Insurance news

• UK aims to capture catastrophe bond market

  20-07-2017 23:35
  Government overrules approach of the regulator to keep City competitive
  
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• Final London ILS framework plan lands in Parliament

  20-07-2017 19:54
  The UK government has today released final regulations that will
  introduce a local insurance-linked securities (ILS) framework,
  taking a major step toward having a hub for the business up and
  running by January.
  The project had been beset by several political delays and
  regime changes in the course of its development. The final
  regulations were due to be announced in April before the snap
  election was called, putting the unveiling on hold during
  campaigning.
  But London market members who have...
  
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• Allstate takes $993mn in pre-tax Q2 cat losses

  20-07-2017 19:54
  Allstate today estimated a second quarter cat loss tally that
  overshot analysts' expectations after the carrier experienced
  17 events in the final month of the quarter.
  The Northbrook, Illinois-based insurer said it expects the June
  pre-tax cat loss tally and prior cat-related reserve strengthening
  to come in at $355mn, or $230mn after tax.
  The June figure will take the second quarter total to about
  $993mn before tax and $645mn after tax, the company said.
  Allstate did not characterise the June.
  
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• Eastern European fraud gang targets Zurich

  20-07-2017 16:09
  
  Fraud gang targets Zurich with planned accidents 
  
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• Insurance could cut natural disaster bill for developing nations by $11bn, says RMS

  20-07-2017 16:06
  
  New types of insurance could cut the costs of natural disasters for poorer countries and reduce the amount of humanitarian aid needed, according to a new report.
  
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• Video: Portsmouth and Southampton part two

  20-07-2017 14:50 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Insurance Age delves further into the insurance market in the region.
  
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• World Bank to support UK-led disaster insurance scheme

  20-07-2017 14:25
  The UK and German governments have brought in the World Bank to
  support efforts to introduce parametric catastrophe insurance to
  developing countries.
  The Washington-based fund will deploy staff to work with the
  London Centre for Global Disaster Protection, which is leading the
  insurance initiative.
  The institute, launched by UK prime minister Theresa May at theG20 meeting in Hamburg this month, aims to use insurance to
  provide emergency financial support to disaster-stricken areas in
  the develo
  
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• Travelers misses consensus as weather losses bite

  20-07-2017 14:25
  US bellwether carrier Travelers undershot analyst predictions in
  the second quarter as operating profit per share dropped to $1.92
  against consensus expectations of $2.11.
  Operating, or core, earnings per share were 13 percent lower
  than the $2.20 reported in Q2 2016, while overall core income fell
  16 percent year-on-year to $543mn.
  Travelers shares were trading down 1.15 percent pre-market at
  $126.46 as of 07:30 New York time.
  The company said catastrophe losses had dealt a hit of $0.93 per
  sha
  
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• Munich Re re-enters Iran with life deal: report

  20-07-2017 14:25
  Munich Re has struck a deal to cover the life insurance book of
  Iranian carrier Saman Insurance as the company seeks to
  re-establish a presence in the country following the end of
  sanctions last year.
  According toa report in Iranian news outlet Ibena, Saman's CEO
  Ahmadreza Zarrabieh told a press conference yesterday Munich Re had
  agreed a deal to cover risks up to EUR1.0mn ($1.2mn) of liabilities
  from the life book. h
  A spokesperson for Munich Re confirmed to...
  
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• InsurTech funding rebounds to $985mn in Q2: WTW

  20-07-2017 14:25
  Funding for InsurTech start-ups rose by 148 percent in the
  second quarter to $985mn, according to a new report by Willis Re
  and Willis Towers Watson Securities.The year-on-year growth came after funding totalled $398mn in
  the second quarter of 2016, and $283mn in Q1 2017.
  The broker said the number of transactions in the second quarter
  rose by 88 percent year-on-year to 64.
  (Re)insurers made 31 investments in InsurTech firms in the
  quarter, an increase of 15 percent on...
  
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• Expense must be tackled to close protection gap: Reardon

  20-07-2017 14:25
  The (re)insurance industry cannot burden emerging markets with its
  endemic expense problem if it is to effectively close the
  protection gap, said Hamilton Re CEO Kathleen Reardon.
  Speaking at the International Insurance Society's Global
  Insurance Forum in London yesterday, Reardon said the industry
  "had to take it back to the fundamentals" to increase
  insurance take-up in underpenetrated markets.
  "What we can't do is recreate our expense-ridden value
  chain that we have in the mature market, with
  
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• D&O veteran Elms departs XL Catlin

  20-07-2017 14:25
  Julian Elms, a veteran of directors' and officers'
  (D&O) underwriting, is leaving XL Catlin after 13 years,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Elms originally joined legacy Catlin in 2004, having previously
  worked at Ace as D&O manager for the UK and Ireland for 10
  years.
  Prior to that, he served as an assistant vice president for
  D&O at AIG for eight years, having began his career as a broker
  at Stewart Wrightson, which was bought by Willis Faber in 1987....
  
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• Case study: Insurance Cares

  20-07-2017 13:15 via insuranceage.co.uk
  
  Judith Smith of the Charity for Civil Services outlines how Zurich has worked with the charity to help vulnerable members affected by the catastrophic events at Grenfell Tower.
  
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• Nexus enters US market with Zon Re deal

  20-07-2017 12:30
  
  Specialty managing general agent Nexus Group has acquired US personal accident treaty reinsurance MGA Zon Re.
  
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• Questgates appoints Ganson to its board

  20-07-2017 12:21
  
  Colin Ganson has been appointed to the board of Questgates after taking part in the restructure and reorganisation of the firm’s property division.
  
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• Opinion: Wopnin Bermy?

  20-07-2017 12:08
  The resounding general election victory this week of Bermuda's
  Progressive Labour Party (PLP) over the centre-right One Bermuda
  Alliance (OBA) has racked up an impressive number of column inches.
  It's also sparked some concern in the (re)insurance market,
  as the PLP - with its Bermuda First mantra - is generally perceived
  to have a tougher stance on allowing international firms to bring
  in outside workers than the OBA.
  But are these concerns overblown? Let's look at the
  manifesto pledges upon...
  
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• Castel adds construction to specialty division

  20-07-2017 12:08
  MGA incubator Castel Underwriting Agencies has expanded the
  capabilities of its specialty division with the hire of
  construction specialist Peter Wallace.
  Wallace was previously an underwriter with Munich Re working
  across all risk sizes on a global basis. Prior to this, he was
  underwriting and claims manager for the Middle East and North
  Africa with infrastructure insurance specialist Infrassure.
  Castel Construction writes construction all risks and inherent
  defects insurance (IDI) business on
  
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• Applied Systems reveals BHIB as second Epic user in UK

  20-07-2017 10:25
  A-Plan was first to sign up when new service was launched.
  
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• InsurTech funding rebounds to $985mn in Q2: Willis Re

  20-07-2017 09:42
  Funding for InsurTech start-ups rose by 148 percent in the
  second quarter to $985mn, according to a new report by Willis
  Re.
  The year-on-year growth came after funding totalled $398mn in
  the second quarter of 2016, and $283mn in Q1 2017.
  The broker said the number of transactions in the second quarter
  rose by 88 percent year-on-year to 64.
  (Re)insurers made 31 investments in InsurTech firms in the
  quarter, an increase of 15 percent on Q2 2016.
  Overall funding for...
  
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• Should I cash in my endowment early to pay off my mortgage?

  20-07-2017 08:00
  
  I’m thinking of topping up its current cash-in value with a personal loan so I can pay off the mortgage when my deal endsQ The current fixed-rate deal on my interest-only mortgage of £47,000 will finish at the end of next March, and the entire mortgage term is due to end in July 2023. My endowment will mature a year before that and is on track to pay out £49,800 at the low rate and £57,300 at the mid rate. It has never performed better than the mid rate since it started,
  
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• RLI beats despite flat profit on weaker gross premiums

  20-07-2017 02:02
  Specialty carrier RLI outperformed the expectations of Wall
  Street analysts despite flat second-quarter profits, dwindling
  premium volume and a combined ratio that crept higher.
  The insurer reported operating earnings of $27.1mn for the
  period, just $200,000 less than the figure it reported for the same
  period last year.
  The result contributed to per-share profit of $0.61, comfortably
  bettering the forecasts of seven analysts who expected $0.52 a
  share, according to a survey by MarketWatch.
  Gros
  
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• Donegal cites $20mn cat bite in dropping to a Q2 loss

  20-07-2017 02:02
  Personal lines and commercial carrier Donegal Group swung to a
  second-quarter loss as severe weather took a $20.1mn bite out of
  operating earnings, almost double the five-year average for the
  period.
  Mitigating the cat losses was an 8.1 percent increase in net
  premiums earned, to about $175mn, CEO Kevin Burke said. yesterday
  as the Marietta, Pennsylvania-based insurer reported an operating
  loss of $3mn compared with a profit of $8.1mn in the same period a
  year earlier.
  The $0.11 per class...
  
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