Insurance news

• Aspen's Sanders to join Everest political risk team

  09-08-2017 19:44
  Everest Insurance has recruited Paul Sanders, head of credit and
  political risk at Aspen Insurance, to its political risk team in
  London, The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  Sanders will be reporting to Jim Thomas, Everest's global
  head of credit and political risk, when he joins after serving his
  notice period.
  At Everest, Sanders will become European head for credit and
  political risk.
  Thomas and Sanders are former colleagues at Zurich, where they
  worked together for a decade from 2004 to...
  
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• AmTrust and Maiden shares plunge as Q2 earnings disappoint

  09-08-2017 19:44
  Shares in US carrier AmTrust and sister company Maiden Holdings
  have fallen over 11 percent and 30 percent respectively in early
  New York trading today, after the firms released their second
  quarter results yesterday evening.
  AmTrust shares fell as much as 11.5 percent to reach $14.07 by
  late morning New York time, while Maiden was down 23 percent at
  $8.12 after plunging almost 31 percent at the opening bell.
  Wall Street analysts had predicted Maiden would post a profit of...
  
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• Legal & General juggles an age-old problem

  09-08-2017 19:32
  Demographics are a problem for insurers but there are always surprises
  
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• BoE to tighten hiring policy after Charlotte Hogg scandal

  09-08-2017 19:19
  Call for robust conflict-of-interest scrutiny before making senior appointments
  
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• Munich Re earnings dented by losses from man-made events

  09-08-2017 18:19
  German group’s primary insurance business is one of the bright spots in the results
  
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• Chinese crackdown on dealmakers reflects Xi power play

  09-08-2017 18:03
  Beijing aims for more control over the economy by curbing outbound M&A, while helping the president erode the support of rivals
  
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• Goldman/Rothesay: senior moment

  09-08-2017 17:24
  Departure reflects investment bank’s doubts about the next big thing
  
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• Hoskins upbeat on Hastings results

  09-08-2017 16:04
  The CFO hails topline growth and “continued momentum” following the half year figures.
  
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• The Blog Spot: Taking the opportunity amid big market deals

  09-08-2017 16:00
  Siân Barton believes brokers should not fear the LV/Allianz deal and argues it is a chance to mine fresh opportunities.
  
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• Gibraltar regulator signs info sharing deal with FSCS

  09-08-2017 15:57
  Memorandum of understanding between Gibraltar regulator and FSCS will allow bodies to prepare for company failures
  
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• Claims management fines fell 35% in 2016/17

  09-08-2017 15:13
  Claims management fines drop as industry continues to shrink
  
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• Ageas UK sees “modest deterioration” in commercial business

  09-08-2017 14:12 via insuranceage.co.uk
  The insurer is looking to grow the account via brokers and develop schemes.
  
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• PRA to consider insurers' Brexit contingency plans

  09-08-2017 13:54
  More than 400 banks and insurers have submitted Brexit contingency plans to the regulator, as the UK looks to negotiate a favourable exit deal from the European Union.
  
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• Ageas faces further Ogden hit of up to €15m in second half

  09-08-2017 13:35
  Ageas will see a further hit of up to €15m (£13.5m) in the second half of the year from the Ogden rate change.
  
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• Newman happy with momentum at Carole Nash

  09-08-2017 13:12
  CEO silent on market rumours that the broker could be up for sale by auction.
  
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• WR Berkley raises buyback authorisation

  09-08-2017 13:09
  WR Berkley has increased its share buyback authorisation to 10
  million shares of common stock.
  The authorisation represents approximately 8 percent of the
  company's shares outstanding as of 30 June.
  WR Berkley also declared a quarterly cash divided of 14 cents per
  share, to be paid on 8 October for stockholders on record at close
  of business on 30 September.
  Previous analysis run by this publication shows thatWR Berkley did not buy back any shares in the first quarter...
  
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• Tokio Marine non-life international profit up 11%

  09-08-2017 13:09
  Total non-life profits for Tokio Marine's international
  insurance businesses rose by 11 percent to 40.4bn yen ($0.37bn) for
  the quarter ended 30 June, the first quarter of its financial year,
  according to the latest filings from the Japanese giant.
  P&C forms the lion's share of Tokio Marine's
  overseas business, which includes operations in North America,
  Europe, South and Central America and Asia and the Middle East.
  North American non-life profits rose 26 percent to 29.9bn yen.
  HCC's profit
  
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• Maiden misses consensus after swinging to loss

  09-08-2017 13:09
  Maiden Holdings swung to a second quarter deficit, posting a
  $0.14 per share operating loss and widely missing the expectations
  of securities analysts after adverse developments of $56mn
  punctured earnings.
  The Wall Street consensus was for a profit of $0.38 a share
  according to the average of four estimates collected by
  MarketWatch.
  Maiden's combined ratio deteriorated to 105.8 percent, up
  7.2 percentage points from 98.6 percent in Q2 2016.
  The operating loss of $12.5mn reflected "the emergence
  
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• Lemonade rival Jetty secures $11.5mn series A funding

  09-08-2017 13:09
  New York renters' insurance start-up Jetty has secured
  $11.5mn of funding in a series A round led by Peter Thiel's
  Valar Ventures.
  Original seed investors Ribbit Capital, SV Angel, BoxGroup and
  Red Swan also took part in the round.
  The company, which has balance sheet capacity from Munich Re and
  writes on State National paper,launched in April after receiving in its first equity financing
  round in 2016.
  Jetty offers products including property and liability cover,
  medical payments insurance and.
  
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• GI profits halve at L&G for start of 2017

  09-08-2017 12:03 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Combined operating ratio worsens to 95%.
  
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• Khaitan to head up RSA's GRS business

  09-08-2017 11:49
  Ex-Aspen head of change, Anny Khaitan, has been appointed as CEO of RSA’s Global Risk Solutions business, after joining the insurer in July 2017.
  
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• Legal & General benefits from changes in life expectancy

  09-08-2017 11:32
  Life insurer says it has balance sheet strength to consider large annuity deals
  
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• Hastings shows growth in first half of 2017

  09-08-2017 11:02
  The firm posted GWP growth of 28% and noted that the Ogden rate change had generated more activity for the business on aggregators.
  
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• Profit drops 68% at Ageas UK in H1 2017

  09-08-2017 10:57 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Gross written premium fell 10% in the period to €1.07bn.
  
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• L&G sees GI profit drop of 48% from escape of water claims

  09-08-2017 10:37
  Legal & General saw a 48% drop in profits for its general insurance unit due to higher than expected costs from escape of water claims.
  
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• State Auto close to breakeven in improving quarter

  09-08-2017 10:35
  State Auto said it is on a path toward profitable growth as it
  reported second quarter earnings that included narrowing operating
  and underwriting losses.
  Operating loss per share dropped from $0.69 in Q2 2016 to a near
  breakeven $0.04 in the most recent reporting period.
  And the combined ratio also improved by 8.5 percentage points to
  106.2 percent as the loss ratio dropped by almost 10 points to 71.9
  percent.
  Underwriting performance was aided by a lower catastrophe loss
  burden,...
  
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• P&C helps Munich Re beat consensus

  09-08-2017 10:35
  Munich Re's group operating profits surpassed analyst
  expectations as they fell by a fifth year-on-year in the second
  quarter to EUR1.16bn ($0.89bn).
  In a consensus estimate analysts had targeted an operating
  result of EUR1.03bn.
  Earnings per share fell by 22.2 percent from the same period of
  last year to EUR4.71, but remained above analyst expectations of
  EUR4.32.
  Group gross written premium levels were down 1.1 percent to
  EUR11.8bn in the three months to 30 June.
  In Munich Re's P&C reinsur
  
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• Opinion: Allianz's M&A ambition

  09-08-2017 10:35
  Allianz's £500mn ($650mn)investment in LV= is not so much a transformational deal as a
  statement of intent.It's no surprise that the German giant has made an
  acquisition, after CEO Oliver Bäte announced last year that
  the company had amassed a EUR3bn ($3.5bn) M&A war chest.
  Since then, various rumours have circulated on which target
  Allianz has had in its sights.
  In December, reports surfaced that it was indiscussions with Generali over a move for the Italian
  carrier...
  
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• Magnitude 7.0 quake hits Sichuan province

  09-08-2017 10:35
  A 7.0 magnitude earthquake has struck a remote part of China's
  southwestern province of Sichuan, killing at least 13 people and
  injuring 75, according to provincial government media today.
  The tremblor hit the quake-prone region late on Tuesday night at
  a depth of 10km, according to the US Geological Survey.
  A separate quake with a magnitude of 6.6 struck a remote part of
  China's far northwestern region of Xinjiang, more than 2,000 km
  away, on Wednesday morning, the Chinese earthquake...
  
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• Insured losses from Turkish storms rise

  09-08-2017 10:35
  Aon Benfield's latest Impact Forecasting weekly cat report
  has predicted that forecast insured losses from a brace of recent
  storm outbreaks in Turkey could reach $441mn.
  The firm had previously put out a $200mn-$350mn amount on
  combined losses, based on local media reports.
  But on Friday it said the most damaging storm on 27 July could
  produce claims as high as $341mn alone. This storm left the capital
  Istanbul under water while hail damaged at least one jet
  aircraft.
  It...
  
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• Hastings vows further data investment as profit rises by 22.1%

  09-08-2017 10:19
  Hastings saw a 22.1% increase in H1 adjusted operating profit, as the company vowed to continue investment in its data-driven model.
  
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• H1 results: L&G GI profit halved by escape of water claims

  09-08-2017 10:12
  L&G GI profit drops sharply
  
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• Ageas UK sees profits fall after €31m Ogden hit and declining motor COR

  09-08-2017 10:06
  Ageas UK continued to be hammered by the impact of the Ogden rate changes, with profits falling 73% in its H1 result.
  
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• H1 results: Ageas UK profit dives as Ogden effects continue

  09-08-2017 09:12
  Ogden and lower reserve releases hit Ageas UK profit
  
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• H1 results: Hastings pace continues with profit and market share boost

  09-08-2017 09:10
  Hastings continued to grow profitably in the first half
  
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• Interview: Humphrey Bowles, Guardhog

  09-08-2017 07:00
  Despite having to abandon his last business venture, Humphrey Bowles re-entered the insurance market with an insurtech proposition, Guardhog, to serve the sharing economy.
  
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• Blog: A dozen UK and European insurtech start-ups to watch in 2017 and beyond – part one

  09-08-2017 07:00
  Almost $1bn ($985m) was invested in insurtech in the second quarter of 2017.
  
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• State National earnings soar as margins improve

  09-08-2017 03:33
  State National, the fronting specialist being acquired for
  $919mn by Markel, posted a 33 percent gain in net income for the
  second quarter as its combined ratio strengthened and ceding fees
  climbed.
  Total revenue rose 20 percent to $58.6mn in the just-ended
  period compared with Q2 2016, the Bedford, Texas-based company
  said. Ceding fees jumped 24 percent to $21mn while net premiums
  earned increased 17 percent to $33.9mn.
  "We believe that the favorable industry trends in both
  business segments po
  
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• NatGen shares drop 7% on earnings miss

  09-08-2017 03:33
  National General shares plunged 7.1 percent in New York today
  after the insurer posted a Q2 earnings miss late yesterday, citing
  weather-related losses and its lender-placed insurance
  programme.
  The shares tumbled as much as 11.4 percent to $18.19 just after
  trading opened, barely above the stock's 52-week low of $18.04,
  before rebounding to close at $19.07.
  NatGen CEO Barry Karfunkel cited a "poor performance"
  in the lender services unit, which had counted Wells Fargo as a
  major client until la
  
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• Maiden misses after swinging to loss

  09-08-2017 03:33
  Maiden Holdings swung to a second quarter deficit, posting a
  $0.14 per share operating loss and widely missing expectations of
  securities analysts after adverse developments of $56mn punctured
  earnings.
  The Wall Street consensus was for a profit of $0.38 a share, the
  average of four estimates collected by MarketWatch.
  Maiden's combined ratio deteriorated to 105.8 percent,
  adding 7.2 points compared with the 2016 second quarter's 98.6
  percent.
  The operating loss of $12.5mn reflected "the emergenc
  
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• Heritage sets $250mn Narragansett Bay acquisition

  09-08-2017 03:33
  Expansive homeowners insurer Heritage Insurance Holdings has
  agreed to acquire Northeast carrier Narragansett Bay's parent
  NBIC Holdings in a $250mn cash and stock deal.
  In a statement, Clearwater, Florida-based Heritage said it would
  fund the acquisition with $210mn in cash and $40mn of its
  stock.
  It added that the combined entity will be a "leading super
  regional personal lines carrier" with a presence in 12 states
  and over $900mn of gross written premium.
  Heritage predicted the combination wo
  
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• Heritage earnings plunge as it tackles AOB exposure

  09-08-2017 03:33
  Heritage net income tumbled 64 percent in the second quarter as
  efforts to rein in exposure to Assignment of Benefits (AOB) abuses
  led its top line to shrink while net earned premium dropped 17
  percent from the year-earlier period.
  The company posted net income of $6.6mn, or $0.23 a share,
  compared with $18.4mn, or $0.62 per share, in the year-earlier
  period.
  Heritage took steps to reduce exposure to catastrophe losses and
  to "strengthen the quality" of its Florida policies, CEO...
  
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• FedNat shares up 7.9% after earnings exceed forecasts

  09-08-2017 03:33
  Shares in Florida homeowners' specialist Federated National
  gained 7.9 percent in New York trading today after the carrier beat
  earnings forecasts to deliver a $4.9mn second quarter profit.
  At their peak, the shares touched $17.34 in late morning on the
  Nasdaq Stock Market before settling back to close at $16.92,
  climbing from yesterday's $15.68 closing price.
  Federated National posted net income of $0.37 per share, higher
  than the average $0.34 expected by four analysts surveyed by
  MarketWatch,
  
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• AmTrust benefits from Premia ADC in earnings beat

  09-08-2017 03:33
  AmTrust has been spared a second quarter underwriting loss after
  adjusting for the retroactive reinsurance deal struck with
  Arch's Premia Re last month.
  In its results posted after markets closed today, the insurer
  revealed a headline combined ratio that had increased by almost 10
  points to 101.2 percent.
  But the Barry Zyskind-led carrier said the retroactive reinsurance deal had blunted the
  effect of the underwriting loss, helping the carrier back into the
  black with a 95.9 percent combined rat
  
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• A stark warning on the cost of Brexit indecision

  09-08-2017 01:03
  The financial sector will soon have to act on a worst-case scenario
  
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• Banking watchdog warns of risks from ‘cliff-edge’ Brexit

  09-08-2017 01:02
  Woods issues starkest alert yet on stability threats to financial system
  
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• United top and bottom line surges after American Coastal deal

  09-08-2017 00:54
  United Insurance Holdings reported a 67.2 percent rise in gross
  written premiums (GWP) to $352.3mn in the second quarter - its
  first reporting period as a combined company with American
  Coastal.
  In a strong quarter for headline numbers at the Floridian it
  recorded a 54 percent rise in Q2 operating earnings to $19.1mn that
  represented a comfortable beat on Wall Street forecasts.
  At $0.46 a share, operating earnings were well ahead of the
  $0.29 a share prediction of analysts polled...
  
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• Only a fifth of M&A deals seek insurance: Vanbridge

  09-08-2017 00:54
  Just over a fifth of companies entering into merger or
  acquisition talks sought representations & warranties -
  otherwise known as M&A - insurance for the deal, according to a
  new study.
  The number that actually secured cover was even lower with
  Vanbridge, the report's author, estimating that less than 10
  percent - or 961 - of the 9,801 domestic transactions were
  insured.
  But the convergence broking house said that in light of the
  "relatively low" take-up rate but growing market...
  
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