Insurance news

• Chubb beats Street views even as it falls to a loss

  26-10-2017 23:50
  Chubb posted a third quarter operating loss that was
  significantly better than Wall Street estimates despite $1.893bn in
  net pre-tax catastrophe losses in the period.
  The giant insurer formed by the combination of Switzerland-based
  Ace and New Jersey's Chubb said late today that it fell to an
  operating loss of $60mn, or $0.13 a share, for the quarter.
  A consensus of analysts' views called for a $0.24 per share
  loss, according to a MarketWatch compilation of 19 estimates.
  Excluding cat...
  
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• Nexus acquires trade credit broker

  26-10-2017 19:03
  Nexus Group has built out its broking capabilities with the
  acquisition UK specialist trade credit intermediary Credit Risk
  Solutions (CRS).
  The broking house will continue to be led by its founders, Mike
  Clark, Hayden Tennant and Lisa Humphries.
  Nexus said in a statement that CRS would remain an open market
  broker which was independent of Nexus\' underwriting
  operations. Sue Morley, a former head of trade credit broking at
  Aon, joins the board as a non-executive director.
  The deal follows Nexus
  
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• Opinion: Olly Laughton-Scott on selling up successfully

  26-10-2017 18:25
  Intelligent selling: It’s easy to take a wrong turn when selling your business. To help brokers avoid the pitfalls, Olly Laughton-Scott explains a few things he’s learnt from his 25 years’ M&A experience
  
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• Mapfre up 6% after EUR176mn Q3 loss disclosure

  26-10-2017 16:51
  Shares in Mapfre rose by 6 percent today after it estimated net
  losses from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the Mexican
  earthquakes at EUR176mn ($207mn).
  As of 13:20 UK time, shares in the carrier were up 5.8 percent
  to EUR2.82.The losses pushed the company's nine-month attributable
  result down 22.3 percent year-on-year to EUR445mn.
  The catastrophe losses are at the mid-point of aEUR150mn to EUR200mn range Mapfre predicted in September.Excluding the effect of these catastrophes, attributab
  
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• Guy Carpenter reports 4% underlying revenue growth

  26-10-2017 16:51
  Marsh & McLennan Companies' (MMC) reinsurance arm Guy
  Carpenter reported underlying revenue growth of 4 percent in the
  third quarter to record total revenues for the period of
  $270mn.
  The result marks the third consecutive quarter the reinsurance
  broker has reported organic revenue growth of 4 percent, havingposted the same result in Q1 and Q2.
  Meanwhile, insurance broking arm Marsh reported revenues of
  $1.48bn, an increase of 3 percent on an underlying basis.
  In the US and Canada, organic..
  
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• The Blog Spot: Is high net worth the new black?

  26-10-2017 16:12
  As the number of insurance products aimed at private clients rises Ida Axling asks whether brokers are headed towards the HNW side of the market.
  
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• Davies Group acquires Service Tick

  26-10-2017 15:49
  Acquisitive insurance service provider Davies Group has acquired analytics firm Service Tick.
  
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• Tractable launch automated damage estimating technology

  26-10-2017 15:39
  Following its partnership with Ageas, Tractable has developed an artificial intelligence-driven damage repair estimation technology.
  
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• Ageas to pilot automated damage approval technology

  26-10-2017 15:39
  Following its partnership with Ageas, Tractable has developed an artificial intelligence-driven damage repair estimation technology.
  
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• Tokio Marine Kiln to kill life syndicate

  26-10-2017 13:57
  Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK) has asked Lloyd's for permission to
  close Syndicate 308, its specialist life insurance business,
  The Insurance Insider can reveal.
  It is understood that the £30mn-stamp ($40mn) syndicate,
  which is partially backed by Names, will stop writing new business
  as soon as the Corporation gives authorisation.
  According to market sources, the decision from the Lloyd's
  arm of Japanese big three insurer Tokio Marine reflected the
  increasingly challenging market conditions and
  
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• Arch in $368mn securitisation of mortgage book

  26-10-2017 13:57
  Arch Capital has completed a $368mn reinsurance deal to hand on
  risk from its mortgage insurance book to capital markets investors.
  The Bermudian insurer said today that it had placed the cover
  through Bellemeade Re 2017-1, a special purpose vehicle.
  Bellemeade Re is a structure Arch inherited from AIG when it
  acquired United Guaranty in a $3.4bn deal that completed in
  January.
  The deal marks the first occasion Arch has sought cover for its
  mortgage book via an insurance-linked securities...
  
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• Sian Fisher insists Aldermanbury sale will result in savings long term

  26-10-2017 13:42
  The CII CEO responded to criticism about the decision to sell the historic Aldermanbury building to the City of London Corporation.
  
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• Commercial vehicle specialist Tradewise secures £20m investment from Harwood Private Equity

  26-10-2017 13:15
  Tradewise Insurance Group has secured a £20m investment deal with Harwood Private Equity.
  
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• Meet the Broker Apprentices 2017: Chloe Murray

  26-10-2017 11:42
  The latest contestant in Broker Apprentice 2017 is revealed
  
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• Homelyfe closes £2.4m funding round

  26-10-2017 11:39
  Homelyfe has completed a £2.4m seed round led by Talis Capital and Peterson Ventures.
  
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• InsurTech Futures: Hood Group partners with Gary Lineker-backed start-up Neos

  26-10-2017 11:37
  Broker to provide administration services for Neos' smart home insurance proposition.
  
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• Scor falls to EUR364mn Q3 operating loss

  26-10-2017 11:00
  Scor reported a group operating loss of EUR364mn ($429mn) for
  the third quarter, as EUR598mn of pre-tax net Q3 catastrophe losses
  pushed the reinsurer into the red.
  The figures account for hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and
  earthquakes in Mexico. The post-tax net loss number from the
  catastrophes is EUR430mn, as previously announced.
  The group operating loss was worse than the analyst consensus,
  which was for an operating loss of EUR224mn.
  Baader Helvea analyst Daniel Bischof said in a note..
  
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• Perils hikes Italian earthquake loss

  26-10-2017 11:00
  Perils increased its industry loss estimate for the central
  Italian earthquakes that struck last October by two-thirds in its
  final report on the disasters.
  It put the market loss at EUR208mn ($245.1mn), up from the
  EUR125mn it estimated at the end of January.
  The earthquakes affected the Italian regions of Lazio, Marche
  and Umbria, including areas that had been struck two months earlier
  by a 6.0 magnitude earthquake.
  The October quakes ranged from 5.4 to 6.5 in magnitude.
  Insurance covered...
  
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• Opinion: Securing cyber

  26-10-2017 11:00
  With the approval of a model statute regarding insurance data
  and cybersecurity by the National Association of Insurance
  Commissioners (NAIC), insurers doing business in the US would be
  well advised to begin focusing on the issue if they haven't
  already.
  For many reasons, it would be difficult to understand why any
  business has not given substantial attention to the matter,
  however.
  How many data breaches exposing companies and their leaders to,
  in some cases, incalculable liabilities does it ta
  
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• Munich Re to post Q3 loss after EUR3.2bn in major claims

  26-10-2017 11:00
  Munich Re has warned it expects to post a loss of EUR1.4bn
  ($1.6bn) for the third quarter as a result of EUR3.2bn of major
  claims for the period.Munich Re said EUR2.7bn of the Q3 major loss
  total stemmed from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. The
  additional losses come from other natural catastrophes - including
  the Mexican earthquakes - and man-made losses.
  The loss figures are net of retrocession but
  the firm did not specify if they were before or...
  
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• Mapfre pegs HIM and Mexico losses at EUR176mn

  26-10-2017 11:00
  Mapfre today estimated net losses from hurricanes Harvey, Irma
  and Maria and the Mexican earthquakes at EUR176mn ($207mn).
  The losses pushed the company's nine-month attributable
  result down 22.3 percent year-on-year to EUR445mn.
  The catastrophe losses are at the mid-point of aEUR150mn to EUR200mn range Mapfre predicted in September.Excluding the effect of these catastrophes, attributable profit
  would have grown 8.6 percent for the nine months to 30 September,
  Mapfre said.
  The group nine-month c
  
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• Final loss estimate for Italian October earthquakes pegged at £185.8m

  26-10-2017 10:42
  Perils has updated its loss estimate for Italy’s October earthquakes from €125m (£111.7m) to €208m (£185.8m).
  
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• Roundtable: How new technologies can speed up motor claims

  26-10-2017 07:00
  The motor space is under intense pressure in terms of costs. With margins tight, how can insurers handle claims efficiently while delivering good customer service? New technology may provide part of the answer
  
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• International: Trade credit demand is up

  26-10-2017 07:00
  European political instability and financial regulations are pushing demand for trade credit cover, especially from banks that are keen on optimising their capital.
  
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• Markel takes $360m hit in Q3; reinsurance arm's COR at 183%

  26-10-2017 05:27
  Global (re)insurer made a $360m (£271m) pre-tax loss in the third quarter of 2017 compared with a $119m pre-tax profit in Q3 2016.
  
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• Axis just beats Street call with $446mn Q3 loss

  26-10-2017 04:00
  Axis Capital just bettered analyst expectations for the third
  quarter delivering a $446mn operating loss after preannounced
  catastrophe claims that eroded the bottom line by $617mn.
  The $5.35 per share loss was slightly better than the $5.38
  consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts compiled by Reuters.
  The cat losses contributed 61 points to a 152.9 percent combined
  ratio, a marked deterioration from the 92.6 percent Axis reported
  this time last year.
  "During the month of September, our indust
  
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• Markel falls to $328.1mn loss as cats erase gains

  26-10-2017 01:17
  Markel posted a $328.1mn third-quarter operating loss as the
  (re)insurer's combined ratio surged to 134 percent as
  pre-announced catastrophe losses of $503mn devoured the
  carrier's profits.
  Cat losses weighed most heavily on the carrier's reinsurance
  segment, totalling $242.3mn after assumed reinstatement premiums of
  $30.8mn. The figure added 95 points to the segment's combined
  ratio.
  Overall cat losses added 46 points to the companywide combined
  ratio for the quarter, Markel said. It added that
  
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• Government-run workers' comp bill dies in Illinois

  26-10-2017 01:17
  Illinois lawmakers failed to override a veto that blocked a
  measure to create a state-run workers' compensation insurer to
  compete with private carriers in the state.
  The state House of Representatives failed to muster the 71 votes
  needed to override the veto from Republican Governor Bruce Rauner
  today, with 65 lawmakers voting to set aside Rauner's veto to
  50 voting not to, legislative records show.
  The measure would have taken $10mn from funds used to operate
  the state commission overseeing...
  
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• Epic buys $80mn NE broker Frenkel & Co

  26-10-2017 01:17
  Expansive private equity-backed retail broker Epic has added
  significantly to its run-rate revenues with the acquisition of
  Frenkel & Company.
  New York-based Frenkel & Company is one of the larger
  privately-held intermediaries in the US with revenues close to
  $80mn, said the firms in a statement.
  San Francisco-based Epic, which is backed by private equity firm
  Oak Hill Capital Partners, is currently a top 20 US retailer with
  run-rate revenues of around $400mn.
  Epic CEO John Hahn noted th
  
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• Aspen unveils $160mn cost-cutting and $277mn Q3 loss

  26-10-2017 01:17
  Aspen fell to a $276.6mn operating loss for the third quarter as
  it unveiled a wide-reaching $160mn cost-saving programme.
  The Bermudian's operating loss was equivalent to $4.78 a
  share, representing a 21 cents a share beat on consensus analyst
  forecasts of a $4.99 a share deficit, according to Reuters.
  It was driven by third quarter catastrophe losses of $360.3mn
  before tax that were ahead of the $310mn hit from hurricanes
  Harvey, Irma and Maria preannounced by the (re)insurer earlier this...
  
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• Arch misses with $107mn loss in Q3

  26-10-2017 01:17
  Arch Capital missed analyst expectations for the third quarter -
  posting a larger-than-expected $107.1mn after-tax operating loss -
  despite forecast catastrophe claims that fell within the expected
  range.
  The $0.79 per share loss was significantly shy of the consensus
  estimate of a $0.61 per share deficit expected by Wall Street
  analysts surveyed by Reuters.
  The Bermuda-domiciled (re)insurer pegged after-tax net
  catastrophe losses at $319.8mn for the quarter which fell within
  the $285mn to $345m
  
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