Insurance news

• WR Berkley expects hurricane losses of under $110mn

  04-10-2017 23:23
  Specialty insurer WR Berkley expects to report less than $110mn
  in pre-tax catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance recoveries and
  reinstatement costs, stemming from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and
  Maria as well as the two major earthquakes in Mexico during the
  third quarter.
  After taxes, WR Berkley said today that its losses from the
  events would be under $72mn.
  In a statement WR Berkley said: "The devastation has been
  catastrophic, and we remain committed, as a company and as
  individuals, to our...
  
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• RenRe pegs net hurricane and earthquake loss at $625mn

  04-10-2017 23:23
  RenaissanceRe warned that net losses from a trio of Atlantic
  hurricanes as well as a duo of earthquakes that rocked Mexico are
  likely to total around $625mn.
  Analysis by The Insurance Insider shows that the loss would wipe
  out 12.7 percent of the carrier's average shareholder equity
  for the first half of the year and represents 1.7x the amount of
  net premiums earned in last year's third quarter - which stood
  at $346.5mn.
  On a per share basis, the estimated...
  
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• GIC Re prices Indian IPO set for next week

  04-10-2017 23:23
  Indian government-owned General Insurance Corporation of India,
  known as GIC Re, has priced its initial public share offering to
  raise as much as 113.7bn rupees ($1.768bn).
  The Mumbai-based reinsurer set the offer's price band per
  share at 855 to 912 rupees and said subscriptions for the IPO will
  open on 18 October and close three days later.
  The deal will sell off 124.7 million shares, including 107.5
  million held by the government and 17.2 million new shares issued
  by the...
  
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• Aon settles legal battle with Willis over CFO hire

  04-10-2017 23:23
  Aon has settled a short but bitter dispute with rival Willis
  Towers Watson, which stood accused of unfair competition after
  hiring Mike Burwell as CFO.
  Willis said today that it had "resolved" the legal battle
  with Aon over Burwell, who previously had consulted on Aon's
  restructuring as part of a PwC team, adding that dueling lawsuits
  related to the hiring had subsequently been dismissed.
  In a complaint filed in Illinois federal court last week, Aon
  tried to block Willis from...
  
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• BoE supervisor urges EU regulators to work together on Brexit

  04-10-2017 20:43 via ft.com
  PRA chief says British banks will become more complex and risky
  
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• Zurich replaces XL as Rural Insurance capacity lead

  04-10-2017 19:39
  Agricultural specialist Rural Insurance has secured a five-year
  capacity deal worth £41mn ($54.3mn) with Zurich Insurance.
  The UK arm of the Swiss insurer will provide capacity for the
  Harrogate, UK company's Farm, Farm Motor, Rural Business Motor,
  Livestock and Hailstorm products from 1 November and replace XL
  Catlin as the primary capacity provider, the companies said.
  The new deal does not change existing capacity arrangements for
  Rural Insurance's renewable energy, motor breakdown, and
  
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• Hamblin warns on Harvey flood exposure

  04-10-2017 19:39
  Texan flood losses coming into the London market following
  Hurricane Harvey could be far greater than initially thought,
  Blenheim Syndicate 5886 active underwriter John Hamblin has warned.
  In fact the underestimation of flood exposure in Texas could be
  enough to alter market conditions, Hamblin told an audience of
  Lloyd's Names at the Association of Lloyd's Members autumn
  conference today.
  "Things will only change on an almighty scale when the cost
  of capital assumed by the insurers in their pla
  
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• Gulf storm system could become Hurricane Nate: JLT Re

  04-10-2017 19:39
  A tropical depression in the western Caribbean off Nicaragua is
  likely to strengthen into Hurricane Nate, according to JLT Re.
  Sea surface temperatures are very high in the Caribbean and Gulf of
  Mexico and intensification of the system to a tropical storm and
  then a hurricane is more likely, the broker said in a hurricane
  update today. It speculated that Nate could make a late weekend US
  landfall.
  The information provided by JLT Re corroborates with the forecast
  provided by...
  
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• Everest Insurance hires Harnett as deputy CUO

  04-10-2017 19:39
  Everest
  Re's insurance division has recruited Mike Harnett from rival
  Chubb as second in command of underwriting in North America.
  Harnett joined Everest Re's ranks as vice president and
  deputy chief underwriting officer, the company said today in an
  internal posting.
  The new role will see him develop policies and procedures, as
  well as advancing underwriting strategy, product development and
  governance, Everest said.
  Harnett joins Bermuda-based Everest from Chubb, where he was
  senior vice presi
  
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• Beale urges cat claims sensitivity

  04-10-2017 19:39
  Lloyd's CEO Inga Beale called for sensitivity over
  contentious claims in the wake of recent catastrophes in the
  Americas.
  Speaking at an Insurance Institute of London lecture at the
  Lloyd's Library, she asked carriers to be mindful of how claims
  disputes in contentious circumstances, such as after Hurricane
  Harvey, would be received by the public.
  She said: "Look at what's happened in Texas. Is it
  water damage? Flooding? Who loses out of that debate? It's the
  policyholder.
  "The financial protect
  
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• Grenfell Tower insurer rejects two fraudulent claims

  04-10-2017 17:16
  Exclusive: The insurer of Grenfell Tower has rejected two fraudulent claims over the fire, and paid out five others.
  
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• Market modernisation progress 'lumpy': Carnegie-Brown

  04-10-2017 16:53
  Progress to modernise the London market has been
  "lumpy" to date because the market lacks the
  self-confidence to drive through change, Lloyd's chairman Bruce
  Carnegie-Brown has said.
  In an interview with the Financial Times, the chairman
  pointed to previous unsuccessful attempts to push through London
  market modernisation, such as electronic trading platform Kinnect,
  which was dropped after it failed to garner widespread support.
  "Progress is lumpy because self-confidence is not as high
  as it ne
  
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• InsurTech start-up PremFina raises $36mn

  04-10-2017 16:53
  Insurance premium financing company PremFina has raised $36mn in
  equity and debt funding, in one of the largest InsurTech
  investments this year.
  Rakuten Capital, the venture funding arm of Japanese e-commerce
  company Rakuten, and Draper Esprit led the funding round, according
  to a statement from PremFina.
  The other investors in the round were Thomvest Ventures, Emery
  Capital, Rubicon Venture Capital, Talis Capital and PremFina
  founder and CEO Bundeep Singh Rangar.
  PremFina allows insurance buyer
  
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• Guy Carp hires Marsh Analytics head for innovation role

  04-10-2017 16:53
  Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has hired Claude Yoder from
  sister business Marsh Analytics as managing director and global
  chief innovation and product development officer.
  Yoder, who took the post on 18 September, will be based in New
  York and report to Rob Bentley, managing director and head of
  global strategic advisory.
  The executive was previously global head of analytics at
  Marsh.
  During his tenure Marsh developed more than 20 real-time
  analytic and benchmarking solutions delivered via mo
  
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• Beale asks for cat claims sensitivity

  04-10-2017 16:53
  Lloyd's CEO Inga Beale called for sensitivity over contentious
  claims in the wake of recent catastrophes in the Americas.
  Speaking at an Insurance Institute of London lecture at the
  Lloyd's Library, she asked carriers to be mindful of how claims
  disputes in contentious circumstances, such as after Hurricane
  Harvey, would be received by the public.
  She said: "Look at what's happened in Texas. Is it
  water damage? Flooding? Who loses out of that debate? It's the
  policyholder.
  "The financial protect
  
  Read more

• XL Catlin's innovation team partners with AI-driven startup

  04-10-2017 16:27
  XL Catlin’s international innovation team Accelerate has partnered with Cytora, an artificial intelligence-driven insurtech based in the UK.
  
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• Davies Group sees revenue increase 23% in H1

  04-10-2017 15:46
  Davies Group has seen revenue increase 23% to £55.1m in the first half of year.
  
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• Davies Group sees revenue increase 23%

  04-10-2017 15:46
  Davies Group has seen revenue increase 23% to £55.1m for the year ending 30 June 2017.
  
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• News Analysis: Ogden upheaval continues as government unveils fresh proposals

  04-10-2017 15:22 via insuranceage.co.uk
  Volatility goes on despite plans to legislate on how rate is calculated
  
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• Opinion: Applying the new regime

  04-10-2017 15:20
  With the Senior Managers and Certification Regime set to be applied next year, Mike Cranny guides you through the main elements involved and advises you not to panic
  
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• Justice Select Committee to reinstate whiplash inquiry

  04-10-2017 14:58
  The Justice Select Committee has confirmed it intends to reinstate its inquiry into the government’s whiplash reforms.
  
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• Zurich says maximum H2 Farmers cat hit $20mn

  04-10-2017 14:35
  Zurich has said its maximum exposure to the catastrophe losses of
  subsidiary Farmers Insurance Group is capped at $20mn.
  The insurer is exposed to the California-based company's
  underwriting results through an 8 percent quota share treaty with
  Farmers Re. This caps overall catastrophe losses at $100mn on a
  12-month basis, Zurich said.
  "As a result of the losses incurred over the first half of
  the year the maximum potential loss to Farmers Re from catastrophes
  over the second half of...
  
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• Willis expands German fac with Mapfre hires

  04-10-2017 14:35
  Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has hired two senior underwriters
  from Mapfre Re as it looks to expand its facultative capabilities
  in German-speaking countries in Europe.
  The pair, Gerhard Hurek and Zeljko Panić, will focus on
  Germany, Austria and Switzerland, a region WTW calls DACH.
  Hurek joins as head of DACH facultative reinsurance and
  Panić joins as executive director.
  Hurek previously led Mapfre Re's facultative business in
  Germany, Austria and the Central and Eastern European (CEE)
  
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• White Mountains acquires 50% DavidShield stake

  04-10-2017 14:35
  Financial services holding company White Mountains has made its
  first acquisition since completing the $1.7bn sale of OneBeacon to
  Intact Financial last month.
  White Mountains has acquired a 50 percent stake in DavidShield,
  an Israeli medical and travel insurer and insurance technology
  provider. It already has a joint venture with DavidShield's
  PassportCard InsurTech company.
  DavidShield is the largest provider of expatriate medical
  insurance to individuals and corporations in Israel. According
  
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• Spurs owner sets up trade credit broker

  04-10-2017 14:35
  Joe Lewis, the owner of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, has
  entered the trade credit and surety market with a broking venture,
  amid a flurry of activity in the sector.
  Avenue Insurance Partners received UK regulatory approval last
  month and now has its first client, according to market
  sources.
  The broking start-up is backed by Tavistock Group, an investment
  holding company owned by Lewis.
  East London-born Lewis is a billionaire who lives in the
  Bahamas. Along with George Soros, Lewis was...
  
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• Qover receives Munich Re backing

  04-10-2017 14:35
  Belgium-based digital MGA Qover has secured Munich Re paper, having
  previously been approved as a Lloyd's coverholder.
  A spokeswoman for the company said that Munich Re's backing
  will be for future products which are currently in the development
  stage.
  At present Qover offers motor gap insurance for the Belgian
  market, underwritten by AmTrust Syndicate 5820 at Lloyd's. In
  the case of total loss or theft of a car, the policyholder receives
  the difference between the original price they paid for..
  
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• Opinion: Police permits

  04-10-2017 14:35
  Regtech. Not a superstar DJ or a character from a Martin Amis
  novel. But, if the hype is to be believed, the future solution to
  the financial sector's ever-expanding regulatory and compliance
  to-do list.
  Senior Managers and Certification Regime requirements, money
  laundering regulations, Solvency II and probably even your
  Christmas card list can apparently be dispatched with ease using
  these sophisticated systems. And all in an easily auditable manner
  which should cut out to-ing and fro-ing betw
  
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• NFIP in line for government bailout: report

  04-10-2017 14:35
  The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is to receive a
  $16bn bailout from the US government, the Associated Press has
  reported.
  The funding forms part of a $29bn disaster relief package for
  the victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
  The funding follows a decision by the Senate on 28 Septembernot to open flood insurance up to the private insurance market.Before Hurricane Harvey struck southern Texas, the NFIP owed the
  federal government around $24.6bn.The impact of Harvey...
  
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• Nagico chairman '200% confident' in reinsurance

  04-10-2017 14:35
  Caribbean insurer Nagico has more than enough reinsurance in place
  to cover its losses from hurricanes Irma and Maria, its chairman
  has said.
  Nagico has notified its excess-of-loss reinsurers of an expected
  loss of $325mn-$400mn from Irma and is expecting a gross loss of
  around $100mn from Maria.
  However, its chairman Imran McSood Amjad told The
  Insurance Insider that concern in some quarters that
  it could go through the top of its reinsurance on Irma was
  misplaced.
  "We are confident,...
  
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• Davies posts 23% rise in first half Ebitda

  04-10-2017 14:35
  Outsourced insurance services company Davies Group reported
  comfortable double-digit increases in Ebitda and revenue from a
  first half during which US private equity firm HGGC became its
  majority owner.
  Davies said revenue in the six months to 30 June rose by 23
  percent year-on-year to £55.1mn ($73.0mn) and Ebitda increased
  by 38 percent to £10.5mn. The short statement gave no other
  measures of profit.
  During the period it won 50 new accounts and acquired Cynergie
  and Core Claims, wh
  
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• Biba sets up Servca medical indemnity scheme

  04-10-2017 14:35
  The British Insurance Brokers' Association (Biba) has
  established a route for retail brokers to place challenging medical
  indemnity risks into Lloyd's through the intermediary Servca,
  the trade body said today.
  The arrangement will give Biba members to access Lloyd's
  primary and excess markets for both standard and distressed medical
  cases.
  Biba is the UK's largest association of insurance brokers,
  with around 2,000 member companies.
  Mike Hallam, head of technical services at Biba, said: "Our
  me
  
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• AGCS adds senior product recall underwriter

  04-10-2017 14:35
  Alliance Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has recruited a
  senior underwriter for product recall from the risk management
  consultancy red24.
  Simon Weaver will join AGCS's London regional unit, which
  covers the UK, Dubai, Russia, the Nordic countries, Australia and
  New Zealand.
  Weaver's role will encompass the food and drink industry,
  the automotive sector and pharmaceuticals.
  He will report to Stewart Eaton, regional head of product
  recall. Eaton was hired last year from the Barbican-owned
  
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• Fraudsters sentenced for 'grossly exaggerated' injury claims

  04-10-2017 13:53
  Two men have been sentenced for fraud after making “grossly exaggerated” injury claims worth over £80,000.
  
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• Insurance chatbot 'Meet Mia' could become a Facebook broker

  04-10-2017 13:03
  Exclusive: Facebook insurance chatbot 'Meet Mia'could become a broker in future, its CEO has said.
  
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• Motor MGA Hawkwell in run-off following Ogden rate change

  04-10-2017 12:24
  Exclusive: Motor managing general agent Hawkwell could close its doors at the end of March as a result of lost capacity from the Ogden rate changes.
  
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• AIG names ex-Novae CFO Charles Fry as reinsurance head

  04-10-2017 11:50
  AIG has named former Novae chief financial officer Charles Fry as head of reinsurance, operations and transformation.
  
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• Biba teams up with Servca for medical indemnity scheme

  04-10-2017 10:25
  Scheme backed by Lloyd’s A-rated capacity.
  
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• Brunel Group sets up Brunel Insurance Brokers

  04-10-2017 10:19
  The corporate division will operate from London, Bristol, Manchester and Perth and launch in December 2017.
  
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• Deputy editor's letter - October 2017

  04-10-2017 10:00
  Achievement over uncertainty: Brokers should be proud of conduct in the face of a tough market
  
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• EPUL appoints Steve Lawrence as business development director

  04-10-2017 09:29
  GRP-owned commercial property underwriter European Property Underwriting Limited has appointed Steve Lawrence as business development director.
  
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• Research: Focus on fraud

  04-10-2017 07:00
  What does a Greek merchant in 300BC delivering corn on a cargo ship have in common with nearly one-tenth of today’s UK population? The answer is insurance fraud. Michèle Bacchus takes a closer look.
  
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• Research: Brokers say technology hasn't improved trading with insurers

  04-10-2017 07:00
  In association with start-up specialist Tallt and health insurer WPA, Post recently polled insurance brokers on their thoughts and experiences of trading with insurers, and whether technology has helped or hindered that relationship. Here Jonathan Swift dissects the initial findings.
  
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• Interview: Tulsi Naidu, Zurich

  04-10-2017 07:00
  Almost a year into her role as Zurich UK CEO, Tulsi Naidu talks to Stephanie Denton about the major restructure the insurer is going through and its upcoming challenges, including Brexit, terrorism, and its relationships with brokers and SMEs
  
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• Fraud research

  04-10-2017 07:00
  What does a Greek merchant in 300BC delivering corn on a cargo ship have in common with nearly one-tenth of today’s UK population? The answer is insurance fraud. Michèle Bacchus takes a closer look.
  
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• Personal injury law firm hopes to avoid further accident

  04-10-2017 06:01 via ft.com
  Slater & Gordon still recovering from purchase of claims processor Quindell in 2015
  
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• Lloyd’s chairman sees modernisation as key priority

  04-10-2017 05:00 via ft.com
  Bruce Carnegie-Brown says 300-year-old insurance market is let down by cost structure
  
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• Vote on AIG's SIFI status delayed for months: Noreika

  04-10-2017 03:55
  Removing AIG from the "too big to fail" category was
  delayed for months by dissenting members of the Financial Stability
  Oversight Council, according to acting Comptroller of the Currency
  Keith Noreika, one of those who voted in favour of the move last
  week.
  The designation as a Systemically Important Financial
  Institution, or SIFI, carried with it additional regulatory costs
  estimated at $100mn to $150mn a year, or as much as $12.5mn a
  month. Credit Suisse analyst Ryan Tunis said the...
  
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• Employee lenders are one of the fastest-growing areas of UK fintech

  04-10-2017 01:02 via ft.com
  L&G invests in group which provides loans that are repaid out of salaries
  
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• Employee lenders are one of the fast-growing areas of UK fintech

  04-10-2017 01:02 via ft.com
  L&G invests in group which provides loans that are repaid out of people’s salaries
  
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• Consumer lenders are one of the fast-growing areas of UK fintech

  04-10-2017 01:02 via ft.com
  L&G invests in group which provides loans that are repaid out of people’s salaries
  
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