Insurance news

• US and EU sign covered agreement on (re)insurer rules

  22-09-2017 21:54
  The covered agreement between the European Union and the United
  States will be signed today, formally starting the process to
  eliminate excess collateral and local presence requirements for
  reinsurers operating in each other's markets.
  For US carriers, the agreement "will eliminate barriers in
  Europe" facing US providers under the EU's Solvency II
  regime, the American Insurance Association (AIA) said.
  Those have included a requirement for local offices and applying
  Solvency II mandates to "upstr
  
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• China Re's financial strength rating cut by S&P

  22-09-2017 21:54
  S&P Global Ratings has cut its insurer financial strength
  rating on China Re, mirroring a downgrade of China's credit
  rating yesterday.
  China Re's financial strength and credit ratings were
  lowered today to A+ from A by S&P, a day after it cut the
  country's credit rating to AA- from A+. The outlook for both is
  stable, S&P said.
  China Re can rely on the "high likelihood that the
  insurance group will receive extraordinary support" from its
  84 percent owner, the...
  
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• CCRIF to pay out Dominica $19mn after Hurricane Maria

  22-09-2017 21:54
  The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) will pay
  the island of Dominica $19.29mn following the passage of Hurricane
  Maria on the 19 September, it announced today.
  The CCRIF's parametric insurance pool was created to provide
  quick liquidity post-event to the governments of the Caribbean and
  Central America following catastrophic impacts from tropical
  cyclones, earthquakes and excess rainfall.
  The payout under the island's hurricane policy will be made
  within 14 days of Maria pas
  
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• Beazley shuts Middle East office

  22-09-2017 21:54
  Beazley has confirmed it has closed its office in Dubai, with
  the Lloyd's insurer opting to focus its resources on the
  Singapore market.
  It is understood Crispin Hodges, the political risk underwriter
  who was heading the company's Middle East business from the
  United Arab Emirates, has returned to London.
  A Beazley spokesperson said today that the operation had shut
  down on 1 September.
  According to the register of the Dubai International Financial
  Centre (DIFC), Beazley began underwriting from
  
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• Opinion: Eye of calm

  22-09-2017 17:57
  Insurers entered what might be called the eye of the cat storm as
  this week neared its end, with Hurricane Maria's forecast track
  indicating only a small chance of US landfall.
  Weather events have left underwriters and their reinsurers
  scrambling to assemble cat loss figures for third quarter financial
  reports, with their bottom lines set to be swept away.
  Today they may be breathing with a bit of relief since there are
  - for now at least - no new...
  
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• InsurTech start-ups face funding challenge

  22-09-2017 17:57
  Finding capital after the angel funding stage is currently the
  biggest challenge for InsurTech start-ups in London, according to
  so-sure CEO Dylan Bourguignon.
  Speaking at the London InsurTech conference today, Bourguignon
  said there was a "real need" for funding in between the
  angel and Series A financing rounds.
  "The reality is there are aren't that many key
  investors who understand insurance and have the confidence to be
  able to invest," the executive said during a panel discussion.
  "That is
  
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• EU and US sign covered agreement

  22-09-2017 17:36
  The European Union and the United States has today signed the so-called covered agreement on prudential reinsurance measures.
  
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• Third Point Re jumps after S&P Small Cap inclusion

  22-09-2017 14:05
  Total return reinsurer Third Point Re surged over 11 percent in
  early New York trading after Standard & Poor's (S&P)
  added the Bermudian to its Small Cap 600 index.
  By midday the stock was trading at around $15.45, up over 7.6
  percent.
  Third Point, which is allied with Dan Loeb's New York-based
  Third Point LLC hedge fund, will replace Sanderson Farms in the
  S&P index effective 26 September, the ratings company said late
  yesterday.
  At yesterday's close Third Point Re...
  
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• Over 200 positions axed in Ironshore-LIU cost-cutting

  22-09-2017 14:05
  A total of 210 positions are being eliminated as part of a
  cost-cutting drive at the combined Ironshore and LIU US operations
  of Liberty Mutual, The Insurance Insider
  can reveal.
  According to sources, staff whose positions are being made
  redundant were informed of the move late last week.
  A Liberty Mutual spokesperson confirmed the cuts and said:
  "Difficult decisions regarding staffing have been made that
  will result in workforce reductions for both Ironshore and
  Liberty's LIU US."
  "Periods of t
  
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• Week in Post: Cancelled flights, closed doors and canned ads

  22-09-2017 12:35
  My dad was one of 400,000 passengers affected this week by budget airline Ryanair cancelling 50 flights a day for the next six weeks due to air traffic control delays, bad weather and a backlog in employee holidays.
  
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• Opinion: Disruption difficulties

  22-09-2017 11:45
  The fear of disruption from tech-savvy entrepreneurs is a real one
  for (re)insurance executives at the moment.
  PwC's latest Fintech survey found that 88 percent of
  incumbents across financial services are increasingly concerned
  they are losing revenue to innovators - and most (re)insurers would
  probably agree they fall into that bracket.
  But the decision for UK peer-to-peer (P2P) motor insurer Guevara
  toshutter its operations for good shows that sometimes, the
  reality can't live up to the hype.
  
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• Epic boosts PE portfolio expertise with NYC hire

  22-09-2017 11:45
  Epic Insurance Brokers has hired Anthony Gerrato as a principal in
  the firm's New York City office, it announced yesterday.
  In his new role, Gerrato will be responsible for new business
  development and the design and management of P&C insurance and
  risk management programmes for clients across a wide range of
  industries.
  Gerrato has specialised in providing risk management and
  insurance services to the portfolio companies of private equity
  firms. He joins from New York and Long Island broker
  
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• AIG SIFI status may be ended

  22-09-2017 11:45
  AIG may be released from federal oversight as a systemically
  important financial institution (SIFI) at a meeting of the
  regulatory body in charge of making such designations tomorrow.
  The Financial Stability Oversight Council plans a closed-door
  session to re-evaluate the designation of a non-bank financial
  company, according to a meeting notice on its website. Treasury
  Secretary Steve Mnuchin will preside.
  While the notice doesn't mention AIG, the global insurer
  based in New York, it is one of
  
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• Agora cleared for full Lloyd's syndicate launch

  22-09-2017 11:45
  Skuld-backed special purpose arrangement (SPA) Agora has
  received Lloyd's approval to become a syndicate, its
  third-party managing agent Asta said today.
  Agora Syndicate 3268 is expected to begin underwriting after 1
  January 2018, with the Lloyd's Franchise Board having given
  in-principle approval for Agora to build out its Lloyd's
  operation.
  Agora began life as SPA 6126 in 2015, managed by Mike Pritchard,
  chairman and CEO. It started trading on 1 January 2016.
  The insurer specialises in propert
  
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• AFL hires Stagg to run InsurTech platform

  22-09-2017 11:45
  The independent intermediary AFL has recruited an RK Harrison
  broker to run an insurance technology incubator, according to the
  company.
  George Stagg, a terrorism and political violence broker at RK
  Harrison, will join AFL as head of innovation at the end of
  November.
  Stagg joined RKH in 2013 from the headhunting firm Mackenzie
  Stuart.
  Last month, The Insurance Insider reported that
  former Cooper Gay boss Toby Esser planned to acquire a majority
  stake in AFL from the Finch family, through...
  
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• Skuld and Asta launch Agora syndicate 3268

  22-09-2017 11:23
  Marine insurer Skuld and third-party managing agent Asta have received in principle approval from Lloyd’s to establish Agora syndicate 3268.
  
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• Swinton targets becoming largest digital broker in the UK

  22-09-2017 11:04
  CEO Gilles Normand says aim is to complete transformation within two years.
  
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• Quizzical questions: 22 September 2017

  22-09-2017 11:03
  Test your knowledge of the week's news with our topical quiz.
  
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• Saga reports 5.5% rise in first-half underlying profit

  22-09-2017 11:01
  Over-50s travel and insurance company Saga reported a 5.5% rise in first-half pre-tax profit, driven by strong demand for holidays among older Britons.
  
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• Chinese online insurer ZhongAn raises $1.5bn in IPO

  22-09-2017 10:06
  Group’s Hong Kong flotation is world’s first ‘insurtech’ public offering
  
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• ZhongAn raises $1.5bn in Hong Kong IPO

  22-09-2017 09:32
  Chinese online-only P&C insurer ZhongAn managed to price its
  initial public offering (IPO) at the top of its indicated range,
  raising $1.5bn, according to Thomson Reuters' IFR magazine.
  The carrier issued 199.3 million new shares at HK$59.70 ($7.65)
  each, making it Hong Kong's largest ever tech firm listing.
  ZhongAn, which was founded in November 2013 by Alibaba executive
  chairman Jack Ma, Tencent chairman Pony Ma and Ping An chairman Ma
  Mingzhe, will debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on
  
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• UIB names Gribben as finance director

  22-09-2017 09:32
  United Insurance Brokers (UIB) has appointed Keith Gribben as
  group financial director (FD) with immediate effect.
  Gribben has significant experience in the insurance industry,
  having served as CFO at Aegon Direct Marketing Services between
  2009 and 2015 and at Aon as the financial director between 2006 and
  2009.
  Prior to that, he spent three years as head of financial
  planning and analysis at Norgine and two years as a financial
  review and benefits realisation manager at Barclays, according to
  
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• Maria re-strengthens to Cat 3 as it veers towards Bahamas

  22-09-2017 09:32
  Hurricane Maria has returned to a Category 3 strength after
  briefly weakening to a Category 2 storm yesterday, as it continues
  its path towards the southeastern Bahamas.
  Maria yesterday caused devastating flooding inPuerto Rico, leaving about 3.4 million people without power.As of 02:00 Eastern Time, hurricane warnings were in place for
  the Dominican Republic, the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and
  Caicos Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center
  (NHC).
  Tropical storm warnings were
  
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• Capsicum's Chris Hardcastle on how comfortably MGAs are sitting on their capacity

  22-09-2017 07:00
  Managing general agents are popping up all over the place but capacity is coming under pressure. Chris Hardcastle, managing director of Capsicum Delegated Authority, asks if there is enough capacity to go round.
  
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• Blog: Barriers to disruption and how to hurdle them

  22-09-2017 07:00
  Legacy systems and industry culture are preventing incumbents insurers from innovating, writes Jane Disney, financial services industry value engineer at SAP, urging the sector to rethink itself as support services.
  
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• Workplace pensions shouldn’t be this much hard work

  22-09-2017 06:01
  Greater transparency is welcome — but plain English would also help
  
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• PCS issues initial Harvey loss toll of $15.9bn

  22-09-2017 01:57
  Data provider Property Claims Service (PCS) has pegged the insured
  industry loss from August's Hurricane Harvey at $15.9bn,
  The Insurance Insider understands.
  Sources told this publication that the $15.7bn Texas component of
  the loss broke down as $3.1bn for personal lines property, $8.2bn
  for commercial property and $4.4bn of auto property.
  The loss is a private insured loss and excludes the substantial
  claims that will be borne by the National Flood Insurance Program
  (NFIP).
  The ultimate PCS l
  
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• Allstate Harvey hit points to $4.5bn personal lines loss: CS

  22-09-2017 01:57
  Industry insured auto and homeowners losses from Hurricane
  Harvey may amount to only around $4.5bn, Credit Suisse analysts
  said today, extrapolating from loss estimates released by
  Allstate.
  Meanwhile, loss figures from Hannover Re suggest the recent
  string storms in the US, the Caribbean and the Mexico earthquakes
  could drive industry losses to a range in excess of 10 percent of
  book value, analyst Ryan Tunis said in a note.Earlier today Hannover, the world's third-largest reinsurer,
  said cat e
  
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• AIG SIFI status may be ended in a vote Friday

  22-09-2017 01:57
  American International Group may be released from federal
  oversight as a systemically important financial institution, or
  SIFI, at a meeting of the regulatory body in charge of making such
  designations tomorrow.
  The Financial Stability Oversight Council plans a closed-door
  session to reevaluate the designation of a non-bank financial
  company, according to a meeting notice on its website. Treasury
  Secretary Steve Mnuchin will preside.
  While the notice doesn't mention AIG, the global insurer
  based
  
  Read more

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