:43
  
  BC Partners is looking to sell the motor insurer.
  
  Read more

• UK insurers need to up their underwriting game – study

  13-06-2017 12:42
  
  New research from LexisNexis shows insurers need to up their underwriting game
  
  Read more

• IBIS 2017: GM not ruling out insuring its autonomous vehicles

  13-06-2017 12:22
  
  US car manufacturer General Motors is not ruling out providing insurance for its future autonomous vehicles.
  
  Read more

• One third of TT Club's business at stake from hard Brexit

  13-06-2017 12:04
  
  Transport insurer TT Club is exploring "possible options" to ensure it doesn't lose the third of its business that comes from Europe in case of a hard Brexit.
  
  Read more

• #Insagepeople 12 - 18 June 2017

  13-06-2017 11:29
  
  Keep up tp date with the latest people moves.
  
  Read more

• InsurTech Futures: BGL Group opens tech hub

  13-06-2017 10:42
  
  The Comparethemarket owner has moved digital and data staff to the White Collar Factory on London’s Silicon Roundabout.
  
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• Qatar Re teams with Centerbridge for Sabre: report

  13-06-2017 10:19
  Qatar Re is reportedly vying to buy UK motor insurer Sabre for
  about £500mn ($635.6mn).
  According to Sky News, the Gunther Saacke-led reinsurer
  has teamed up with US-based investor Centerbridge to lodge its bid
  for the company, which specialises in non-standard motor
  coverage.
  The motor insurer was first reported to have been put up for
  sale by private equity owners BC Partners last month.
  But Qatar Re is an unexpected contender for the business, with
  the Evening Standard previously naming
  
  Read more

• Opinion: Rating disparity

  13-06-2017 10:19
  Ask most brokers and underwriters in the US commercial insurance
  sector about the state of pricing and they'll tell you it is a
  buyer's market.
  There may be the occasional pocket of hardening - segments of
  commercial auto are an obvious example - but the abundance of
  capital and relatively benign claims environment have helped
  sustain pricing pressure on insurers over the last couple of
  years.
  Ask about the magnitude of softening, however, and you'll
  find less accord.
  And two...
  
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• Anbang says chairman ‘unable to perform his duties’

  13-06-2017 09:01
  Insurer confirms that Wu Xiaohui has been detained by authorities
  
  Read more

• Blog: Mobile apps for insurers, golden or poisoned chalice

  13-06-2017 08:00
  
  Not every insurer needs an app. Antoine Hemon-Laurens, mobile consultant at GMC Software, lists the four questions you should ask yourself to decide whether it is the right tool for your company.
  
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• Blog: London needs to get global

  13-06-2017 08:00
  
  To maintain its competitive position, the London insurance market needs to become a truly global hub, write Chris Beazley, CEO of the London Market Group, and Paul Clark, partner at the Boston Consulting Group
  
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