Insurance news

• Lemonade expands into New Jersey property market

  02-08-2017 19:29
  Online property carrier Lemonade has expanded its operations
  into New Jersey, adding a fourth state to the startup's
  territorial roster.
  Since it began doing business in September, the New York-based
  insurer has expanded throughout the Empire State and moved into
  California and Illinois as well.
  Lemonade provides homeowners and renter insurance with rates
  that are derived partly from the use of artificial intelligence
  computer programmes and behavioral economics. The company has
  licences to oper
  
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• Assurant drops 5% following earnings report

  02-08-2017 19:29
  Assurant shares dropped as much as 5.1 percent in midday trading
  in New York after the specialty carrier reported a decline in
  second quarter revenue and a weakening combined ratio in its
  largest segment.
  The stock fell as low as $100.88 before recovering slightly on
  the New York Stock Exchange.
  After the close of normal trading yesterday, the New York-based
  insurer posted results that beat Wall Street earnings estimates,
  citing the absence of catastrophe losses and reduced corporate
  expenses.
  T
  
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• Kanye West sues Lloyd’s insurers amid dispute over marijuana use

  02-08-2017 19:20 via ft.com
  Rap star’s lawsuit claims insurance groups failed to pay out over missed tour dates
  
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• Travelers CEO Schnitzer elected chairman

  02-08-2017 17:04
  Travelers CEO Alan Schnitzer has been unanimously chosen as the
  company's new chairman of the board.
  Directors voted for the executive to succeed John Dasburg, who
  returns to his former role of independent lead director.
  Dasburg said the board had taken the decision to combine the
  chairman and CEO roles due to the "unprecedented change"
  currently facing the industry.
  He added: "Since Alan became CEO, the company has
  strengthened its competitive advantages and meaningfully advanced
  its strategic
  
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• Beazley names US engineering head

  02-08-2017 17:04
  Listed Lloyd's carrier Beazley has promoted Santiago Jaramillo
  to engineering focus group leader for the US and Latin America.
  Jaramillo will based at Beazley's Miami hub and will report
  to Colin Rose, head of construction and engineering.
  His role will include managing Beazley's builders' risk
  teams in San Francisco and Atlanta.
  Jaramillo started at Beazley in October 2016 as construction and
  engineering head for Latin America.
  He previously worked at Helvetia, where he was also head of
  enginee
  
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• Lemonade expansion continues as it adds fourth state

  02-08-2017 16:37
  New Jersey next stop in Lemonade expansion
  
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• Generali boosted by life insurance business

  02-08-2017 16:32 via ft.com
  Insurer says changes to the types of policies it sells helped to increase profits
  
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• Lemonade expands to fourth state since launching

  02-08-2017 16:09
  Lemonade has launched its Artificial Intelligence-driven insurance product in New Jersey, making the state the fourth that it has expanded into.
  
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• Stephen Hester needs to nurture RSA investors

  02-08-2017 16:05 via ft.com
  Dropping share price needs the full attention of the green-fingered horticulturalist
  
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• Lloyd’s chief Inga Beale elected as new CII president

  02-08-2017 16:01
  Inga Beale chooses ‘new talent’ as the theme for her presidency
  
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• Inga Beale named as new CII president

  02-08-2017 16:00
  In addition, Jonathan Clark is elected as new CII deputy president.
  
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• Inga Beale elected CII president

  02-08-2017 16:00
  Inga Beale has been elected the 121st president of the Chartered Insurance Institute at the professional body’s Annual General Meeting held in London today.
  
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• LV partners with Adrian Flux on blood bikes scheme

  02-08-2017 15:15 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Scheme provides cover for volunteers transporting blood to and from hospitals.
  
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• Kanye West sues Lloyd's syndicates in claims dispute

  02-08-2017 14:57
  The rapper Kanye West is suing his contingency insurers,
  including Lancashire-owned Cathedral, for $10mn in a claims
  dispute.
  West cancelled the final 21 tour dates of his Saint Pablo tour
  after he fell ill in November 2016.
  According to California court documents obtained by news outlet
  The Hollywood Reporter, West's lawyers accuse the
  syndicates of refusing to pay a valid claim.
  The suit notes that the insurers have yet to "[provide]
  anything approaching a coherent explanation about why they h
  
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• The Blog Spot: A question of trust

  02-08-2017 14:50
  Personal lines brokers are expected to build trusted relationships at a time when margins, especially in personal lines are squeezed and time is tight. But are these relationships becoming too transactional?
  
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• RSA’s Stephen Hester hits out at critics of dividend policy

  02-08-2017 14:08 via ft.com
  Insurer to raise first-half dividend by almost a third to 6.6p per share
  
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• Analysts remain bullish on XL despite sell-off

  02-08-2017 12:53
  Equity analysts remain bullish on the outlook for XL Group after
  its stock dropped 4 percent last week, despite the carrier posting
  consensus-beating second quarter results.
  The carrier reported Q2 net operating income of $0.96 per share,
  while the Wall Street consensus forecast called for $0.88 a
  share.
  The result was more than double the $0.37 per share recorded in
  Q2 2016, but investors punished a deterioration in the accident
  year ex-cat loss ratio amid concerns over further top line...
  
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• Kanye West sues Lloyd’s over cancelled gigs

  02-08-2017 12:32
  The rapper is suing a number of Lloyd’s syndicates for $10m.
  
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• Fadata has bought German insurtech

  02-08-2017 11:37
  Fadata has bought German insurtech group IMPEO
  
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• RSA UK underwriting profit takes Ogden hit

  02-08-2017 11:35
  CEO Steve Lewis says results were also impacted by large claims and a claims inflation in household.
  
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• Kanye West sues Lloyd's syndicates for $10m over cancelled tour dates

  02-08-2017 11:32
  Kanye West is suing numerous Lloyd’s syndicates for $10m over the artist’s cancelled tour.
  
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• Open GI completes Transactor Global acquisition

  02-08-2017 11:10
  Open GI completes acquisition of Transactor Global
  
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• Kanye West sues Lloyd's over cancelled dates

  02-08-2017 10:37
  Kanye West sues the Lloyd’s market over claims for cancelled concert dates
  
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• The AA sacks executive chairman for “gross misconduct”

  02-08-2017 10:31
  The broker stated in a Stock Exchange announcement that Bob Mackenzie had been removed with immediate effect.
  
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• Novae makes £14m loss before tax in H1

  02-08-2017 10:31
  Novae has seen its profits slip markedly in its first set of results following the proposed acquisition of the business by Axis.
  
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• Opinion: The road not taken

  02-08-2017 10:19
  Aspen looks very vulnerable right now to an aggressor.
  The business has just put a quarter in the books with a 3.9
  percent operating return on equity (RoE) and a break-even
  underwriting result in a relatively benign quarter for cats.
  Aspen trailed in at half of the consensus estimate for earnings
  as every other Bermudian beat expectations, and its RoE was less
  than half the peer average.
  It is the smallest of the Bermudians by a distance with a market...
  
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• Novae falls to loss after Axis offer

  02-08-2017 10:19
  Listed Lloyd's insurer Novae Group posted a pre-tax loss of
  £14.0mn ($18.5mn) for the first half of 2017, as unfavourable
  foreign exchange movements and deteriorating underwriting
  performance hit the bottom line.
  Stripping out foreign exchange movements and non-recurring
  items, the carrier made a loss of £2.2mn ($2.9mn), compared to
  restated profits of £39.4mn in H1 2016, in what is likely to
  be its valedictory set of public market results ahead of its sale
  to Axis.
  The headlin
  
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• Improved underwriting drives RSA H1 profit growth

  02-08-2017 10:19
  First half group operating profit at RSA grew 15 percent
  year-on-year to £360mn ($476mn) as the UK-based carrier
  reported a "record" combined ratio of 93.2 percent.
  Group underwriting profit jumped 22 percent to £222mn in
  the half as its group combined ratio improved by 1.5 percentage
  points year-on-year.
  Better than planned weather losses were offset by higher than
  usual large losses, CEO Stephen Hester said in accompanying
  commentary.The group reported a loss ratio of 64.7 percent
  
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• Guy Carpenter names Gallagher Asia Pacific head

  02-08-2017 10:19
  Global reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has promoted Tony
  Gallagher to chief executive of Asia Pacific.
  He was previously the company's CEO of the Pacific region.
  Gallagher will be based in Hong Kong and will report to president
  of international business James Nash.
  In addition Richard Jones has been named the broker's new
  chairman of the Asia Pacific region.
  Jones is based in Singapore and will continue in his current
  role as head of Singapore in addition to his new responsibilities....
  
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• Generali reports flat H1 P&C result

  02-08-2017 10:19
  Generali reported a modest uptick in group profits in H1 as its
  P&C business generated an operating profit of EUR1.10bn
  ($1.29bn) that was 0.7 percent higher year-on-year.
  The P&C combined ratio deteriorated 50 basis points in the
  first six months of the year to 92.9 percent, despite 30 basis
  points fewer of catastrophe losses at 0.9 percentage points.
  The division suffered EUR93mn of cat losses, most of which
  stemmed from the severe weather which swept Italy in late June as...
  
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• Telematics boost RSA's first half premiums as commercial result suffers large losses

  02-08-2017 10:09
  Insurance giant RSA saw a mixed result in the UK in the first half of the year in contrast with robust global results.
  
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• RSA UK underwriting profits fall by £59m in H1

  02-08-2017 10:09
  Insurance giant RSA saw its underwriting profit take a £59m hit from the impact of the Ogden discount rate and other losses in H1, compared to the same period last year.
  
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• Meet the Expo Leeds Panellists: Richard Pitt

  02-08-2017 10:06
  The chief network officer at Broker Network shares his thoughts on local insurers ahead of the live debate.
  
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• RSA reveals rising profits for H1 2017

  02-08-2017 10:02
  COR improved to 93.2% for the six months ended 30 June 2017.
  
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• H1 results: RSA UK underwriting profit hit by Ogden and big claims

  02-08-2017 09:43
  RSA UK ‘had the toughest time’ of the group’s units in the first half, says Stephen Hester
  
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• H1 results: Novae pushed into loss by series of hits

  02-08-2017 09:36
  Lloyd’s insurer Novae also hit by foreign exchange losses
  
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• QBE to repay millions in Australia following add-on review

  02-08-2017 08:04
  Australian giant QBE will repay customers A$15.9m (£9.6m) following a review of add-on insurance sales by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
  
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• Content director's comment: The end of the buzz?

  02-08-2017 07:10
  As a younger music fan, nothing gave me a greater kick than finding a band on the bottom of a bill in a grimy venue that blew me away.
  
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• Content director's comment: Does Elton John signal the end of the insurtech buzz?

  02-08-2017 07:10
  As a younger music fan, nothing gave me a greater kick than finding a band on the bottom of a bill in a grimy venue that blew me away.
  
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• Interview: Anthony Baldwin, AIG

  02-08-2017 07:00
  Eighteen months into his role, Anthony Baldwin, CEO of AIG Europe and AIG UK, talks to Stephanie Denton about restructuring, co-creating and being the first insurer to move to Luxembourg.
  
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• Allstate defies expectations as profit soars

  02-08-2017 03:06
  US insurance giant Allstate posted a surprisingly large second
  quarter operating profit of $510mn, more than double its earnings
  for the same period a year earlier despite almost $1bn in
  catastrophe losses.
  The $1.38 per share result was well above the $0.91 per share
  consensus estimate of 18 analysts surveyed by MarketWatch, and
  above the $0.99 forecast by Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Robert
  Glasspiegel.
  "Allstate seems well positioned to report favorable results
  given recent pricing actions
  
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• James River matches forecasts despite reserve charge

  02-08-2017 01:21
  A consensus of analysts' forecasts perfectly predicted James
  River Group's $14.9mn, or $0.49 per share, operating profit for
  the second quarter despite a modest reserve charge revealed by the
  Bermudian.
  An average of five analysts' estimates compiled by
  MarketWatch correctly predicted that profit would rise 8.8 percent
  from the $13.7mn the carrier reported for the same period last
  year.
  "This quarter we also reacted to some negative developments
  in our business; it is our practice to do so quick
  
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• Greenlight Re targets subscription market business

  02-08-2017 01:21
  Greenlight Re's new CEO Simon Burton has signaled a change
  of strategy for the hedge fund-affiliated reinsurer that will see
  it broaden its underwriting appetite to enter the transactional
  reinsurance subscription markets.
  On the company's second quarter earnings call, Burton noted
  that until now the focus had been on a relatively small number of
  closed client relationships where Greenlight Re takes a dominant
  position on reinsurance programmes.
  The strategy has include participation on what had
  
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• Deals in US forecast to accelerate after H1 drop: PwC

  02-08-2017 01:21
  The value of mergers and acquisitions in the insurance sector
  shrank dramatically in the first half of the year compared with the
  last six months of 2016 while an unabated tide of broker deals kept
  the number of transactions near the pace set during the previous
  period, consulting firm PwC said in recent report.
  Deals involving brokers and property/casualty carriers accounted
  for about three-quarters of the approximately $10bn in total
  announced M&A value in the six months through June, PwC.
  
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• Assurant tops forecasts despite revenue drop

  02-08-2017 01:21
  Assurant beat Wall Street second quarter estimates citing the
  absence of catastrophe losses and reduced corporate expenses.
  The specialty carrier posted operating profit of $90.5mn, or
  $1.63 a share for the just-ended quarter. Analysts had forecast
  $1.58, the average of five estimates collected by MarketWatch.
  Underwriting profitability deteriorated as the company's
  combined ratio for its biggest segment, global lifestyle, weakened
  to 97.0 percent from 95.8 percent while ratio in its next-larges
  
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• American Financial ups forecasts after record Q2

  02-08-2017 01:21
  American Financial Group (AFG) has increased its core net
  operating earnings per share forecast for the year after a record
  second quarter performance driven by improved underwriting and
  investment income in its specialty P&C operations.
  The Cincinnati-based insurer said that core net operating
  earnings were $145mn for the period, up from $113mn in Q2 2016.
  At $1.61 a share, the performance was well up on the $1.28 per
  share generated in the prior-year quarter and comfortably ahead of
  Wall S
  
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