Insurance news

• RenRe and Swiss lead FHCF programme

  06-09-2017 21:33
  The $1bn Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) reinsurance
  programme, which begins paying out when industry losses to Florida
  insurers reach $18.5bn, is dominated by RenaissanceRe and Swiss Re.
  As Hurricane Irma approaches the state, the FHCF's programme
  will be one of the most publicly visible sources of potential
  reinsurance losses.
  Florida insurers must buy some reinsurance from the state-backed
  scheme, which begins paying out when industry losses reach $7bn. It
  exhausts once its $17bn st
  
  Read more

• Nephila, Validus and Everest the biggest Citizens supporters

  06-09-2017 21:33
  Insurance-linked securities (ILS) giant Nephila and Bermudian
  carriers Validus and Everest Re combined write more than 60 percent
  of Florida Citizens' $1.03bn reinsurance programme, which could
  be at risk from Hurricane Irma.
  As many as 28 different groups, some writing via a number of
  different entities, participate on the programme, but the top 10
  writers have more than 90 percent of the slip.
  The residual insurer in the world's peak catastrophe zone
  cut its overall risk transfer programme at
  
  Read more

• Nephila and Everest the biggest Florida cat treaty writers

  06-09-2017 21:33
  Nephila, Everest Re and RenaissanceRe were among the leading
  reinsurers of some of the top Florida insurers last year, according
  to data collated by sister publication Trading
  Risk.
  Reinsurers of the biggest Floridian cedants will bear the brunt
  of the loss from Hurricane Irma, which looks increasingly likely to
  make landfall in the Sunshine State as a major storm.
  Nephila cut back its exposure compared to 2015, but the
  Bermudian asset manager still captured just over $200mn of premium
  ceded...
  
  Read more

• Irma sets collision course with Miami area: JLT Re

  06-09-2017 21:33
  Southeast Florida is the mainland US region with the highest risk
  of being hit by Hurricane Irma, the strongest storm to pummel the
  Caribbean since records began, according to JLT Re.
  The probability of Irma making landfall in the US mainland rose to
  more than 9-in10 overnight, the broking house said today on its
  website."Florida remains the leading region to see a direct landfall,
  with tropical storm force winds on Saturday and landfall on
  Sunday," JLT said.
  Southeast Florida...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Industry looks to Miami storm parallels as Irma advances

  06-09-2017 21:33
  As Hurricane Irma crosses the Caribbean, concern about a
  potential direct hit on Miami is mounting, with historical
  parallels pointing towards potentially swingeing insured
  losses.
  Authorities in southern Florida are already planning evacuations
  and making provisions for vulnerable residents, while Miami-Dade
  County mayor Carlos Gimenez has declared a state of emergency.
  Irma is heading towards the Floridian city as a Category 5
  storm, more than eight decades after the Great Miami Hurricane
  kill
  
  Read more

• Floridians mostly rebound in early New York trading

  06-09-2017 21:33
  Shares of some insurers rebounded from yesterday's selloff
  in New York as investors jumped in to take advantage of declines
  that at least one analyst described as overdone.
  One of the biggest beneficiaries was Heritage, a Clearwater,
  Florida-based property and casualty carrier whose shares climbed by
  more than 10 percent in late morning trading after the company said
  it expects third quarter earnings to "closely
  approximate" previous guidance, offset by as much as $20mn in
  catastrophe losses sho
  
  Read more

• European storm Zeus losses rise 6%

  06-09-2017 21:33
  Loss tracking agency Perils said that industry insured losses
  for extratropical cyclone Zeus, which hit France in March, had
  risen 5.6 percent from its previous estimate to EUR284mn
  ($338.9mn).
  The estimate means ranks Zeus as a moderate event on the
  European scale, as it is a loss figure that would be expected to be
  reached or exceeded at least once a year, said Perils CEO Luzi
  Hitz.
  "For the French market alone, however, it represents a more
  significant event as...
  
  Read more

• Beazley shares fall 6% as Irma woes reach London

  06-09-2017 21:33
  Shares in the listed Lloyd's insurer Beazley fell 6 percent
  today, echoing concern on US equity markets yesterday about the
  impact of Hurricane Irma on carriers.
  Beazley dropped to 462 pence at market close on the London Stock
  Exchange, the stock's lowest close since 8 June.
  The company has an extensive business in the US, where it sells
  insurance directly and through MGAs.
  Among other UK-based carriers, Lancashire Holdings fell 3.7 percent
  to close at 646 pence. Hiscox fell 2.6...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Allianz/HNA: top trinket

  06-09-2017 17:57
  Shares in insurer would make good investment for HNA
  
  Read more

• Reinsurers must boost efficiency to spur demand: Sapnar

  06-09-2017 17:38
  Reinsurers need to create partnerships, build platforms and
  ultimately boost productivity if the industry is to boost demand
  and shrink the protection gap, TransRe president and CEO Mike
  Sapnar has claimed.Speaking at The Insurance
  Insider's pre-Monte Carlo briefing earlier today,
  Sapnar pointed to the low percentage of economic losses covered by
  insurance following Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, which
  stood at just 27 percent and 33 percent respectively.Taking a Hurricane Harvey econom
  
  Read more

• Hamilton Re promotes Duffin to reinsurance CUO role

  06-09-2017 17:38
  Bermudian (re)insurer Hamilton Re has made a raft of promotions,
  naming Tim Duffin to the newly created position of chief
  underwriting officer, reinsurance.
  Duffin was previously chief underwriting officer (CUO) for
  property at Hamilton Re,
  Also changing roles is Claude Lefebvre, who becomes chief
  underwriting officer for partnerships and casualty reinsurance.
  Lefebvre's mandate will cover Hamilton's technology-focused
  relationships with AIG and Attune, the platform established by
  Hamilton, AIG
  
  Read more

• Cat bond market jitters as Irma looms

  06-09-2017 17:38
  Investors have begun marking down cat bonds in secondary trading
  as Hurricane Irma moves towards the US coast, with landfall
  expected on Sunday or early Monday.
  One layer of the Citrus Re cat bonds issued by Heritage was
  marked down to 50c in a small secondary market trade that occurred
  yesterday, according to Trace records.
  This came as capacity for the livecat industry loss warranty
  (ILW) market locked up, amid growing fears about the storm's
  anticipated impact on Florida. ILWs...
  
  Read more

• Berkshire Hathaway leads Florida auto insurance

  06-09-2017 17:38
  With Hurricane Irma expected to hit Florida and estimates at
  around $50bn for insured losses, The Insurance
  Insider looked at the most exposed primary carriers
  in the Sunshine State's commercial multi-peril and auto
  insurance markets in 2016.The aggregate coverage of the top 10
  Florida auto insurers stood at 77.8 percent in 2016, with total
  direct written premiums of $15.3bn.
  The majority was written by the five largest carriers in terms
  of market share, which accounted for 65.7 percent of...
  
  Read more

• Allianz rebuffed Anbang and HNA bid offers

  06-09-2017 17:38
  Two Chinese insurance companies have made separate acquisition
  approaches to Allianz, but were rebuffed, according to reports.Earlier this year, Anbang considered buying a majority stake in
  Allianz, but has now dropped the offer, Reuters reported.Separately, HNA Group, a Hong Kong conglomerate that is the
  largest shareholder in Deutsche Bank, also approached Allianz over
  a possible takeover.The German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung first reported the
  interest from HNA today, adding that Allianz
  
  Read more

• FSCS declares three insurance companies in default

  06-09-2017 17:02
  The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has declared three insurance companies in default.
  
  Read more

• Fixed costs for deafness claims proposed

  06-09-2017 16:25
  The Civil Justice Council has recommended a system of fixed costs for noise-induced hearing loss claims.
  
  Read more

• Career File: Jon Cawley, NFU Mutual

  06-09-2017 15:45
  Jon Cawley set to take head of claims role at NFU Mutual
  
  Read more

• PIB buys Morton Michel

  06-09-2017 15:34
  Existing management team will continue to lead Morton Michel following the deal.
  
  Read more

• PIB Group makes tenth acquisition

  06-09-2017 15:22
  PIB Group buys Croydon-based broker
  
  Read more

• Nephila and Everest biggest Florida cat treaty writers

  06-09-2017 14:04
  Nephila, Everest Re and RenaissanceRe were among the leading
  reinsurers of some of the top Florida insurers last year, according
  to data collated by sister publication Trading
  Risk.
  Reinsurers of the biggest Floridian cedants will bear the brunt
  of the loss from Hurricane Irma, which looks increasingly likely to
  make landfall in the Sunshine State as a major storm.
  Nephila cut back its exposure compared to 2015, but the
  Bermudian asset manager still captured just over $200mn of premium
  ceded...
  
  Read more

• Irma could prompt market correction: Kent

  06-09-2017 14:04
  Hurricane Irma's current track could "fundamentally
  change the market", according to Willis Re CEO-designate James
  Kent.
  Speaking at The Insurance
  Insider's Pre-Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous event in
  London earlier today, Kent said while it was too early to say if
  landfall was guaranteed, the Category 5 storm could prompt a
  rethink from reinsurers.
  "It's worth recalling that Katrina was closely followed
  by Rita as a major hurricane, which made landfall in rural Texas
  resulting in a minor loss," he sai
  
  Read more

• Everest Re has highest US wind PML

  06-09-2017 14:04
  Everest Re and Validus have the biggest disclosed probable
  maximum loss (PML) figures for 1-in-100-year US windstorm exposures
  among global (re)insurers tracked by The Insurance
  Insider, as observers scrutinise financial results
  for indications of likely losses from Hurricane Irma.
  Irma is passing over the West Indies as a Category 5 event at
  present and the current storm track on Tropical Storm Risk shows it
  making landfall in Florida just to the west of Miami at the
  weekend.
  Everest Re reporte
  
  Read more

• Claims disputes a relationship 'killer': Aviva's McIntosh

  06-09-2017 14:04
  Scott McIntosh, group reinsurance and credit director at Aviva,
  said reinsurance claims disputes spelled disaster for relationships
  between cedant and reinsurer.
  McIntosh told an audience at The Insurance
  Insider's pre-Monte Carlo briefing that disputes
  were "a real killer to a relationship. It takes a long time to
  recover trust".
  "I want to buy cover, not an argument," he added.
  "Sometimes it's the big guys who can be the worst at
  this."
  Aviva is a vast general insurer with little natural...
  
  Read more

• Ping An: premium posse

  06-09-2017 14:02
  In a shootout with its rivals, Chinese insurer is the top gunslinger
  
  Read more

• Fixed costs proposed for hearing loss cases

  06-09-2017 12:52
  The Civil Justice Council has published its recommendations for fixed costs for hearing loss cases
  
  Read more

• Watchstone CEO Mukerjee: 'There is no yard sale'

  06-09-2017 12:12
  Indro Mukerjee, the outgoing CEO of Watchstone has admitted that while it might have been more “romantic” or “Hollywood” to have grown the business by acquisitions during his two year tenure, it would not have benefited shareholders long term.
  
  Read more

• Broker Apprentice: Don’t miss out - you can be interviewed over Skype

  06-09-2017 11:49
  Remote Skype interviews take place on 25 September so be sure to apply before 11 September to be in with a chance of becoming the Broker Apprentice winner of 2017.
  
  Read more

• InsurTech Futures: First blockchain platform for marine insurance launched

  06-09-2017 11:40 via insuranceage.co.uk
  EY and Guardtime team up with Willis Towers Watson, MS Amlin, XL Catlin, A.P. Møller-Maersk, ACORD and Microsoft on new platform.
  
  Read more

• Law firms warned over handling of holiday sickness claims

  06-09-2017 11:37
  Solicitors have been slapped with a warning over the handling of holiday sickness claims following evidence of rising fraud.
  
  Read more

• Tokio Marine Group picks Luxembourg as post-Brexit base

  06-09-2017 11:09 via insuranceage.co.uk
  According to the firm its aim is to have the new insurance company incorporated and capitalised within the first half of 2018.
  
  Read more

• Munich Re Digital Partners to roll out ride-sharing digital platform

  06-09-2017 11:05
  Munich Re Digital Partners has entered a partnership with ride-sharing platform Drover in order to provide fleet owners and ride sharing drivers with personalised policies.
  
  Read more

• Finch Group buys Miller & Co Insurance Brokers

  06-09-2017 10:48
  It is the fifth deal for Finch Group since becoming a Broker Network partner in 2016.
  
  Read more

• Tokio Marine picks Luxembourg for EU hub

  06-09-2017 10:46
  Tokio Marine Group has applied for regulatory approval to
  establish an insurance company in Luxembourg to allow it to
  continue servicing clients in the European Economic Area
  post-Brexit.Subject to regulatory approval, Tokio Marine is aiming to have
  the new insurance company incorporated and capitalised within the
  first half of 2018 to enable Tokio Marine HCC and Tokio Marine Kiln
  to start writing business, including with Japanese customers.The new company will have branches across Europe, and w
  
  Read more

• Reinsurers' underlying RoE drops to 3.7%: Willis Re

  06-09-2017 10:46
  The average first-half underlying return on equity (RoE) at
  global reinsurers slumped to 3.7 percent as margin pressure
  continues to mount on carriers, according to the latest Willis Re
  reinsurance market report.
  The H1 underlying RoE result, which is adjusted for reserve
  releases and a normalised catastrophe load, represents an 80 basis
  point decrease on the previous year's result, and marks the
  third consecutive year of deterioration at the half-year point.
  The figures are based on a subset of
  
  Read more

• Opinion: Irma and Florida

  06-09-2017 10:46
  Hurricane Harvey is set to be a complex and expensive loss event
  for the insurance market.
  Three or four times in the last couple of days I have had senior
  market sources assume a confidential tone and say to me that their
  view is that this is not a $10bn or a $15bn event. The ultimate
  toll will be upwards of $20bn, they said. One said $25bn-plus.
  (Make of that what you will.)
  It is major, and we will be...
  
  Read more

• Narrowing returns threaten reinsurance sector: S&P

  06-09-2017 10:46
  The gap between reinsurers' cost of capital and returns is
  tightening, Standard & Poor's (S&P) has warned.
  Credit analyst David Masters predicted in a report published
  yesterday ahead of the Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous, that even
  if prior-year reserve releases stay favourable, the top 20
  reinsurers will barely be able to cover the cost of capital. This
  is expected to "marginally" increase in 2017 and 2018,
  S&P said.
  The sector's return on capital was 8.6 percent in 2016, and
  S&P said
  
  Read more

• Guy Carp names Boyce deputy CEO of global specialties

  06-09-2017 10:46
  Broker Guy Carpenter has promoted James Boyce to the London-based
  role of deputy CEO, global specialties, with immediate effect.
  Boyce, who maintains his existing position as head of non-marine
  specialty, will report to Kevin Fisher, who is CEO of the global
  specialties business.
  He will also work closely with the heads of marine and energy,
  aviation and North American London placement.
  Boyce joined Guy Carpenter in 1997 following the acquisition of
  Wilcox Johnson & Higgins by Marsh & Mc
  
  Read more

• Charles Taylor H1 adjusted profits up 1.2%

  06-09-2017 10:46
  Adjusted profits at insurance services firm Charles Taylor grew
  just 1.2 percent in the first half to £6.1mn ($7.9mn), as
  expenditure on strategic business lines eroded earnings.Revenues increased by 36.1 percent to £100.7mn, but
  investment on Charles Taylor InsureTech, developing global medical
  claims and assistance capabilities, extending its third-party
  administration services and developing its turnkey managing agency
  tempered the company's earnings growth.
  However, Charles Taylo
  
  Read more

• Category 5 Irma tracks over West Indies

  06-09-2017 10:46
  Hurricane Irma, which is currently Category 5, is passing over
  Barbuda and moving northwest towards the northern Leeward Islands
  in the West Indies.
  The latest advisory from the US National Hurricane Center states
  that the "extremely dangerous" core of Irma will move
  over portions of the northern Leeward Islands in the early hours of
  Wednesday, before moving over portions of the northern Virgin
  Islands and passing near or just north of Puerto Rico late
  Wednesday and Wednesday night.
  Maximum sust
  
  Read more

• AmTrust estimates Harvey exposure won't exceed $20mn

  06-09-2017 10:46
  AmTrust Financial Services said it expects the net impact of
  Harvey to be no more than $20mn, as it detailed a new quota share
  agreement that cut cat exposure for one of its subsidiaries.
  Late yesterday, the company said its Republic Companies
  subsidiary had entered into a quota share contract with a cession
  rate of 62.5 percent covering personal property policies last
  month.
  The quota share became effective on 1 August, well before Harvey
  and the building Hurricane Irma, which...
  
  Read more

• Broker Network partner Finch Group in fifth acquisition

  06-09-2017 10:43
  Broker Network partner Finch in fifth acquisition
  
  Read more

• Claims company slammed for holiday sickness video

  06-09-2017 10:19
  A claims company has been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority for a misleading holiday sickness video
  
  Read more

• Marine insurers adopt blockchain contracts

  06-09-2017 10:14
  One of oldest branches of insurance to use technology behind virtual currency bitcoin
  
  Read more

• Tokio Marine picks Luxembourg for post-Brexit EU hub

  06-09-2017 10:02
  Tokio Marine has become the latest insurer to base its post-Brexit European hub in Luxembourg.
  
  Read more

• Big-hitters team up to launch marine blockchain platform

  06-09-2017 08:30
  New marine blockchain platform claims to be world’s first
  
  Read more

• Irma hit poses greater threat to reinsurers than Harvey

  06-09-2017 08:09
  A Hurricane Irma hit on Florida would affect reinsurers more
  than primary carriers, reflecting the industry's wary stance
  toward the Sunshine State and its exposure to wind, surge and flood
  losses, analysts say.
  Most large primary insurers have avoided writing commercial and
  standard homeowners' policies in Florida and ceded much of the
  risk they do carry to reinsurers, holding low retentions except in
  segments like standard auto.
  "Private reinsurers should be far more exposed to this loss
  event
  
  Read more

• Interview: Meet the people making insurance more diverse

  06-09-2017 07:00
  This month the Dive In festival returns as part of the Inclusion at Lloyd’s initiative aiming to help insurance get fit for the future, highlighting the business case for diverse and inclusive workplaces and providing practical ideas and inspiration for how to bring about positive change. Post finds out how diverse and inclusive the insurance market is by seeking out people from minority groups and asking them about their experience.
  
  Read more

• Editor's comment: Feel pride

  06-09-2017 07:00
  Throughout the year at sports day, parent-teacher consultations, and music and dance recitals, I say to my son “as long as you try your best” no one can ask any more of you.
  
  Read more

• State Auto names commercial and personal lines leaders

  06-09-2017 03:40
  State Auto Financial has moved commercial operations under Kim
  Garland, adding to the senior vice president's brief after
  Jessica Clark left the role in May, while Jason Berkey replaced him
  in leading the company's personal lines.
  Garland, who joined the carrier in 2015, retains responsibility for
  farm and ranch cover and continues as State Auto Labs managing
  director. He was previously in charge of personal lines.
  Before joining Columbus, Ohio-based State Auto, Garland was chief
  product officer
  
  Read more

• Maritime risk market offered a blockchain platform

  06-09-2017 03:40
  A group of insurers and technology companies have set up a marine
  insurance platform built using blockchain software and positioned
  it to begin doing business at the start of next year.
  The platform, officially launched today by Ernst & Young (EY)
  and Guardtime, was developed in collaboration with shipping giant
  AP Møller-Maersk, Acord, Microsoft, MS Amlin, Willis Towers
  Watson and XL Catlin.
  The start of operations follows a 20-week period during which the
  platform was tested and ref
  
  Read more

Follow @Insurance_UKnws on Twitter!