Insurance news

• US D&O rates slide for 15th straight quarter: Aon

  27-07-2017 20:22
  Directors' and officers' (D&O) liability insurance
  rates fell again in the US during the first quarter, with Aon's
  quarterly price index tumbling to its lowest value in the 15 years
  since it was created.
  More than half of primary policies that renewed during the first
  quarter received a price cut, while 24 percent were flat and 25
  percent renewed at a higher rate, an Aon report said yesterday.
  But at a 20.3 percent average, price hikes were typically much
  larger...
  
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• Starr Companies picks Malta for post-Brexit base

  27-07-2017 20:22
  Starr Companies has opted to establish a subsidiary in Malta as its
  future base in the European Union, the US carrier has told this
  publication.
  Steve Blakey, CEO of Starr Companies' London market
  operation, Starr Underwriting Agents, said the carrier had applied
  for a licence to set up an insurer in Malta.
  "It's going through now," Blakey said.
  "We've submitted a plan."
  The executive continued that Starr had met with the Malta
  Financial Services Authority and that the regulator is...
  
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• S&P downgrades Markel's corporate rating to BBB

  27-07-2017 20:22
  Standard & Poor's (S&P) has lowered Markel's
  corporate rating by one step from BBB+ to BBB following the
  company's announcements yesterday that it would acquire State
  National for $919mn in cash and an industrial farm based in Miami
  for an estimated $255mn.
  The ratings agency said the downgrade of Markel's long-term
  counterparty credit and senior unsecured debt ratings reflected
  both purchases as well as "the potential for additional large
  transactions in the next few years, which will n
  
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• Renewals suggest lower RenRe growth in near future: O'Donnell

  27-07-2017 20:22
  Market behaviour in recent renewals suggests Bermudian carrier
  RenaissanceRe's greatest growth is behind it "for the
  foreseeable future", according to the company's chief
  executive Kevin O'Donnell.
  Speaking on a second quarter earnings call with analysts,
  O'Donnell said the reinsurer had reduced its participation or
  come off some accounts entirely in the last quarter as a result of
  either poor conditions or pricing, with no let up for the
  competitive conditions in sight.
  His comments were publis
  
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• PPL to handle facilities from mid-September

  27-07-2017 20:22
  Placing Platform Limited (PPL) will be able to take facilities
  business from mid-September, the digital insurance exchange said
  today.
  PPL said in six weeks it will launch a radically revised version
  of the software that would make the platform easier to use.
  It continued that the fresh release would allow PPL data to be
  fed into the structured data capture system - a mechanism for
  pulling information from slips into a standardised format that is
  being devised as part of...
  
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• Markel-State National: the valuation question

  27-07-2017 20:22
  The optics of Markel's $919mn acquisition of fronting
  carrier State National look very different depending on the
  methodology employed to value a business without an obvious public
  markets peer.
  State National's management and shareholders can certainly
  make the case for this being a full valuation for a straight cash
  exit, but Markel can equally argue to its own investors that the
  business is reasonably priced.
  On the crudest valuation metric - price-to-book multiple - the
  deal looks rich, with
  
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• Markel profit jumps following underwriting gains

  27-07-2017 20:22
  Markel posted a 25 percent jump in second quarter operating
  profit as its international insurance segment swung to a $32mn
  underwriting gain from a loss of almost $1mn a year earlier.
  The company, which also announced today that it bought a
  majority stake in an industrial farm for an estimated $255mn, said
  its combined (re)insurance operations produced an underwriting
  profit of $110.6mn in the quarter.
  This was an increase of 74 percent on the same period a year
  earlier, as...
  
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• Investors dump carriers even after earnings beats

  27-07-2017 20:22
  (Re)insurers led by XL Group took a beating in midday New York
  trading today as investors punished the shares of those that both
  exceeded and failed to meet second-quarter earnings expectations
  this week.
  XL shares opened the day lower and fell as much as 6.9 percent,
  even though the Bermuda-based carrier easily beat Wall Street estimates with operating
  income of $0.96 a share for the period that ended on 30 June.
  Aspen's stock fell less, losing as much as 5.4...
  
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• Guy Carpenter Q2 organic revenue jumps 4 percent

  27-07-2017 20:22
  Revenues at Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) reinsurance arm
  Guy Carpenter rose 4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter to
  $293mn as group earnings per share met forecasts.
  The organic growth figure marks thesecond quarter of 4 percent underlying expansion for the broker
  after it reported revenues of $385mn in Q1.
  Total Guy Carpenter revenue for the year to date was $678mn.
  In the second quarter of last year, Guy Carpenter reportedorganic revenue growth of 2 percent.
  At...
  
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• FM Global appoints EMEA/Asia Pac head

  27-07-2017 20:22
  Specialist commercial property carrier FM Global has named Stefano
  Tranquillo to lead its EMEA and Asia Pacific division from the
  company's new Luxembourg office.
  Tranquillo was most recently the insurer's division manager
  for Asia Pacific, where he was based in Singapore as a senior vice
  president. Before that he served as manager for the Northern
  European operation.
  FM Global also said that David Johnson, former operations
  manager in Asia, has been appointed as vice president, regional
  manager
  
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• Ascot hires former AIG executive Wolyniec for new MGA

  27-07-2017 20:22
  Ascot is forming a standalone MGA and has hired a former AIG
  strategy head to develop the platform and oversee potential
  acquisitions.
  The Lloyd's carrier announced the MGA plan seven months
  after the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) completed
  its $1.1bn takeover of the business.
  Under the new owner Ascot has hired Greg Wolyniec, who will
  become head of global strategy on 31 July.
  He joins Ascot after more than six years at AIG, where he was
  most recently...
  
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• AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot's 'pivotal' year is turning out horribly

  27-07-2017 20:11
  Firm’s share price has crashed after a key cancer drug flopped in trials, leading £13m-a-year CEO to insist: ‘I’m not a quitter’This year would be “pivotal” for AstraZeneca, its chief executive, Pascal Soriot, has said for ages. It would mark the moment when the firm would display the new wonders from its laboratories. The march towards annual revenues of $45bn (£34.5bn) by 2023, the target set when Pfizer’s takeover offer was rebuffed three
  
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• Brolly closes £1m seed round with Valar Ventures

  27-07-2017 17:13
  Insurtech start-up Brolly has closed a £1m seed round led by Valar Ventures, Pi Labs and Entrepreneur First.
  
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• Lloyd’s insurer Ascot to form new MGA

  27-07-2017 17:05
  MGA plans come amid appointment of new global strategy head for Lloyd’s insurer Ascot
  
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• InsurTech Futures: Brolly raises £1m in funding

  27-07-2017 17:02 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Start-up broker says seed investment, led by Valar Ventures, Pi Labs and Entrepreneur First, is one of the biggest in the UK InsurTech sector.
  
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• Schroders’ inflows hit by loss of $6.3bn client mandate

  27-07-2017 15:45
  Removal of Prudential Financial account hampers asset manager’s US growth efforts
  
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• Rival swoops to save more than 110 axed Swinton jobs

  27-07-2017 15:39
  Broker takes over axed call centre to save more than 110 Swinton jobs 
  
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• H1 results: Marsh parent boosts broking profit

  27-07-2017 13:39
  Marsh parent MMC reports rise in revenue and broking profit
  
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• Ogden: Brokers and insurers want discount rate of betwen 0 - 1%

  27-07-2017 11:54 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Poll suggests two thirds think the rate should settle at between 0 - 1%.
  
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• Crime stats reveal 20% fall in insurance fraud

  27-07-2017 11:47
  Exclusive: The Insurance Fraud Bureau has issued a cautious welcome to a 20% fall in insurance fraud cases last year.
  
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• Markel posts improved COR for Q2 2017

  27-07-2017 11:37 via insuranceage.co.uk
  However the figures for the first half of 2017 dip slightly from the same period in 2016.
  
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• Allianz launches on-demand drone insurance with start-up Flock

  27-07-2017 11:33
  Allianz has partnered with start-up Flock to launch app-based on-demand drone insurance for commercial and recreational users.
  
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• Lancashire profit up at $67m in H1

  27-07-2017 11:31
  Property and casualty insurer Lancashire reported an 18% rise in first-half pre-tax profit thanks to a benign loss period.
  
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• Opinion: M&A philosophies

  27-07-2017 11:18
  Human nature can be a problem when you are sizing up a piece of
  M&A.
  People are happiest when they can control their own destinies,
  when they have certainty about their positions. And when they have
  something that they feel is their own.
  And frequently M&A doesn't look like that. Instead it
  brings new leadership along with new ownership. Restructures,
  strategic shifts, synergies. All of which can be destabilising and
  upsetting for the people that work in target businesses.
  And...
  
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• JLT risk profit rises by 16% in H1

  27-07-2017 11:18
  Underlying trading profits at JLT's risk and insurance
  division rose by 16 percent to £108.7mn ($141.9mn) in the
  first half of the year, as losses narrowed at the group's US
  specialty business.
  The risk and broking arm of JLT, which represented close to 78
  percent of global turnover in the first half, increased sales by 12
  percent to £540.8mn.
  Revenues at JLT USA increased by 116 percent to £35.2mn.
  The US business made a £13.4mn loss in the first half,...
  
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• Axis beats Wall Street estimates powered by reinsurance

  27-07-2017 11:18
  Axis Capital handily beat Wall Street's second quarter
  profit estimates as the performance of its reinsurance segment
  helped to offset a narrow underwriting loss in its primary arm.
  Operating income at the New York-listed carrier more than
  doubled to $110mn, or $1.31 per share, in the quarter. Analysts had
  forecast earnings of $1.19 per share, according to a compilation of
  10 estimates from MarketWatch.
  The (re)insurer's combined ratio improved by 4.6 percentage
  points to 97.6 percent, once agai
  
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• Profits leap for JLT

  27-07-2017 10:55 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Half yearly results show profit before tax grew to £99.2m from £55.2m in 2016.
  
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• H1 results: Lancashire praised for ‘stunning’ COR

  27-07-2017 10:48
  Lancashire praised after strong first half and second quarter results
  
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• H1 results: Competition eats into Lloyds Bank home book

  27-07-2017 09:36
  Lloyds Bank reports GWP drop in first half
  
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• Profits rise 23% at Allianz in Q2

  27-07-2017 09:27
  German (re)insurer Allianz reported a 23.0 percent rise in Q2
  group operating profits to EUR2.9bn ($3.4bn) from the corresponding
  result a year before, based on preliminary figures.
  The carrier said that in the P&C insurance segment,
  operating profits grew by 28.0 percent to EUR 1.4bn as the combined
  ratio shed 2.7 percentage points to 93.7 percent for the second
  quarter.
  This was partly due to a lower level of catastrophe losses,
  which added only 1.0 point to the combined ratio...
  
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• Low cats boost Scor Global P&C in Q2

  27-07-2017 09:27
  Second quarter operating income at Scor Global P&C surged 79
  percent to EUR190mn ($221mn) as the reinsurer benefited from low
  catastrophe losses in the quarter.
  The P&C operating profit outperformed the analyst consensus
  by 11 percent.
  The net technical result at Scor Global P&C jumped almost 62
  percent to EUR194mn in the second quarter as the unit's Q2
  combined ratio also improved by 4.9 percentage points year-on-year
  to 92.6 percent.
  The improvement was driven almost entirely by th
  
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• Lancashire Q2 profits up 21% on low losses

  27-07-2017 09:27
  Lancashire Group profits exceeded analyst expectations in the
  second quarter after a benign period for losses helped push pre-tax
  profit up by 20.8 percent to $38mn.
  The results surpassed a consensus of 10 analysts, whose average
  prediction was that Lancashire would make $30mn in pre-tax profit
  over Q2.
  The company's combined ratio improved by 10.8 percentage
  points in Q2 to 69.8 percent, driven by a quiet quarter for
  catastrophe losses.
  The insurer's loss ratio dropped by 16.5 percentage points
  
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• H1 results: JLT profit jumps 80%

  27-07-2017 09:16
  Lack of exceptional costs boosts JLT profit
  
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• Markel improves COR in Q2 and buys US fronting insurer

  27-07-2017 06:50
  US headquartered global insurer Markel has beaten Q2 market expectations.
  
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• Markel profit jumps on underwriting gains

  27-07-2017 02:50
  Markel posted a 25 percent jump in second-quarter operating
  profit as its international insurance segment swung to a $32mn
  underwriting gain from a nearly $1mn loss a year earlier, as the
  impact of 2016's Fort McMurray wildfires dropped out.
  The company, which also announced today that it bought a
  majority stake in an industrial farm for an estimated $255mn, said
  its combined (re)insurance operations produced an underwriting
  profit of $110.6mn.
  This represented an increase of 74 percent on the s
  
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• Mortgage aids Arch as P&C insurance in the red

  27-07-2017 00:40
  Arch Capital has reported operating earnings of $1.21 per share
  that were in line with Wall Street's $1.20 per share estimate,
  but above the prior-year period's $1.13 per share.
  This represented an operating return on equity (RoE) of 8.5
  percent for the period, 60 basis points (bps) below the prior-year
  performance.
  Net income stood at $1.25 per share versus $1.65 per share
  generated in Q2 2016, translating into an RoE of 8.7 percent, 4.6
  percentage points less year-on-year.
  The group...
  
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• Lower cats drive XL Catlin beat

  27-07-2017 00:40
  XL Group comfortably exceeded Wall Street's expectations as
  it reported second quarter operating net income of $0.96 per share
  versus consensus estimates of $0.88 per share, more than doubling
  the $0.37 per share posted in the same period of 2016.
  The Bermudian generated a double-digit Q2 annualised operating
  return on equity (RoE) of 10.1 percent, running ahead of the 4.1
  percent posted a year ago.
  Excluding Catlin-related integration costs, the operating RoE
  was 11.4 percent versus 5.9 percent
  
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• Axis beats Street estimates powered by reinsurance

  27-07-2017 00:40
  Axis Capital handily beat Wall Street's second-quarter profit
  estimates as the performance of its reinsurance segment helped to
  offset a narrow underwriting loss in its primary arm.
  Operating income at the New York-listed carrier more than
  doubled to $110mn, or $1.31 per share, for the quarter. Analysts
  had been looking for $1.19 per share, according to a MarketWatch
  compilation of 10 estimates.
  The (re)insurer's combined ratio improved 4.6 points to 97.6
  percent, once again largely powered by i
  
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• Aspen's earnings only half of forecasts

  27-07-2017 00:40
  Bermudian (re)insurer Aspen reported second quarter operating
  earnings of $0.47 per share, just under half of Wall Street
  estimates of $1.00 per share compiled by MarketWatch.com.

  This came despite the post-tax operating income rising by 14.9
  percent from the corresponding period of 2016 to
  $39.2mn.

  The carrier's combined ratio was 70 basis points (bps)
  better year-on-year at 100.0 percent, as improvements in the loss
  ratio offset a rise in the expense ratio.

  The calendar-ye
  
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