Insurance news

• Citizens $1.23bn Irma loss spares reinsurers for now

  27-09-2017 21:39
  Citizens expects Hurricane Irma will generate 70,000 claims and
  around $1.23bn of insured losses that will not be sufficient to
  attach its private reinsurance layers or Everglades Re catastrophe
  bond.
  In a statement, Florida's state-backed carrier said it had
  reported the initial estimates to its board of governors earlier
  today.
  It added that the losses will be paid from its surplus, with
  $193mn of the $1.23bn total reimbursed from the Florida Hurricane
  Catastrophe Fund (FHCF).
  Citizens reporte
  
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• Aon accuses Willis of unfair competition over CFO hire

  27-09-2017 21:39
  Aon has sought to block the appointment of Michael Burwell as
  Willis Towers Watson CFO by claiming it would amount to unfair
  competition.
  In a complaint filed in an Illinois district court on Monday,
  Aon revealed that Burwell was working as a key member of a PwC team
  advising on the broker's ongoing restructure before he took the
  role at Willis.
  Prior to resigning as a partner of the accountancy firm in
  August, Burwell spent 11 months working on restructuring...
  
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• Fairfax raises $548mn from ICICI Lombard IPO

  27-09-2017 18:48
  Fairfax Financial revealed it had raised $548mn by selling a 12
  percent stake in ICICI Lombard General Insurance through an IPO
  that cut the Canadian conglomerate's holding in the Indian
  carrier to 9.9 percent.
  ICICI Lombard made its stock market debut earlier today after
  pricing its IPO at 661 rupees ($10.01) per share, which equates to
  a market capitalisation of about $4.6bn.
  As of 14.10 London time, the stock was up 3.1 percent at 681.20
  rupees.
  The share disposal followed...
  
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• Bermudians paid $73bn to EU customers over 20 years: BMA

  27-09-2017 18:48
  Bermudian (re)insurers have paid out nearly $73bn in claims to EU
  clients and cedants over the past 20 years, according to the
  Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA).
  Of the $72.9bn paid out to EU policyholders, around half -
  $36.8bn - was paid to UK customers.
  The commercial market claims data was collated by the BMA's
  first EU data claims survey, which was completed in July this
  year.
  Between 1997 and 2006 claim payments to the EU totalled around
  $16.5bn, of which...
  
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• Up to $190bn in 2017 cat losses signal 'capital event': Fitch

  27-09-2017 15:35
  Ratings agency Fitch said that catastrophe losses this year
  could constitute a capital event for some reinsurers, rather than
  just an earnings event.
  It noted that loss estimates for various 2017 disasters,
  including hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, ranged from $100bn to
  $190bn.
  At the top end of this scale the potential pre-tax insured hit
  would be the highest on record in a single year.
  The previous most expensive catastrophe years, 2005 and 2011,
  would have cost insurers around $130bn...
  
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• London market diversity hindered by unconscious bias: Gage

  27-09-2017 15:35
  Unconscious bias is a major hurdle in creating a truly diverse
  workforce in the London (re)insurance market, according to CNA
  Hardy CEO Patrick Gage.
  Speaking at a CEO panel at the annual Dive In festival, Gage
  said unconscious bias in hiring and promoting talent was "a
  much bigger issue than people like to think it is".
  "Businesses in London are not institutionally racist or
  misogynistic, but there is an unconscious bias that people look for
  others that look and sound...
  
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• Tianjin insured claims to exceed $1.5bn: CIRC

  27-09-2017 13:06
  The Tianjin branch of the Chinese insurance regulator has said
  total insured losses from the 2015 Tianjin explosions are likely to
  reach more than 10bn yuan ($1.5bn).
  Chinese insurers had paid out 8.1bn yuan by the end of 2016,
  according to Xinhua News Agency, citing data from the China
  Insurance Regulatory Commission.
  The agency said more than 6,000 claims were paid by the end of
  last year.
  The explosions occurred at a container storage site at the port
  of Tianjin...
  
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• PIB snaps up MGA aQmen

  27-09-2017 13:06
  Carlyle-backed broking firm PIB has acquired MGA aQmen.
  The target said on its website that the underwriting platform,
  along with its subsidiary CaSE Insurance Services, were now part of
  PIB.
  Leatherhead, Surrey-based aQmen specialises in insurance for
  places of worship, charities and social enterprises and recruitment
  agencies.
  The deal is the 11th transaction PIB has completed in 17 months.
  PIB recently acquired a controlling stake in the broking firms
  Franklands and Morton Michel.
  PIB was fou
  
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• Newline hires Pecover to lead D&O

  27-09-2017 13:06
  Newline Group has hired Andy Pecover, MS Amlin's class
  underwriter for financial lines, to lead its directors' and
  officers' (D&O) team, The Insurance
  Insider understands.
  He will start his new role in January following a period of
  gardening leave.
  Pecover has worked at MS Amlin for the past four years, having
  moved from Nexus in 2013.
  At Nexus, Pecover was managing director for Nexus Financial
  Products for three-and-a-half years. Prior to this, he worked at
  Brit and Aon.
  In July,...
  
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• Fitch warns of 'capital event' from up to $190bn of 2017 cat losses

  27-09-2017 13:06
  Ratings agency Fitch said that catastrophe losses this year
  could constitute a capital event for some reinsurers, rather than
  just an earnings event.
  It noted that loss estimates for various 2017 disasters,
  including hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, ranged from $100bn to
  $190bn.
  At the top end of this scale the potential pre-tax insured hit
  would be the highest on record in a single year.
  The previous most expensive catastrophe years, 2005 and 2011,
  would have cost insurers around $130bn...
  
  Read more

• Chubb appoints Louisa Lombardo as head of diversity and inclusion of Europe, Eurasia and Africa

  27-09-2017 13:05
  Chubb has appointed Louisa Lombardo as head of diversity and inclusion of Europe, Eurasia and Africa.
  
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• InsurTech Futures: Gary Lineker-backed Neos heads to Silicon Valley

  27-09-2017 12:18
  Six firms lead the 2017 InsurTech Trade Mission to San Francisco to raise awareness of the UK InsurTech industry.
  
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• Dive In 2017: Overall company culture needs to be changed to generate diversity at senior level

  27-09-2017 12:04
  Businesses need to change their entire culture before achieving diverse executive boards, insurers have said.
  
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• Ecclesiastical revamps charity cover

  27-09-2017 11:56
  New covers include cyber and reputational risk for the charity and faith sectors.
  
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• InsurTech Futures: ConstructaQuote launches Chatbot

  27-09-2017 11:17
  Broker says aim is to provide faster and simpler service for customers.
  
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• RLI puts HIM losses at up to $40mn after reinsurance

  27-09-2017 10:53
  Specialty carrier RLI said it expects pre-tax losses from
  Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria of between $30mn to $40mn, net of
  reinsurance.The insurer, based in Peoria, Illinois, said the estimates
  "are subject to change due to the complexity of the claims and
  preliminary nature of the information available to prepare the
  estimates".It promised an update with its third-quarter results on 18
  October.RLI shares had ticked up 1.2 percent in New York yesterday, in a
  mixed day for...
  
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• Opinion: Behind the numbers

  27-09-2017 10:53
  "What's the benefit of publishing a number?" asked
  our Editor-in-Chief Adam McNestrie ina column last week.
  At the time we were talking about the Irma industry loss
  estimate from RMS - and the fact that the industry is already now
  grappling with the cost of Maria as well might seem to prove his
  point.
  Last week's news feels like an aeon ago at this point in an
  action-packed hurricane season.
  But these numbers will be unpicked and used as...
  
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• Neon expands marine team

  27-09-2017 10:53
  Neon has hired two underwriters to boost its marine and cargo
  offering, the specialty (re)insurer announced this morning.
  Brian James joins as class underwriter for cargo from Talbot
  Underwriting, where he was class underwriter and led the cargo, war
  on land and agency business lines.
  Prior to this he spent more than a decade at Wellington
  Underwriting, establishing both Wellington Syndicate Services and
  Wellington Genoa following an acquisition by Catlin.
  He began his career at Black Sea and Ba
  
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• Cyclone Debbie claims estimated at $1.16bn: ICA

  27-09-2017 10:53
  Insured losses from Cyclone Debbie, the category 4 cyclone that
  struck Australia in March, are estimated to be A$1.47bn ($1.16bn),
  according to the country's insurance trade body.
  The Insurance Council of Australia said 68,848 claims had now
  been filed by homes and businesses since the disaster, which
  spanned an area of Queensland and New South Wales three time the
  size of the UK.
  The ICA CEO Rob Whelan said insurers had closed more than three
  quarters of Debbie claims.
  Whelan...
  
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• Dive In 2017: Industry must do more to keep older talent

  27-09-2017 09:59
  The insurance industry should be doing more to keep older talent in the workplace, a conference of industry professionals has heard.
  
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• Amicus opens office in Maidstone

  27-09-2017 09:57
  Broker targets £1m GWP for the new office which focuses on construction and scaffolding business.
  
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• Applied Net 2017: Jeff Purdy predicts 30% UK growth for Applied in 2018

  27-09-2017 09:46
  Software house close to confirming two more brokers for new Epic platform which goes live in the UK next year.
  
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• Interview: Danny Maleary, Vibe MGA Management

  27-09-2017 07:00
  Vibe MGA Management, an independent managing general agent incubator backed by Syndicate Holding, launched in June. CEO Danny Maleary tells Post about his vision for the new venture.
  
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• How to save money on travel and commuting

  27-09-2017 07:00
  Saving Money Week From a daily commute to car hire and insurance, there are lots of ways to save money on getting about1 Drive down car insurance costs Insuring your car is compulsory but paying over the odds for cover certainly isn’t. The most important thing to do is shop around. Don’t be tempted to auto-renew – insurers cash in on customer apathy and reserve their best deals for new customers. You can reduce your premium by increasing the excess you would pay if claimed, but
  
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• Analysis: Arson: A burning issue

  27-09-2017 07:00
  Only a small portion of arson cases are prosecuted, so perhaps it’s time for the insurance industry to take ownership of this issue, as it has with fraud
  
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• Maria loss outlook erodes some (re)insurer share prices

  27-09-2017 03:05
  An early estimate of industry insured losses of as much as $85bn
  stemming from Hurricane Maria may have rattled a few investors.
  Shares of (re)insurer XL Group sank 3 percent in New York
  Tuesday, the first trading day after catastrophe modeller AIR
  Worldwide said the major hurricane may have left property and
  casualty losses of between $40bn and $85bn, including as much as
  $18bn resulting from "demand surge".
  Excluding effects of demand surge on labour rates and materials
  prices as...
  
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• AA: back in the workshop

  27-09-2017 01:09
  New chief would do well to give himself more financial flexibility
  
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• State Auto sets up InsurTech venture lab with $25mn

  27-09-2017 00:44
  Property and casualty carrier State Auto Financial is on the
  hunt for InsurTech entrepreneurs and their innovations.
  The insurer's Columbus, Ohio-based mutual parent, State
  Automobile Mutual Insurance Company, said today it put $25mn in a
  corporate venture fund to work with Rev1 Ventures to connect
  InsurTech and FinTech startups with funding, insurance experts and
  technologists.
  The objective is to identify transformative developments, invest
  in them and become an early adopter of those that pro
  
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• Maria loss estimate cuts some (re)insurer share prices

  27-09-2017 00:44
  An early estimate of industry insured losses of as much as $85bn
  stemming from Hurricane Maria may have rattled a few investors.
  Shares of (re)insurer XL Group sank 3 percent in New York
  Tuesday, the first trading day after catastrophe modeller AIR
  Worldwide said the major hurricane may have left property and
  casualty losses of between $40bn and $85bn, including as much as
  $18bn resulting from "demand surge".
  Excluding effects of demand surge on labour rates and materials
  prices as...
  
  Read more

• Ironshore cuts five London-based US casualty writers

  27-09-2017 00:44
  Ironshore has made its five-strong London-based US casualty
  underwriting team redundant, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.But in a statement Ironshore told this publication it remains
  committed to the US casualty book. It said that included both
  in-force and new business opportunities in the London market.Up until now the underwriting team which included Mark Hill and
  Owen Roddy was understood to be responsible for around $45mn of US
  casualty premiums written on the the paper of Dublin-based
  Iro
  
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