Insurance news

• Universal gets set to start underwriting in NY

  20-06-2017 23:45
  Florida's leading multi-peril homeowners underwriter
  Universal Insurance Holdings is poised to begin writing policies in
  New York state as the carrier pursues its plan to expand outside
  its home base.
  Universal Property & Casualty obtained approval from the
  Empire State's Department of Financial Services for its
  proposed homeowners rates and policy forms, the Fort Lauderdale,
  Florida-based parent company said today. It said it expects to
  start writing business in New York later this year.
  Th
  
  Read more

• Next gains blue chip backer in American Express

  20-06-2017 23:45
  Next Insurance has added a blue chip backer to its roster of
  early investors as American Express chipped in to the Silicon
  Valley startup's latest financing.
  The InsurTech venture, though barely a year old has reportedly
  raised nearly $50mn from backers led by Munich Re's HSB
  Ventures, including $13mn in seed capital amassed in early
  2016.
  AmEx confirmed it joined the latest round, which last month was
  reported to have raised $29mn.
  But Reuters reported today that after AmEx joined...
  
  Read more

• Citizens approves 5.3% rate hike and policy changes

  20-06-2017 20:56
  Florida's Citizens has outlined rate rises and policy
  changes for 2018 in response to the ongoing assignment of benefits
  (AOB) crisis.
  The state-backed insurer said its board of governors today
  recommended a 5.3 percent statewide increase for personal lines
  policyholders, including homeowners, condo unit owners and
  renters.
  It added that most increases are concentrated in the three South
  Florida counties where water losses, AOB abuse and litigation are
  disproportionately severe.
  Homeowners in Mi
  
  Read more

• American Ag upgraded by AM Best

  20-06-2017 20:56
  American Agricultural Insurance Company's improved underwriting
  and operating results have earned it an upgrade from AM Best, which
  elevated the reinsurer's financial strength rating by one step
  to A.
  The outlook on the rating is stable.
  AM Best cited "strong risk-adjusted capitalisation" as
  well as five years of both underwriting and operating profits by
  the firm, which provides reinsurance services to Farm Bureau
  insurance companies.
  The reinsurer's performance has resulted from
  "aggressive ri
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• JLT Specialty USA beefs up aerospace practice

  20-06-2017 18:08
  JLT Specialty USA has made four senior appointments within its
  aerospace practice that draw on three JLT insiders and one external
  hire.
  Phil Gingell becomes executive chairman of the practice, having
  previously served as its Chicago-based president.
  Steve Lloyd will become CEO of the operation and relocate to
  Chicago from London.
  Lloyd joined JLT in 2013 and was most recently a partner and
  member of the executive committee for JLT Aerospace in London. He
  previously held senior roles within the.
  
  Read more

• The consultation on PPI cost the FCA over £473,000

  20-06-2017 16:25
  
  Regulator notes that £3.2m of the £42.2m consumer communications campaign budget has been spent so far.
  
  Read more

• Zurich in $300mn Australian legacy motor disposal

  20-06-2017 15:17
  Zurich is bringing an Australian motor liability legacy book to
  market as the global carrier continues to clean up its back books,
  The Insurance Insider understands.
  Legacy sources told this publication that Zurich has appointed
  an adviser to oversee the sale of the book, which holds roughly
  $300mn in net discounted reserves.
  It is understood Zurich is in the very early stages of the
  disposal process, and first-round indicative proposals have not yet
  been submitted by potential acquirers.
  Likely
  
  Read more

• Willis Re prepares for CEO succession to Kent

  20-06-2017 15:17
  John Cavanagh, CEO of Willis Re since 2012, is preparing to hand
  the reins to current deputy James Kent, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Sources told this publication that an exact date for
  Cavanagh's departure from the reinsurance broker is yet to be
  determined, but is likely to be around the turn of 2018, by which
  point the 60-year-old will have served six years in the role.
  Willis Re declined to comment for this piece.
  It is understood that Cavanagh...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Toa Re working on SPA with Barbican

  20-06-2017 15:17
  Japanese reinsurer Toa Re is working with Lloyd's
  managing agent Barbican to establish a special purpose arrangement
  (SPA) for 2018, The Insurance Insider can
  reveal.
  Sources said that the proposed SPA - the new designation for a
  special purpose syndicate (SPS) - is targeting a 1 January
  launch.
  It is understood that Toa Re and sponsor Barbican have already
  appeared before the New Entrants Assessment Group, passing a key
  milestone.
  The Franchise Board does not meet in August, but the...
  
  Read more

• The Insider 50 continues to rise

  20-06-2017 15:17
  Our P&C non-life (re)insurance index, The Insider
  50, posted continuous growth over the past month and rose 1.0
  percent last week to 1,099.5 index points.
  The new record level was 3.5 percent higher
  month-on-month and 6.4 percent above the year-end 2016 result.
  By contrast, major market indices were relatively flat or down
  last week. The FTSE 100 recorded the biggest movement among the
  indices we cover, with a 0.85 percent drop.
  Among P&C (re)insurers, London carriers enjoyed a positive
  
  Read more

• The Hanover cat programme prices down 5%

  20-06-2017 15:17
  The Hanover Insurance Group has put out firm order terms on its
  1 July-renewing core cat programme that suggest an average rate
  reduction of around 5 percent, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  According to sources, the multi-year structure of the Guy
  Carpenter-placed excess-of-loss reinsurance cover is in line with
  last year's, with the broker requesting authorised lines from
  reinsurers this week.
  There are four layers offering $900mn of
  protection above a $200mn retention, placed on a multi-yea
  
  Read more

• (Re)insurers braced for welter of Grenfell claims

  20-06-2017 15:17
  The devastating fire at Grenfell Tower in north Kensington looks
  set to trigger a myriad of claims across multiple lines of
  business, with potential triple-digit property and liability losses
  falling mainly on reinsurers.
  The biggest gross loss is likely to be borne by the Royal
  Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's combined casualty and
  property insurer Protector Forsikring, which is heavily reinsured
  by a panel of around 10 continental European and London market
  reinsurers.
  But a host of other p
  
  Read more

• Property D&F rates flatten at 1 July

  20-06-2017 15:17
  Early indications suggest the decline in property direct and
  facultative (D&F) rates eased at 1 July as both binder and open
  market business renewed between stable and 5 percent down.
  Sources told The Insurance Insider
  that London markets are pushing back on further rate reductions as
  technical profitability comes increasingly under threat. This time
  last year rate declines were comfortably in the double digits.
  The renewal date coincides with the Lloyd's syndicate
  business planning for 2018
  
  Read more

• Neon hires Argo reinsurance buyer Gibson

  20-06-2017 15:17
  Specialty (re)insurer Neon has recruited Argo's reinsurance
  buyer Mark Gibson, who is likely to start work at the firm this
  summer, sources told sister publication Trading
  Risk.
  Gibson spent five years at Argo, where he was director of
  alternative risk capital.
  As part of his work on Argo's reinsurance arrangements
  Gibson set up the carrier's Harambee Re sidecar in 2013.
  Harambee was one of the first such vehicles to cede primary
  insurance risk to capital market investors.
  Before joining Argo...
  
  Read more

• Leadenhall invests in start-up as AuM hit $4.2bn

  20-06-2017 15:17
  Leadenhall Capital Partners announced its assets under management
  (AuM) had grown by more than $800mn in the past half-year to reach
  $4.2bn by 1 June as the company was named as an investor in
  start-up Gryphon Group Holdings.
  Luca Albertini, Leadenhall CEO, said that the insurance-linked
  securities (ILS) investment management firm had recorded growth in
  both its non-life and life businesses, which reflected increased
  appetite from existing and new investors.
  "We also turned down significant addi
  
  Read more

• Jamin trades in UBS for Jefferies

  20-06-2017 15:17
  UBS deal banker Mike Jamin is set to leave the bulge bracket bank
  for rival firm Jefferies, The Insurance
  Insider understands.
  Sources said that Jamin, a managing director of the UBS
  Financial Institutions Group based in New York, had resigned
  earlier this month to take up a senior role at the American
  bank.
  Late last year a vacancy opened up at Jefferies after Marty
  Dolan, global head of insurance for a number of years,
  departed.
  Dolan, a former co-head of...
  
  Read more

• Camberford Law places itself up for sale

  20-06-2017 15:17
  UK retail and Lloyd's broker Camberford Law is the latest
  broker to put itself up for sale, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Sources told this publication that Grant Thornton had been
  awarded the mandate to look for a new backer, and had been on
  manoeuvres for some time now.
  Camberford Law is 51 percent owned by managing director David
  Ottewill. Directors Paul Cooper and Simon Carter each hold a 24.5
  percent stake in the business, having worked with Ottewill on...
  
  Read more

• Axis Northshore Re II cat bond targets $250mn

  20-06-2017 15:17
  Axis Capital is seeking $250mn from a second cat bond, Northshore
  Re II 2017-1, which will cover a number of its subsidiaries,
  Trading Risk understands.
  Northshore Re II will provide per-occurrence cover against US
  wind and quake perils for Axis Re, Axis Insurance and Axis
  Specialty.
  It will trigger on province-weighted insured industry loss data
  that uses loss estimates from Property Claim Services (PCS).
  Axis Capital is offering an initial spread guidance of 750 to
  850 basis points (bps) for..
  
  Read more

• Lemonade captures a quarter of first-time insurance buyers’ market

  20-06-2017 14:57
  
  US Insurtech Lemonade reveals home renters business is driven by millennials
  
  Read more

• Industry welcomes chancellor's Mansion House speech

  20-06-2017 13:40
  
  The UK insurance industry has welcomed comments made by chancellor Philip Hammond where he said he is pushing for a Brexit "that works for Britain," and wants a business-friendly Brexit which protects financial services.
  
  Read more

• ProGlobal nears completion of business sale

  20-06-2017 12:31
  ProGlobal Insurance Solutions said it expected to complete the sale
  of its outsourcing and consulting businesses on 30 June after
  securing all the necessary approvals.
  Following completion of the £8.3mn ($10.6mn) deal with
  private equity firm Acuity, ProGlobal's only remaining business
  will be its 30 percent stake in managing agency Asta.
  Pro Global said in March that Asta contributed £2.2mn to
  its 2016 profit and £1.7mn in 2015.
  The company plans to use proceeds from the sale
  
  Read more

• Opinion: Auto survey

  20-06-2017 12:31
  After mounting frequency and severity losses, auto insurance is
  a rare pocket of hard market conditions in an otherwise soft US
  insurance market.
  And price increases are being applied broadly across the sector,
  from trucking and transportation in the commercial segment to
  personal lines, where giants like Geico and State Farm have been
  successfully filing for rate rises in a bid to arrest climbing loss
  ratios.
  So it was of little surprise that research firm JD Power
  reported yesterday that...
  
  Read more

• ILS manager Twelve loses investment head Butler

  20-06-2017 12:31
  The head of investment management at ILS manager Twelve Capital,
  John Butler, is leaving the firm, sister publication
  Trading Risk reported yesterday.
  His next move is not known, although it is understood he will be
  based in his home town of Dublin.
  Butler has worked at Twelve Capital, commuting between the
  firm's London and Zurich offices, for almost five years,
  according to his LinkedIn profile.
  His responsibilities included sourcing and analysing business
  for the firm's reinsurance and insura
  
  Read more

• Ed hires professional and exec risks quintet

  20-06-2017 12:31
  London market broker Ed has made five new appointments to its
  professional and executive risks team, four of which have joined
  from Willis Towers Watson.
  The team will be led by Paul Richards, who has been named as
  managing director of the unit.
  Richards most recently led sales development as an executive
  director of Willis' financial lines division, but had also
  previously led the financial institutions team at Willis Towers
  Watson's Finex division.
  Meanwhile, Willis executive director of Finex
  
  Read more

• Rent 4 Sure set to exceed £1.5m profit following positive 2016

  20-06-2017 12:22
  
  Tenant and landlord insurance provider Rent 4 Sure is on track to exceed net profits of £1.5m for 2017, the company revealed in a results statement.
  
  Read more

• FCA probes travel insurance cover for cancer patients

  20-06-2017 12:08
  
  The watchdog is seeking views from firms and looking for the reasons behind pricing differences.
  
  Read more

• New insurance product rating service to take on Defaqto

  20-06-2017 11:37
  
  Direct car, home and travel are part of new insurance product rating service 
  
  Read more

• CII launches new London Market qualification

  20-06-2017 11:32 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Certificate is aimed at brokers, insurers and reinsurers involved in the London Market.
  
  Read more

• FCA reviews travel insurance for cancer patients

  20-06-2017 10:39
  
  The Financial Conduct Authority has launched a public consultation to see if changes are needed to make it easier for people with cancer to get travel insurance.
  
  Read more

• Discount rate cut 'will push up motor premiums by 7%'

  20-06-2017 10:39
  
  The cut to the Ogden discount rate will push up motor premiums by 7% by January 2018, according to analysis by ERS.
  
  Read more

• Coversure opens in Leeds

  20-06-2017 10:20
  
  New branch to be run by owners of Coversure Bradford.
  
  Read more

• R&Q strikes California trucking loss portfolio transfer

  20-06-2017 10:03
  Legacy carrier Randall & Quilter (R&Q) has agreed a loss
  portfolio transfer reinsurance contract to cover an estimated $43mn
  of legacy liabilities for a California-based insurance group.
  The deal covers livery, trucking and contractors' liability
  programmes issued between 2007 and 2015.R&Q said the latest transaction was completed in conjunction
  with Willis Re through R&Q's Accredited Surety &
  Casualty unit.
  As part of the agreement the company will assume all claims
  handling
  
  Read more

• FCA travel insurance study to probe access to cover problems

  20-06-2017 09:54
  
  The FCA travel insurance study will look at challenges customers with cancer face in accessing cover
  
  Read more

• Manchester Underwriting's Charles Manchester on why, if you’re not a broker, you’re an MGA

  20-06-2017 08:00
  
  Charles Manchester, CEO of Manchester Underwriting believes insurers are no longer the providers of capital but instead the custodians of it.
  
  Read more

• Legal Update: When the discount rate isn't so accommodating

  20-06-2017 08:00
  
  A negative discount rate can have negative consequences for claimants, writes Andrew Parker, head of strategic litigation at DAC Beachcroft.
  
  Read more

• Epic acquires After product warranty analytics firm

  20-06-2017 02:16
  Expansive US retail broker and employee benefits consulting firm
  Epic has acquired After, a product warranty analytics firm that
  will partner with its PowerGuard Specialty subsidiary.
  After provides warranty marketing, analytics, administration and
  data recovery services from its base in Norwalk, Connecticut.
  The firm's clients include the likes of Canon, Electrolux,
  Ford, Generac, Jaguar Land Rover, Polaris, and Seagate
  Technologies, Epic said.
  Carlyle Group-backed Epic bought the firm to stren
  
  Read more

• Auto insurers must show value as prices rise: JD Power

  20-06-2017 00:31
  Efforts by loss-struck carriers to rehabilitate their personal
  auto books have resulted in rate increases for 26 percent of
  customers, according to the JD Power 2017 US auto insurance
  study.
  With the number of auto insurance buyers receiving an annual
  rate increase of more than $200 a vehicle doubling during the past
  four years, the price rises are having a "profound
  effect" on customer satisfaction, according to the survey.
  And JD Power noted that price satisfaction scores among those
  customers
  
  Read more

Follow @Insurance_UKnws on Twitter!