Insurance news

• Challenges of rural entrepreneurship | Letters

  03-10-2017 19:25
  The service industries on which the agricultural sector depends need to modernise the range and quality of the services they provide, writes Dr Jessica Cross. Plus Jason Downes sees strikes as an opportunity to embrace flexibilityAfter nearly three decades of working in the mining industry and financial sector, I traded my stiletto heels for wellies and went sheep farming. It immediately became apparent that the traditional business model of farming was unsustainable; the reliance on EU subsidie
  
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• US property underwriters begin push for rate rises

  03-10-2017 16:48
  As insurers and their reinsurers continue the challenging task
  of assessing HIM exposures, there is anecdotal evidence that US
  property underwriters are beginning to demand rate increases at
  renewal.
  According to market sources, a clutch of excess and surplus
  lines (E&S) carriers have been pricing cat-exposed accounts
  with rises in the range of 20 percent, including at least one that
  has set its floor at 30 percent.
  Meanwhile, there have been suggestions that one of the major
  MGAs in the...
  
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• Tokio Marine confirms HCC's AIG medical acquisition

  03-10-2017 16:48
  US specialty insurer HCC Insurance Holdings has confirmed plans to
  buy AIG's $350mn gross written premium (GWP) medical stop-loss
  business.
  Terms of the deal, which is expected to close on 15 October,
  were not disclosed, but HCC is likely to pay more than 30bn yen
  ($266mn).
  In a statement, HCC parent Tokio Marine said: "TMHCC's
  medical stop-loss has maintained consistent profitability for many
  years. Due to medical stop-loss' low correlation to TMHCC's
  other business lines, TMHCC and our entire
  
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• Pool Re revamps SME cover to increase penetration

  03-10-2017 16:48
  Pool Re has rejigged its reinsurance offer for its members to help
  close a protection gap for political violence cover among small and
  medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
  The UK state terrorism insurance pool has made key changes to
  its underwriting manual, which, as reported by this publication
  last month, also remove an exclusion for physical damage caused by
  cyber-attacks as from 1 April.
  The revisions are designed to make the rates on SME business
  much more competitive, particularly outside maj
  
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• PCS puts initial Irma US claims toll at $18.0bn

  03-10-2017 16:48
  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 has
  reported.
  Market sources told this publication that Florida accounts for
  $13.11bn - or 73 percent - of the claims tally, which was released
  on 29 September.
  The Florida loss broke down as $8.0bn from
  personal lines property, $4.6bn from commercial property and $0.5bn
  from auto property.
  It said that an additional $3.59bn of claims h
  
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• Opinion: the independent start-up

  03-10-2017 16:48
  For a long time the traffic has been going in the other
  direction. Independent brokers were selling up, accepting the
  inevitable march of consolidation.
  First City. Heath Lambert. Windsor. Newman Martin Buchan. And,
  more latterly, Miller's deal with Willis Towers Watson and RK
  Harrison's sale to Hyperion. Tysers may be next.
  But there are signs that the tide of consolidation is starting
  to produce a counter-current of company formation.
  Former Cooper Gay CEO Toby Esser has returned to the market
  
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• Opinion: Lloyd's expense base

  03-10-2017 16:48
  Once again, there was little joy to be found in the headline
  numbers of Lloyd's first half results.
  As finance director John Parry said, "there is nothing in
  these results to suggest that the pressure on the market is getting
  any easier".
  Optimists may point to the market's half year expense ratio,
  which at first glance looks like a small victory.
  A decline of 140 basis points (bps) year-on-year to 39.3 percent
  is not the sweeping, dramatic change needed to...
  
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• Modelling companies diverge on HIM forecasts

  03-10-2017 16:48
  Catastrophe modelling firms have failed to reach a consensus on the
  impact of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as carriers attempt to
  count the cost of a fast-moving claims situation.
  Two of the big three modelling companies - AIR Worldwide and
  Karen Clark & Co (KCC) - concurred in predicting that Maria
  would be the costliest event.
  Indeed, AIR's Maria loss estimate of between $40bn and a
  surprisingly high $85bn delivered just over a week ago shocked the
  market, with...
  
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• Markel Catco estimates returns from 5% to -15%

  03-10-2017 16:48
  Markel Catco has said recent catastrophe events mean its 2017
  annual return could fall anywhere between up 5 percent to down by
  as much as 15 percent.
  However, it said significant uncertainty surrounded the market
  impact of recent hurricanes affecting the US and Caribbean.
  The retro manager has launched a fundraising round that it
  intends to close by the end of November in order to meet its
  requirements for new capital.
  The company also said retrocession rates had risen in...
  
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• Lloyd's holds back SPAs as trio of syndicates get nod

  03-10-2017 16:48
  Lloyd's has pushed back the approvals process for
  Barbican's special purpose arrangement (SPA) with Toa Re and
  Apollo's venture with Mark Rayner, The Insurance
  Insider understands.
  The decision on their launch was deferred to the Franchise Board
  meeting in late October in order to privilege three full syndicate
  start-ups looking to commence operations on 1 January.
  Sources said that Barbican's Lloyd's
  sidecar with the Japanese reinsurer and the SPA of the former
  Faraday chief underwriting office
  
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• Jomaa and Perkins top 2017 cyber rankings

  03-10-2017 16:48
  Alex Jomaa of CFC Underwriting has been voted the top cyber
  underwriter in the London market for the second year running,
  according to The Insurance Insider's
  2017 cyber rankings survey.
  Meanwhile, Max Perkins of Lockton rose to become the
  highest-ranked cyber broker in London. In the 2016 survey, Perkins
  had ranked 11th.
  More than 140 people gathered at this
  publication's inaugural London cyber awards last month to find
  out the results of the survey, which reviews the merits of
  London...
  
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• IUA members name cyber as top new risk

  03-10-2017 16:48
  Cyber has taken the prime spot as the most important emerging risk
  for underwriters, according to an International Underwriting
  Association (IUA) poll of its members.
  The IUA said that 60 percent of survey respondents named cyber
  as such, compared with 23 percent for the second-ranked risk,
  artificial intelligence.
  "What is clear from our survey is that the need to address
  such risks is not confined to a specialist group of underwriters
  but of interest across the association's member
  companies,&
  
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• Irma doubt drags on secondary cat bond market

  03-10-2017 16:48
  Uncertainty over the cost of hurricanes Irma and Maria has put
  the brakes on the recovery of the secondary cat bond market, which
  had initially rebounded.
  The Swiss Re global cat bond price return index fell 1.8 percent
  to 88.32 in the week ended 29 September, giving up the 0.7 percent
  gain posted the previous week. As of last Friday, the index was
  down 6.8 percent from 94.77 on 1 September before the emergence of
  Irma.
  However, it has still...
  
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• Former Novae CFO Fry becomes head of reinsurance at AIG

  03-10-2017 16:48
  Charlie Fry, the former CFO of Novae Group, has been appointed
  as head of reinsurance buying, operations and transformation at
  AIG, as the carrier's new CEO Brian Duperreault continues to
  build his senior team.
  The role includes oversight of AIG's global reinsurance,
  shared services, transformation and administration functions.
  Fry will report to Peter Zaffino, CEO of general insurance, and
  join the general insurance executive leadership committee. Zaffino
  is another recent
  arrival at AIG, havin
  
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• Former Integro UK duo consider broking start-up

  03-10-2017 16:48
  John Sutton and Toby Humphreys, who led Integro's UK
  operation for more than a decade until their exit in March this
  year, are planning to launch a new brokerage, The
  Insurance Insider understands.
  Sources have told this publication that the duo are considering
  launching a broking platform that would provide a home for
  entrepreneurial producers frustrated at their current firms.
  As the pair are still serving out a notice period from Integro,
  it is expected that the new platform will...
  
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• Fears grow over Nagico financial strength

  03-10-2017 16:48
  Concern is mounting in the market that Nagico, the dominant
  insurer in the Dutch Caribbean, will shoot through the top of its
  reinsurance programme after St Maarten was devastated by Hurricane
  Irma.
  Caribbean cedants including Island Heritage, Colonial, Guardian
  and Caribbean Alliance are all understood along with Nagico to have
  made cash calls on their reinsurers, as is typical with insurers
  that have cat quota shares.
  RMS has estimated losses in the Caribbean
  from the event at $10bn-$20bn, wit
  
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• Berkshire on hook for $900mn share of QBE losses

  03-10-2017 16:48
  A QBE spokesperson confirmed that 2017 catastrophe losses are
  expected to exhaust its $900mn aggregate reinsurance programme,
  which is understood to be written by Berkshire Hathaway.
  The reinsurer first picked up the deal in 2015, which previously
  was broadly placed.
  QBE said it would take a $600mn hit to profits in the fourth
  quarter after the year's string of losses.
  It has increased its 2017 allowance for large individual risk
  and catastrophe claims to $1.75bn, after earlier this year saying.
  
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• Arron Banks’ Eldon launches Somerset Bridge MGA

  03-10-2017 15:57
  The MGA move was revealed in company accounts which also showed that Eldon made a loss in 2016.
  
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• Atradius unveils SME product

  03-10-2017 15:52
  Trade credit insurer reveals “streamlined” cover option.
  
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• Top insurers join cyber insurance price comparison website

  03-10-2017 15:50
  Cyber risk and incident response specialist, Storm Guidance, has created a cyber insurance price comparison website, Cyber Decider, to allow UK brokers to compare the policies available.
  
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• Enness enters insurance broking market

  03-10-2017 15:31
  Mortgage broker targeting HNW and commercial business.
  
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• Arron Banks's Eldon launches MGA

  03-10-2017 14:03
  Arron Banks’s insurance company, Eldon insurance services has launched a managing general agent called Somerset Bridge.
  
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• Zurich’s Richard Coleman joins Collinson Group

  03-10-2017 13:38
  Coleman was MD of Zurich commercial broker but left the insurer earlier this year.
  
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• QBE issues new profit warning after cat losses

  03-10-2017 12:41
  QBE has issued its second profit warning in less than four
  months, saying that recent catastrophe events would shave $600mn
  from pre-tax earnings this year.
  The group's 2017 combined operating ratio target range has
  now moved to 100 percent to 102 percent following losses from
  hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the Mexican earthquakes.
  QBE has also faced a significant number of claims from Cyclone
  Debbie, the Category 4 cyclone that struck Australia in March, and
  has a one-off $156mn...
  
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• Opinion: Sayonara Sifi

  03-10-2017 12:41
  AIG has successfully removed the albatross from around its neck
  imposed by the Obama administration in 2013, after the Financial
  Stability Oversight Council (FSOC)voted to remove the global insurer from its "too big to
  fail" category.
  Releasing AIG from its systemically important financial
  institution (Sifi) designation is undoubtedly a boon for the Brian
  Duperreault-led carrier. But will it result in significant
  change?
  It's perhaps not surprising that the FSOC has opted to
  remove the Sifi labe
  
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• Lonmar targets specie reinsurance with Ross hire

  03-10-2017 12:41
  Lloyd's broker Lonmar Global Risks has hired fine art &
  specie veteran Charles Ross as an executive director in its Lonmart
  division as it looks to expand its reinsurance offering.
  Ross joins from niche Lloyd's broker Roanoke International,
  having spent the past seven years as a director responsible for
  servicing and developing their fine art reinsurance account.
  Prior to this he headed up the specie reinsurance department at
  Willis for seven years.
  Ross will report to Aqua Sanfelice, managi
  
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• Jenks to be named active underwriter at Markel

  03-10-2017 12:41
  Paul Jenks, Markel International's managing director for
  marine and energy, is being proposed as the active underwriter for
  the carrier's Syndicate 3000, The Insurance
  Insider can reveal.
  Market sources suggested that Jenks could take up the position
  at the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval, followingJeremy Brazil's previously reported exit from the firm.Brazil, currently director of underwriting at Markel
  International, is due to step down from his role at the end of this
  year, bu
  
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• InsurTech accelerators in high demand: Celent

  03-10-2017 12:41
  Competition among InsurTech start-ups to join so-called
  accelerators is keen, with 10 of the market's most high-profile
  firms receiving more than 8,500 applications to join their
  programmes, according to a report from Celent and Guy
  Carpenter.
  The report, released later today, profiles 10 of the 30 key
  market accelerators - defined as a programme of select start-ups
  that are provided support through small amounts of capital,
  mentoring and training for a short period in exchange for equity.
  Accel
  
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• Farmers to claim full Irma toll from reinsurers

  03-10-2017 12:41
  Farmers has revealed that its gross losses from Hurricane Irma of
  $140mn are "fully recoverable under Farmers' reinsurance
  programme".
  The Zurich affiliate said that so far it had received more than
  16,000 claims relating to Hurricane Irma and related storms. The
  Los Angeles-based company said it expected that figure to rise by
  half to a total of around 24,000.
  The insurer controlled almost 2 percent of Florida's
  $19.64bn auto market last year, according to AM Best. The same data
  showed...
  
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• Sompo International brings multiple global operations under one banner

  03-10-2017 12:22
  Sompo International Holdings has brought together its European, American and newly acquired Endurance businesses together to form a single worldwide platform.
  
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• Cyber comparison site for brokers launched

  03-10-2017 12:15
  CyberDecider carries 16 policies and has been set up by Storm Guidance.
  
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• Go Compare acquires stake in Middle East-based digital comparison website

  03-10-2017 11:12
  Go Compare has acquired a minority stake in digital comparison business, Souqalmal, based in the Middle East.
  
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• #Insagepeople: 02 - 08 October 2017

  03-10-2017 11:06
  Keep up to date with all the latest people moves.
  
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• Vantage buys Maybury James

  03-10-2017 10:54
  This is the first deal by Vantage since it was acquired by US broker NSM Insurance in 2016.
  
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• Opinion: Processing data practices

  03-10-2017 10:53
  CMS’s Ian Stevens writes on the incoming General Data Protection Regulations and the actions brokers should be taking
  
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• Direct Line invests in rental market disrupter Canopy

  03-10-2017 10:44
  Direct Line has announced a 15% equity stake in the UK-based rental market disrupter Canopy.
  
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• UKGlobal Holdings appoints Matthew Bray

  03-10-2017 10:34
  Bray was formerly CEO of Lorica and left the broker in September 2016.
  
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• InsurTechs accelerators in high demand: Celent

  03-10-2017 08:41
  Competition among InsurTech start-ups to join so-called
  accelerators is keen, with 10 of the market's most high-profile
  firms receiving more than 8,500 applications to join their
  programmes, according to a report from Celent and Guy
  Carpenter.
  The report, released later today, profiles 10 of the 30 key
  market accelerators - defined as a programme of select start-ups
  that are provided support through small amounts of capital,
  mentoring and training for a short period in exchange for equity.
  Accel
  
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• AM Best upgrades OneBeacon as review ends

  03-10-2017 08:41
  AM Best has removed OneBeacon Insurance Group from under review
  with positive implications and upgraded the carrier's long-term
  issuer credit rating (ICR) to "a+" following closure of
  the sale of OneBeacon to Impact Financial.
  The rating agency affirmed the financial strength rating of
  Atlantic Specialty Insurance Company and its rated affiliates at A.
  Collectively, these companies are referred to as OneBeacon
  Insurance Group.
  "The ratings upgrades of the OneBeacon entities reflect the
  financial
  
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• Analysis: Rate revision: changes to Ogden

  03-10-2017 07:00
  Insurers consider the impact of the proposed U-turn on the Ogden rate
  
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• Analysis: Cyber threats and opportunities

  03-10-2017 07:00
  Businesses are opening themselves up to online exposures every single day. What do companies and insurers need to do to bring themselves up to speed with these new risks and incoming regulations affecting this area?
  
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• Tokio Marine HCC to buy AIG's US medical stop-loss book

  03-10-2017 04:49
  Houston based insurer Tokio Marine HCC is to purchase AIG's US medical insurance stop-loss book.
  
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• Long Arc PE fund takes majority stake in Tinubu

  03-10-2017 03:42
  A US private equity fund, Long Arc Capital, has acquired a majority
  stake in Tinubu Square, a developer of credit risk management
  systems, and provided a fresh infusion of funding.
  Along with the French government agency Bpifrance, Long Arc
  delivered EUR53mn ($62mn) to the company to further refine
  Tinubu's technology and accelerate its development. Tinubu
  targets its products to surety insurers, trade finance banks and
  export credit agencies.
  The new capital will also help Paris-based Tinubu to
  
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• Global Bankers to buy Lincoln Benefit from Resolution

  03-10-2017 03:42
  Global Bankers Insurance Group has agreed to buy Lincoln Benefit
  Life and affiliated entities from Resolution Life, which plans to
  consolidate its insurance business.While Lincoln was placed into runoff in 2013, Global Bankers said
  the deal will bring it a large, efficient platform that can enhance
  future growth.
  The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is
  expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018, subject to
  regulatory approvals."We are excited for the future...
  
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• Farmers pegs Irma bill at $140mn

  03-10-2017 03:42
  Farmers has revealed that its gross losses from Hurricane Irma,
  which struck the Caribbean and Florida last month, are likely to
  come in at around $140mn.
  But the Zurich affiliate said all of the loss was "fully
  recoverable under Farmers' reinsurance program".
  Farmers said that so far it had received more than 16,000 claims
  relating to Hurricane Irma and related storms. But the Los
  Angeles-based company said it expected that figure to rise by half
  to a total of around...
  
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• Yellen: Why AIG is no longer ‘too big to fail’

  03-10-2017 01:43
  Fed chair explains her vote as behind-the-scenes acrimony is laid bare
  
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• Tokio Marine's HCC plans to buy AIG medical business

  03-10-2017 00:16
  Tokio Marine's US specialty insurer HCC Insurance Holdings
  plans to buy AIG's medical stop-loss business and will likely
  pay more than 30bn yen ($266mn) to close the deal.
  The commercial product is designed for businesses with
  self-funded health insurance plans and provides a limit on loss
  claims above a certain level.
  Tokio Marine's premiums from such products rose 4 percent to
  about $1bn last year, news service Nikkei said at 2 am Tuesday in
  Tokyo. Sources confirmed the accuracy of...
  
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• Maiden surge leads broad P&C sector advance

  03-10-2017 00:16
  Maiden Holdings shares climbed 8.8 percent today as the company
  outstripped a broad advance by the P&C sector as major US stock
  indexes rose to fresh records.
  Carriers from multiline giants like AIG, Travelers and Allstate to
  niche players like Heritage, United and Universal in Florida saw
  gains by midday.
  Heritage shares rose 6 percent, with Universal up 3.5 percent and
  United ahead by 3 percent while most others had gains of less than
  1 percent to no more than...
  
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