Aon shares down 9% after earnings miss amid early NFP closeAon management said the early close of the NFP acquisition means fewer shares issued and benefits that will be realised a year earlier, but the firm’s stock traded down sharply likely reflecting the sale of shares issued in the transaction and investor reaction to an earnings miss amid lower organic growth in commercial risk solutions.
MS Reinsurance FSR upgraded to A+ by AM BestMS Amlin AG – which trades as MS Reinsurance – has had its financial strength rating upgraded to A+ from A by AM Best on the back of measures taken to turn around the company’s performance.
The tragedy in Baltimore may cause reinsurance carriers to establish more pricing resolve throughout the rest of the yearPat Gallagher, CEO and chairman of Arthur J Gallagher, on specialty class outlook
Zywave panel: Cyber ILS has “mainstream” potential in medium termPanellists at a Zywave event last week were bullish on the growth potential of cyber ILS, with GC Securities senior vice president Carlo Magnani highlighting the unsustainability of the existing capacity model in light of the cyber market’s underlying trajectory.
Coalition’s Coletti: Increased comfort in modelling systemic cyber risk drawing in capitalCoalition’s John Coletti has said that concerns around systemic cyber risk have previously kept capital on the sidelines, but growing confidence in the ability to model the risk – in part reflected by the emergence of cat bonds – is bringing capital into the segment.
Fitch: US cyber profits “strong” in ’23 but premium growth stallsThe US cyber insurance line generated “strong” direct underwriting profits for the second year running in 2023, an analysis of statutory data by Fitch has shown, though the rating agency noted that written premium volume has stalled amid renewed pricing pressure.
Cyberwrite’s Perry: AI tools are critical to analysing cyber risk in ways humans cannotThe CEO of risk quantification insurtech Cyberwrite has said that leveraging AI tools is critical to enable human underwriters to analyse cyber risk, and that industry firms who fail to invest in the tools now will fall behind in the coming years “like BlackBerry”.
IQUW’s Kriesel: Better cybersecurity among insureds resulting in further extortion threatsIQUW’s head of professional lines and specialty claims has said insureds’ better security and preparation means commercial ransomware victims often may not need to pay a ransom to regain access to their data, but this could lead to extortion by “bad actors” with the threat to publish their data.
Wilson Elser’s Cvitanovic: Cyber breach disclosure rule changes “very much in flux”Wilson Elser’s Dominik Cvitanovic has said a “major focus” for cybersecurity lawyers and breach coaches is a wave of newly established breach notification rules adopted by US federal agencies that have put breach victims’ obligations “very much in flux”.
KYND appoints Cowbell’s Singh as head of cyberUK-based cyber insurtech KYND has appointed former Cowbell executive Manu Singh as head of cyber.
Could negative credit spreads and a rising cat bond appetite accelerate the end of the reinsurance hard market?
R&Q reports progress on Accredited sale lender approval but says expected proceeds slashedR&Q has entered into a lock-up agreement with a number of lenders relating to debt restructuring and other issues as it seeks their approval to sell Accredited to Onex in a deal it hopes to complete this quarter but said expected available net cash proceeds would be much lower at $65mn to $110mn.
TIH Underwriting to go on the front foot to drive growth under new ownershipMGA platform TIH Underwriting, including Starwind and AmRisc, is on course to comfortably pass $6bn of premium this year as it pursues organic and inorganic growth opportunities with the support of its parent’s new owners led by Stone Point Capital and CD&R, according to CEO Bill Goldstein.
Arden working with Dowling Hales to find new investor to support growth trajectoryArden Insurance Services is in discussions with potential investors as it looks for a new backer to come in to support its strong growth trajectory, while the expansive tech-enabled MGA has also secured additional capacity for its core program from TruStage, Program Manager understands.
Trisura taken off negative outlook on improved reinsurance contract risk managementAM Best has revised the outlook to stable from negative on specialty insurance provider Trisura Group’s A- ratings, including its fronting carrier subsidiaries, citing improved ERM practices, policies and procedures around risk management of US captive reinsurance contracts.
Euclid launches marine program manager led by Pullen and GomezEuclid Program Managers has added to its expansive platform with a start-up led by Brian Pullen and Jason Gomez offering comprehensive marine cargo and stock throughput coverage on Lloyd’s paper for North American insureds, Program Manager can reveal.
NFP and Berkley Asset Protection partner on sports card programNFP has launched a new sports card and memorabilia insurance program having agreed a new partnership with WR Berkley’s Berkley Asset Protection.
Rainbow broadens reach with First Connect tie-upRainbow has partnered with digital distribution platform First Connect in a tie-up that the insurtech MGU says extends its product reach among independent agents.
Amwins Program Underwriters recruits Beat’s Beckham as Francavilla successorAmwins Program Underwriters has drafted in Jon Beckham as its new president, with the former Beat Capital Partners Americas and Dual North America executive succeeding company veteran Ben Francavilla in the role.
Bowhead Specialty goes full steam ahead with IPO after ’23 profit more than doublesBowhead Specialty Holdings has publicly filed its Form S-1 for a planned IPO as it disclosed strong top and bottom-line growth in 2023, with gross written premiums surging 42 percent to $507.7mn, a combined ratio of 95.0 percent and adjusted net income before tax more than doubling from $14.7mn to $33.5mn.
GeoVera’s Forney: Bifurcation deal with SageSure and SafePort is “win-win-win-win”The move to sell GeoVera’s underwriting business to SageSure and combine its carrier operations with SafePort is a “win-win-win-win” transaction, CEO John Forney has said, while his counterpart Terry McLean noted it will add deep quake expertise to the MGA he runs, and create synergies around capital and reinsurance.
Ascot and Ryan Specialty in exclusive negotiations over Ethos Specialty dealAscot is in exclusive negotiations with Ryan Specialty over the divestment of the carrier’s MGA platform Ethos Specialty as the Evercore-led sale process nears its finish line and the wholesale giant continues to consolidate the segment, The Insurer can reveal.
Transactional liability MGA Sands Point closing in on $35mn capacity dealNewly-launched transactional liability MGA Sands Point has secured in the region of $20mn in capacity and is closing in on bringing in additional backing that would allow the firm’s inaugural flagship program to write up to $35mn in limit, The Insurer can reveal.
Ironshore’s Dolan: Expert, sophisticated wholesale capabilities are the right E&S access pointThe increasingly complex and dynamic risk landscape means the shift of business to the E&S market is a structural rather than cyclical development, with the best access point to the sector through brokers with expert and sophisticated wholesale capabilities, according to Ironshore president Matt Dolan.
Vantage Risk enters US large property space with E&S capacityVantage Risk has launched a US large property offering with an emphasis on deep data and analytics that is aimed at middle market and corporate clients, with primary and excess coverages available nationwide supported by an initial $5mn-$10mn line written on a non-admitted basis, E&S Insurer can reveal.
TVAmwins’ Sloop: Focus on providing widest product range amid retail-wholesale shiftAmwins COO Ben Sloop has acknowledged retailers’ desire to keep as much business as possible in-house, describing the retail-owned and independent wholesaler models as both “very valid” as he also reiterated his firm’s interest in remaining private.
TVB&W’s Gatewood: E&S personal lines capacity going to distributors “who can deliver good results”Burns & Wilcox’s head of personal lines Bill Gatewood said that insurers are being more selective in allocating capacity to wholesalers, and that amid generally distressed conditions, some parts of the country are approaching rate adequacy.
RLI still seeing “great opportunity” in property as casualty submissions surgeRLI continues to see plenty of “great opportunity” to grow its property portfolio even as competition in the sector intensifies, while the carrier has seen a significant uptick in the number of casualty submissions it has received, according to COO Jen Klobnak.
CRC: Excess and umbrella rate reductions a rarity even as sector stabilizesRate reductions remain a rarity in the excess and umbrella market, even with pricing stabilizing, although loss-free accounts are no longer being hit with double-digit increases, according to a casualty market update from CRC Group.
Doyle: Marsh not looking to build third-party wholesaler at Victor AccessMarsh McLennan CEO John Doyle has stated that the firm is not looking to build a third-party wholesale business after recently launching the Victor Access brand to improve direct access to the E&S market.
CRC REDY index: Property insurance market reached level of stability by end of Q1The E&S property market started the year continuing 2023 trends, but as Q1 progressed it saw a return to “normal” in the context of renewal price and terms expectation of clients, with increases in pricing slowing from 15.7 percent in January to 10.6 percent in March, according to data from wholesaler CRC.
James River completes $277mn sale of treaty business to FlemingJames River Group Holdings announced late Tuesday that Fleming Intermediate Holdings has completed its acquisition of the Bermudian specialty platform’s treaty business JRG Reinsurance Company on the previously agreed terms, following a legal spat between the parties related to reserving.
Bowhead set to launch small account “flow” E&S unit Baleen SpecialtyBowhead Specialty has confirmed plans to launch a new tech-enabled “flow” underwriting platform focused on small, niche, hard-to-place E&S risks called Baleen Specialty, which is being led by Brandon Mezick and aims to begin underwriting sometime this quarter with a contractors’ GL product.
Bowhead Specialty goes full steam ahead with IPO after ’23 profit more than doublesBowhead Specialty Holdings has publicly filed its Form S-1 for a planned IPO as it disclosed strong top and bottom-line growth in 2023, with gross written premiums surging 42 percent to $507.7mn, a combined ratio of 95.0 percent and adjusted net income before tax more than doubling from $14.7mn to $33.5mn.
Lloyd’s positioned to benefit from E&S market growth: BerenbergGrowth in the E&S market is set to continue to outpace the broader US P&C sector with Lloyd’s players such as Beazley and Lancashire set to be among the greatest beneficiaries, according to Berenberg.
UNEP launches new insurance transition forum as NZIA is formally discontinuedThe UN Environment Programme has unveiled the Forum for Insurance Transition to Net Zero, a new multistakeholder body which it said takes into account the previous experience of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance.
NAIC adopts national climate resilience strategy for insuranceThe membership of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has adopted its inaugural national climate resilience strategy for insurance in order to future-proof the US property insurance market.
Axis commences underwriting at £100mn Energy Transition Syndicate 2050The formal launch of Axis Energy Transition Syndicate 2050 on 1 April marked a “statement of intent” from the carrier to provide a one-stop solution for cross-class insurance to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, according to Axis Capital’s head of global markets Mark Gregory.
Zurich to ban underwriting of new oil and gas extraction: reportsZurich is set to introduce fresh fossil fuel restrictions that will see the Mario Greco-led carrier cease underwriting new oil and gas extraction, as well as the expansion of metallurgical coal, projects in what would be a major shift in policy.
kWh expands Aspen property capacity agreement for renewable energy projectsMGA kWh Analytics has announced a “significant increase” in its capacity agreement with Aspen Insurance to support its property insurance offering for renewable energy projects.
Insurance can serve as indicator of carbon credit quality: CFC’s BeattieCarbon insurance can help ensure a flight to quality in the voluntary carbon market as companies seek high-quality, science-based projects, according to CFC’s George Beattie.
CFC enters carbon insurance market with cover for non-delivery of carbon creditsCFC has entered the carbon insurance market with the launch of a carbon delivery insurance product that provides coverage for both physical and political risks that may result in the non-delivery of a carbon credit.
WTW secures USAID funding for “Resilience Wrapper” parametric pilotWTW is to design a “Resilience Wrapper” pilot facility that will enable the US Development Finance Corporation to offer a parametric cover that protects the direct loans it provides to private enterprises from climate-related shocks.
Probitas rules out EACOP and West Cumbria coverageProbitas has confirmed in a statement to an environmental campaign group that it has ruled out providing coverage for two controversial fossil fuel infrastructure projects following a spate of protests at the insurer’s London office.
Tokio Marine introduces transition plan requirement for ~70% of portfolio emissionsTokio Marine Holdings has revised the underwriting, investment and financing policies within its group climate strategy to potentially exclude 60 companies in heavy-emitting sectors if they do not provide a transition plan.
Oka brings first insured biochar credits to marketCarbon credit insurance start-up Oka has partnered with Oregon Biochar Solutions to bring “world-first” invalidation-insured biochar credits to the voluntary carbon market.