Insurance news

• Up-for-sale Sawgrass loses crucial A rating

  22-08-2017 22:39
  Florida homeowners insurer Sawgrass Mutual has been dealt a
  significant blow by Demotech with a downgrade of its financial
  stability rating (FSR) from A, Exceptional to L, Licensed.
  The move came after the carrier informed the Columbus,
  Ohio-based ratings agency of a significant deterioration in its
  surplus.
  In a statement, Demotech said the action had been necessary
  despite the fact that the up-for-sale carrier has been in
  negotiations over "a number" of potential
  transactions.
  Demotech preside
  
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• With alumni in the White House, Goldman sees an opening

  22-08-2017 19:58 via ft.com
  Investment bank now targeting Volker rule in DC lobbying after Obama-era battering
  
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• Zurich to reduce HQ headcount by 200

  22-08-2017 18:09
  Zurich is to cut 200 jobs from its Swiss headquarters as part of
  the firm's wide-ranging cost cutting initiative, according to a
  report from finews.ch.
  The Swiss financial news outlet reported that Zurich was aiming
  to reduce headcount in the finance and controls departments in its
  back office.
  Zurich employs around 1,200 people at the group
  headquarters.
  It was reported that the insurer was already in consultation
  with its employees about the redundancies.
  Zurich CEO Mario Greco has previously
  
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• Chubb names Singapore financial lines head

  22-08-2017 18:09
  Johannes Gschossmann has been appointed as Chubb's head of
  financial lines in Singapore, the carrier announced today.
  He joined the company on 12 July and reports to Liam Burrell,
  division head of P&C. In his new role, Gschossmann is
  responsible for the day-to-day management of the financial lines
  portfolio in Singapore, and will spearhead product development and
  new underwriting initiatives.
  Gschossmann brings with him more than 10 years of industry and
  global experience. Prior to joining C
  
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• Ecclesiastical's pre-tax profit surges with investment returns in first half of 2017

  22-08-2017 17:46
  Underwriting profit declined to £9.6m while the combined operating ratio slipped to 90.5%.
  
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• Ecclesiastical reports hike in pre-tax profit to £42.2m in H1

  22-08-2017 17:24
  Ecclesiastical has reported an increase in pre-tax profit to £42.2m during the first half of this year compared to £15.2m last year. 
  
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• Direct Insurance London Market set sights on Latin America

  22-08-2017 17:08
  Direct Insurance London Market recruits two and takes on portfolio transfer from rival 
  
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• H1 results: Investment surge powers Ecclesiastical profit jump

  22-08-2017 17:07
  Ecclesiastical profit leaps despite fall in underwriting result
  
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• Washington remains divided on NFIP as deadline nears

  22-08-2017 15:55
  As Washington's fiscal clock ticks down to zero and the
  National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) faces the end of its legal
  life next month, efforts to compel lawmakers to renew and reform
  the federally subsidised coverage have taken on fresh urgency.
  Congress started its August recess with much work left to keep
  the NFIP from expiring on 30 September, prompting risk management
  society RIMS to urge members last week to back its push for
  legislative action. RIMS plans to begin...
  
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• US commercial rates soften faster despite auto hikes

  22-08-2017 15:55
  In the second quarter US commercial auto rates registered their
  highest rate increase since they started hardening in 2011.
  Commercial auto prices rose by 6.1
  percent in the quarter on average, up from 5.4 percent in Q1 2017
  and continuing a trend of accelerated hardening over the last five
  quarters, according to the latest survey from the Council of
  Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB).
  The organisation noted that some survey respondents had reported
  increases of as high as 15 percent...
  
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• Reinsurers face Narragansett-Heritage spending cut

  22-08-2017 15:55
  Insurance-linked securities (ILS) managers and reinsurers for
  Florida insurer Heritage and northeast US specialist Narragansett
  Bay are facing a reduction in spending by the companies following
  their anticipated merger next year.
  Heritage said that reinsurance savings were a major benefit that
  would follow from its $250mn bid for Narragansett, as it has
  budgeted for $22.5mn of annualised savings after a two-year
  phase-in period to allow Narragansett's multi-year contracts to
  expire.
  Heritage mak
  
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• R&Q in advanced talks with ProSight's Lloyd's arm

  22-08-2017 15:55
  Randall & Quilter (R&Q) is in exclusive discussions with
  ProSight around a deal to take on the obligations of its
  now-defunct Syndicate 1110, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  The New Jersey-headquartered program insurer placed its
  Lloyd's operationinto run-off in early June.
  Sources said that Arch's legacy joint venture with Kelso,
  Premia Re, had also shown an interest in taking on the book.
  However, with talks between R&Q and ProSight now exclusive,
  it seems likely a deal will make
  
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• Pressure growing on mortgage re returns: S&P

  22-08-2017 15:55
  Robust risk management frameworks will be vital for reinsurers
  writing mortgage risk transferred by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, as
  returns on the business come under pressure in the coming years,
  according to S&P Global.
  In a report published last week, the firm said it believed
  returns would remain adequate for the next few years because of
  economic growth and a strong housing market.
  But it cautioned that the margins enjoyed by reinsurers that
  were able to build up good...
  
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• Novae legacy deal could revamp RITC market

  22-08-2017 15:55
  The bidding process for Novae's legacy book could trigger a
  string of early or single-book reinsurance to close (RITC) deals at
  Lloyd's, as the Corporation widens the scope of RITC
  transactions it is willing to consider.
  Yesterday, this publication revealed legacy specialist Enstar
  and a consortium comprising Randall & Quilter (R&Q) and Axa
  havemade it to the final round of the bidding process for the Novae
  legacy book.
  Sources suggested the in-scope reserves for the deal may have
  been..
  
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• Markel Catco evades H1 losses as return dips

  22-08-2017 15:55
  Markel Catco escaped significant losses in the first half of the
  year to provide a 3.94 percent return for ordinary shareholders in
  the Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund, the company said in an
  interim financial report.
  The H1 return fell below the 4.86 percent gain reported in the
  same period last year, but the fund remains on track to deliver its
  targeted net return of 9 to 12 percent above Libor rates.
  While the US experienced an active severe weather season...
  
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• Lightyear's Ed exit inches closer with first PE meetings

  22-08-2017 15:55
  Ed CEO Steve Hearn has had exploratory meetings with a number of
  private equity funds as signs grow that Lightyear Capital will move
  to exit its position at the broker inside the next 12 months,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  When Hearn was parachuted in as CEO of the now rebranded Cooper
  Gay in late 2015, majority owner Lightyear had pencilled in an exit
  in the first quarter of 2019.
  However, this timeline has now been compressed and Hearn,
  working...
  
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• Hub valued at up to 14x Ebitda

  22-08-2017 15:55
  Hub International may be worth more than 14x Ebitda if a report
  suggesting the US broking giant could carry a hefty $7bn price tag
  is to be believed.
  Last week, Reuters revealed that the broker's majority owner
  private equity (PE) firm Hellman & Friedman was looking to cash
  out a portion of its stake in the business.
  The report suggested that the sale could value the intermediary
  at between $6bn and $7bn, which - at the top end - would...
  
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• Confidence in growth muted among CEOs: KPMG

  22-08-2017 15:55
  Some 52 percent of global insurance CEOs expect less than 2 percent
  top line growth over the next three years, KPMG research has found.
  In a survey of global insurance CEOs, KPMG found just 8 percent
  of respondents expected to achieve revenue growth of more than 5
  percent in the same timeframe.
  Overall, confidence in the industry's prospects over the
  next three years had fallen drastically. Some 61 percent of CEOs
  said they had confidence in the industry attaining growth...
  
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• City National touts ILW fund

  22-08-2017 15:55
  City National Bank subsidiary City National Rochdale has started
  marketing a new fund that will seek investments related to industry
  loss warranties (ILWs).
  The asset manager has partnered with Bermudian reinsurer Iris Re
  to launch the City National Rochdale Select Strategies Fund, which
  has a target of raising $500mn during the first two years.
  It is planning to invest in both ILW and cat bonds, with 70-80
  percent of the fund being allocated to ILWs and 10-20 percent to
  cat...
  
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• Ascot cements new MGA platform with Sillat hire

  22-08-2017 15:55
  Ascot today christened its ambitious new MGA platform and announced
  the appointment of former Ryan Specialty Group (RSG) executive Mike
  Sillat to head the business.
  The platform, Ethos Specialty Insurance Services, has a remit to
  grow organically and through acquisitions and is backed by a
  significant war chest from Ascot owner the Canada Pension Plan
  Investment Board (CPPIB).
  The formal launch of Ethos comes eight months after the CPPIB
  closed the $1.1bn buyout of Ascot from AIG and reflects th
  
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• Adnoc fire toll moves beyond $1bn

  22-08-2017 15:55
  A fire at a state-owned Abu Dhabi oil refinery in January now
  looks set to cost (re)insurers well over $1bn, biting into an
  excess layer with a large AIG line, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Sources said that physical damage resulting from the inferno at
  the Ruwais facility constitutes the largest portion of the loss, at
  about $800mn.
  However, disruption to a neighbouring plastic plant has also
  inflicted hundreds of millions of dollars of contingent business
  interruption losses.
  Both the...
  
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• Zurich looks to cut headcount in HQ reshuffle

  22-08-2017 13:49
  Zurich Insurance could cut the headcount in its Swiss corporate centre as part of a process to streamline the finance department.
  
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• Updated: Zurich looks to cut headcount in HQ reshuffle

  22-08-2017 13:49
  Zurich Insurance could cut the headcount in its Swiss corporate centre as part of a process to streamline the finance department.
  
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• Emerging technology, operational risk and talent usurp cyber as biggest concern among insurer CEOs

  22-08-2017 12:52
  Cyber has dropped from the biggest concern among insurance bosses to seventh, according to the latest CEO Outlook from consultancy KPMG.
  
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• Vienna Insurance Group reports pre-tax profit of €220.5m in H1

  22-08-2017 12:04
  Vienna Insurance Group has reported a 9.6% rise in its pre-tax profit to €220.5m (£202.0m) during the first half of 2017 compared to €201.3 (£184.42m) in the same period last year.
  
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• Sillat to run new Ascot MGA platform Ethos

  22-08-2017 12:00
  Mike Sillat has re-emerged at the helm of Ascot's ambitious
  new MGA platform with a remit to grow organically and through
  acquisitions backed by a significant war chest from owner Canada
  Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
  He will be CEO of the MGA vehicle's Delaware parent, Ethos
  Specialty Insurance Services, which in turn is owned by Ascot Group
  Limited, a new Bermudian holding company that will also sit above
  existing Lloyd's and reinsurance operations.
  The Insurance Insider revealed back
  
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• Brit appoints US excess casualty SVP

  22-08-2017 12:00
  Brit has built out its Brit Global Specialty USA excess casualty
  business with the appointment of a senior vice president (SVP) from
  Aspen.
  Jonathan Liening joined the firm as SVP, excess casualty,
  yesterday. He is based in Chicago and will report to Douglas
  Trainor, focusing on writing excess casualty through wholesale
  brokers.
  Liening had worked at Aspen since January 2013, with his most
  recent role being vice president, primary casualty. Jonathan began
  his career at Travelers, where he underw
  
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• Ascot launches new MGA and hires Michael Sillat to lead

  22-08-2017 11:33
  The Lloyd’s insurer said it wants to invest and build a global property and casualty insurance and reinsurance platform.
  
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• Validus adds RSA to its subrogation community

  22-08-2017 11:27
  RSA has become the latest insurer to sign up to Validus' Verify portal.
  
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• InsurTech Futures: Hiscox partners with start-up Digital Fineprint

  22-08-2017 11:23
  Aim is to use social media data to tackle underinsurance in small businesses.
  
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• IGI Holdings reports improvement in COR despite 'challenging market'

  22-08-2017 11:09
  Dubai registered International General Insurance Holdings Limited has reported an improvement in its combined operating ratio from 89.8% in H1 2016 to 81.9% during H1 of this year.
  
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• Lloyd’s broker joins Broker Network

  22-08-2017 11:03
  Broker Network signs up new member
  
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• More than half of insurers now use My Licence

  22-08-2017 10:52
  The Motor Insurers’ Bureau has reached it target for the adoption of My Licence, with 52% of UK insurers using the platform as of the second quarter of this year.
  
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• Ascot launches specialty MGA Ethos

  22-08-2017 10:52
  Ascot Group has created a standalone managing general agent and appointed Michael Sillat as CEO, effective 1 December 2017.
  
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• Ascot hires former Ryan Specialty executives to run new MGA

  22-08-2017 10:31
  Lloyd’s insurer Ascot unveils new MGA Ethos Specialty
  
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• Ansvar launches two charity products

  22-08-2017 10:18
  Offering live on Acturis with new facility on insurer's online platform to follow.
  
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• Opinion: The cyber-physical debate

  22-08-2017 10:06
  Since I have been covering cyber insurance for the Insider,
  there's been a constant debate among brokers and underwriters
  about whether the standalone cyber market should be insuring
  physical damage as a result of a cyberattack.
  It's a question I usually pose when meeting a cyber broker
  or underwriter for the first time - and so far the results are
  showing a fairly even split.
  Whether to insure physical assets under threat from a
  cyberattack is a sticking point for...
  
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• Italian island of Ischia struck by earthquake

  22-08-2017 10:06
  An earthquake has struck the Italian island of Ischia, killing
  two people, injuring around 40 and destroying dozens of
  buildings.
  The epicentre of the 4.3 magnitude earthquake was 33km from
  Naples, according to data from the European-Mediterranean
  Seismological Centre.
  The tremor comes a year after a 6.2 magnitude tremor struck
  Central Italy, killing 297 people.
  The earthquake is a reminder that the Naples area sits on
  unstable seismology.
  Swiss Re has warned that Campi Flegrei, a dormant volcan
  
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• Axa appoints interim Asia CEO

  22-08-2017 10:06
  Axa Asia has appointed Doina Palici-Chehab as interim CEO of Axa
  Asia, based in Hong Kong.
  Palici-Chehab was CEO of Axa Singapore for four years. Axa said
  that she has taken over from Jean-Louis Laurent Josi, who was CEO
  of Axa Asia from March 2015 until heresigned in June .Before becoming CEO of Axa in Singapore, Palici-Chehab was CEO
  of Axa Business Services, India from 2010 to 2013.
  In Singapore, Palici-Chehab has been replaced by Jean Drouffe as...
  
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• Axa's Drouffe moves to Singapore

  22-08-2017 09:04
  Global insurer Axa has appointed Jean Drouffe as CEO Axa Singapore following the promotion of previous Singapore CEO Doina Palici-Chehab.
  
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• Airmic's John Ludlow on the success of the Insurance Act

  22-08-2017 07:00
  John Ludlow, CEO of the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers, looks at the successes and failures of the Insurance Act, which the market has been working with for a year now.
  
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• Kwok moves from QBE to XL Catlin in Hong Kong

  22-08-2017 04:16
  Alice Kwok has joined XL Catlin from QBE-HKSI in Hong Kong as a marine underwriter.
  
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• Willis takes Marsh broker to lead DC operation

  22-08-2017 01:44
  Willis Towers Watson's insurance broking division has hired
  Ken Smith from Marsh to lead its operations in the US capital and
  the surrounding areas.
  The new job will see Smith take responsibility for pushing
  Willis Towers Watson's growth strategy and hiring decisions in
  the area, which includes Baltimore, Maryland and Richmond,
  Virginia.
  The newly-hired executive will report to Doug Pera who heads up
  the group's corporate risk and broking business for the
  Atlantic south region.
  Smith joined the
  
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• US reinsurers' combined ratio up to 97.1% in H1

  22-08-2017 01:44
  US P&C reinsurers generated a combined ratio for the first
  half of the year that deteriorated from 94.8 percent to 97.1
  percent, according to the Reinsurance Association of America
  (RAA).
  The 18 companies in the RAA survey wrote $22.5bn of net premiums
  during the period, up from $21.3bn in the first six months of
  2016.
  The combined ratio deterioration was driven by an increase in
  the loss ratio from 69.9 percent to 72.8 percent that more than
  offset an improvement...
  
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• D&O rates drop 7% in Q2: Aon

  22-08-2017 01:44
  The price for each $1mn of directors and officers coverage fell
  by an average of 7 percent in the second quarter according to a
  report from Aon.
  The big three broker, which tracks the price of coverage each
  quarter, said it was the sixteenth consecutive three-month period
  to see year-over-year price reductions.
  The price reductions marked a slowdown from the first three
  months of the year when rates fell by 8.7 percent, but were still
  ahead of the 5 percent...
  
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• Citizens readies for rate hearing for up to 10% increase

  22-08-2017 01:44
  Florida's Citizens is set to face policyholders on Wednesday
  (23 August) at a hearing to consider its filing to increase rates
  by as much as 10 percent on some coverages and areas of the state
  next year.
  The hearing will be conducted by the Florida Office of Insurance
  Regulation (FLOIR) and will consider proposed rates that will come
  in on 1 February 2018, if approved by the state regulator.
  The highest rate increase by coverage type has been filed for...
  
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• Brightway co-founders change roles

  22-08-2017 01:44
  The two brothers who founded personal lines broker Brightway
  Insurance have changed roles in the organization as it looks to
  execute its growth strategy.
  The firm's chairman David Miller was made executive
  chairman. Meanwhile, his brother, moved up from vice chairman to
  chairman.
  David Miller called his title change a "step sideways"
  to allow him to work with his brother and the agency's
  leadership team on long-term strategy and growth plans.
  "We've created a company that, in nine short years,..
  
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