Insurance news

• VIG Re expands with first German branch office

  02-10-2017 20:25
  VIG Re has opened an office in Frankfurt in its first move to
  expand in the Western Europe region.
  The addition of the office follows a year after Prague-based VIG
  Re brought on Fabian Christoph to plot strategy for developing its
  non-life business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as
  managing the marketing and underwriting there. He joined the
  company in October 2016.
  Earlier this year, Vienna Insurance Group and VIG Re leaders
  said the reinsurer planned to expand...
  
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• ProAssurance expects $7.5mn in hurricane losses

  02-10-2017 20:25
  ProAssurance has estimated pre-tax net losses from hurricanes
  Harvey, Irma and Maria at $7.5mn.
  The figure is net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, the
  Birmingham, Alabama-based carrier said today.
  The losses sit within ProAssurance's Lloyd's syndicate
  segment and result from its 58 percent participation in the
  business written by Dale Underwriting Syndicate 1729.
  The results of ProAssurance's participation in Syndicate
  1729 are normally reported on a one-quarter lag, but ProAssurance
  w
  
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• PCS puts initial Irma claims toll from US at $18.0bn

  02-10-2017 20:25
  Data provider Property Claim Services (PCS) has issued an
  initial estimate for Hurricane Irma insured losses in US
  territories of $18.03bn, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Market sources told this publication that Florida accounts for
  $13.11bn - or 73 percent - of the claims tally, with an additional
  $3.59bn coming from the US Virgin Islands.
  Georgia claims were estimated at $822mn, with South Carolina on
  $188mn and North Carolina at $33.6mn.
  The figure for Puerto Rico, which has since been...
  
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• Heizmann named to run Everest European credit and surety

  02-10-2017 20:25
  Everest Re Group has appointed Markus Heizmann as head of its
  Zurich-based credit and surety operation.
  He will work alongside Laurent Arnould, head of financial
  products, to further develop the firm's worldwide trade credit
  reinsurance business and surety and political risks business
  outside the US, Canada and Latin America.
  Heizmann joins Bermuda-based Everest from Axis Re, where he was
  most recently senior underwriter for credit and surety.
  Stephan Knipper, managing director of Everest Re Con
  
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• Genworth pulls back notice on $2.7bn Oceanwide deal

  02-10-2017 20:25
  Insurer Genworth Financial withdrew a notice of its pending
  $2.7bn acquisition by China Oceanwide from consideration by the
  Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or Cfius,
  saying it would be refiled with "additional mitigation"
  proposals but warning that the deal may not be consumated.
  "We are evaluating options to address our upcoming debt
  maturities and preserve the value of our businesses in the event
  the transaction with Oceanwide cannot be completed," said
  Genworth CEO Tom M
  
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• Everest Re gains approval for Dublin EU hub

  02-10-2017 20:25
  Everest Re has secured in-principle regulatory approval for a
  Dublin-based subsidiary that will allow it to continue trading with
  the EU post-Brexit, the company said today.
  The firm has been given in-principle authorisation from the
  Central Bank of Ireland to operate as a non-life insurer in the
  country, although it has had permission to operate as a reinsurer
  there since 2009.
  Everest has appointed Stephen Cross as CEO of the platform,
  Everest Insurance Ireland. Most recently, he served as chi
  
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• Chubb adds $352mn to Q3 pre-tax cat bill

  02-10-2017 20:25
  Chubb is expecting $352mn in additional pre-tax losses from
  third quarter catastrophes, including $220mn in net insurance and
  reinsurance losses from Hurricane Maria.
  The carrier's commercial and personal P&C businesses
  will book $152mn of pre-tax net losses tied to Maria, while the
  reinsurance segment will take a $53mn net loss, it said today.
  Estimated reinstatement premiums will cost an additional $15mn
  before tax.
  The insurer also estimated its pre-tax net loss from the two
  Mexican earth
  
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• County Group buys NMJ Insurance Brokers

  02-10-2017 18:02
  Halifax-based broker brings County's GWP up to £80m.
  
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• Fraudster sentenced after admitting to making fraudulent claim against council

  02-10-2017 17:42
  A fraudster has been sentenced to four months in prison after he admitted to submitting false claims against Doncaster council.
  
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• The Hartford pegs Q3 cat losses at $325mn-$375mn

  02-10-2017 16:43
  The Hartford expects third-quarter catastrophe losses of between
  $325mn and $375mn, before tax and net of property per risk and
  other facultative reinsurance.
  This estimate includes pre-tax net losses from Hurricane Harvey
  of $175mn, and between $125mn and $175mn of pre-tax net losses from
  Hurricane Irma, the firm said in a statement today.
  In both circumstances, there was a larger impact on commercial
  lines than on personal lines, the carrier said. It added that its
  losses from other Q3 catastr
  
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• Profit slips for Autonet

  02-10-2017 13:42
  2016 results reveal cost of acquisition by Towergate-backer HPS Investment Partners and show policies in force increased.
  
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• XL Catlin partners with AI start-up Cytora

  02-10-2017 13:23
  XL Catlin's InsurTech unit has brought in artificial
  intelligence (AI) start-up Cytora as it looks to use technology to
  improve underwriting and identify new opportunities.
  Cytora, which only began working in insurance at the start of
  2017, uses robots to scrape the internet for information that can
  help model future claims.
  The company uses AI to analyse data from company websites, news
  sites and government sources to help predict future claims, create
  risk profiles and understand the quality o
  
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• Scor progresses plans for Iranian XoL cover

  02-10-2017 13:23
  Negotiations between global reinsurer Scor and Iranian
  authorities appear to have taken a step forward, after Iran's
  insurance regulator hailed the "beneficial outcome" of
  recent conversations.
  In a statement published this morning, Central Insurance of the
  Islamic Republic of Iran (CII) said it had reached an agreement for
  Scor to write catastrophe excess-of-loss (XoL) reinsurance in the
  country.
  "Such an accordance is the consequence of extensive
  investigations and discussions conducted by [th
  
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• Markel Catco seeks new capital

  02-10-2017 13:23
  Markel Catco warned that its net asset value (NAV) per share could
  fall by as much as 15 percent in 2017 as it prepared to sell shares
  to replenish capital.
  The fund manager pegged the NAV return at anywhere between
  positive 5 percent and negative 15 percent.
  It acknowledged "significant uncertainty regarding the
  market impact of the recent events exists" and said its
  forecast is based on current loss estimates and the assumption of
  no further significant catastrophes for the...
  
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• Liberty Specialty Markets creates renewable energy team

  02-10-2017 13:23
  Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) has expanded its onshore energy
  offering by launching a renewable energy team.
  The team will be headed by Tom Clifton, senior underwriter for
  power and renewables at LSM's London office. He will be
  supported by energy manager Jose Luis Ruiz Poveda, who is based in
  Madrid.
  Business will be underwritten from LSM's London office and
  regional hubs in Paris, Madrid and Dubai.
  The development followsLSM's decision in February this year to expand its
  syndicate business..
  
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• Blockchain initiative expands membership

  02-10-2017 13:23
  Insurance industry blockchain initiative B3i is to more than double
  its membership, as reinsurers and brokers start to test the
  viability of the technology.
  B3i is an alliance of reinsurance companies looking at ways to
  improve the efficiency of back office processing.
  A blockchain is a type of shared database. Once data has been
  inputted it cannot be altered.
  The latest companies to join B3i are AIA, AIG, Aon, Chubb,
  Covéa, Everest Re, Gen Re, Guy Carpenter and Marsh, JLT...
  
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• Martyn Holman details plans for the future

  02-10-2017 12:38
  Holman to remain involved with Markerstudy's new MGA following exit from group commercial director role.
  
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• Blockchain industry pilot gains 23 new entrants

  02-10-2017 12:38
  The Blockchain Insurance Initiative, B3i, has gained 23 new companies to participate in the market testing of its Blockchain prototype.
  
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• Denis O Brown Associates buys Carron Insurance Brokers

  02-10-2017 11:16
  Both Scottish businesses specialise in the agricultural sector.
  
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• Martyn Holman steps down from role at Markerstudy

  02-10-2017 10:58
  Martyn Holman will step down from his role as commercial director at Markerstudy, the company said.
  
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• Martyn Holman leaves Markerstudy commercial director role

  02-10-2017 10:57 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Holman to stay with the provider as a consultant.
  
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• Monarch customers 'may not be covered' under travel policies

  02-10-2017 10:32
  Travellers affected by the collapse of Monarch may not be covered for cancelled flights under their travel insurance policies.
  
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• Opinion: Small changes

  02-10-2017 10:13
  Isn't it amazing how a simple solution can sometimes solve a
  seemingly intractable problem?
  Take renowned astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Before starting the return
  leg from his journey to the moon with Neil Armstrong, he noticed
  that a circuit breaker had been broken during the moon landing.
  So Aldrin thought outside the box, and came up with a plan to
  use a felt-tip pen to activate the broken circuit breaker to enable
  the Eagle to blast off from the moon. The...
  
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• Hiscox forecasts $225mn in Harvey and Irma claims as rates rise

  02-10-2017 10:13
  London-listed insurer Hiscox said the insurance market is
  starting to harden, as it put the net cost of claims from
  hurricanes Harvey and Irma at around $225mn.
  The figure is based on Hurricane Harvey causing an insured loss
  of $25bn and Hurricane Irma costing the insurance industry $35bn.
  The catastrophe claims estimates exclude losses to the US National
  Flood Insurance Program.
  On 18 September it had pegged the impact ofHarvey alone at $150mn in net claims, which implies far...
  
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• Acquisitive insurers underperform in 2016: WTW

  02-10-2017 10:13
  The share prices of insurers that struck significant acquisition
  deals last year underperformed their non-acquisitive peers for the
  first time in six years, according to research from Willis Towers
  Watson (WTW).
  WTW's Insurance M&A Performance Tracker, which the company
  compiles in partnership with Cass Business School in London and
  data provider Mergermarket, analysed the share performance of
  companies which conducted insurance M&A transactions worth at
  least $50mn.
  The performance trac
  
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• Rising star: Jonny Valentine, Insure The Box

  02-10-2017 07:00
  After packing in his degree to work for Insure The Box, Jonny Valentine is now an award winner and head of innovation at the firm
  
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