Analysis and insights on the global reinsurance and specialty markets

Analysis

Twin speed property market as casualty contradicts: Amwins

The US property insurance market continues to operate at two speeds, with significantly harder pricing trends for accounts exposed to catastrophe risk than for those that are not, according to Amwins.

Q4 cat preannouncements continue...

As the industry gears up for the fourth quarter earnings period many carriers have prepared the market - and their investors - through a flurry of Q4 cat preannouncements, The Insurer tracks the movements.

Guy Carpenter pegs trapped/lost ILS capital at $20bn+

The amount of alternative capital “trapped” or lost and not available for deployment at the recent 1.1 renewals was in the region of $20-$25bn, according to Guy Carpenter.

Alternative capital continues to grow while traditional reinsurance contracts

Alternative capital continues on an upward trajectory, with the market standing at $99bn at the end of the third quarter of 2018.

Howden puts independence at heart of Hyperion’s growth strategy

In the aftermath of Hyperion’s 2018 results and with the firm poised to become the largest non-US intermediary, The Insurer interviews its founder David Howden…

Scor rewarded for traditional early 2019 retro renewal

Tier one global reinsurer Scor has been rewarded for its traditional early renewal of its annual P&C retro program by renewing its core XoL coverage before the November California wildfires and benefiting from a more favorable pricing environment, The Insurer can reveal.

Cali wildfire disclosures, data now pointing to circa $15bn loss

2018 now appears odds on to have exceeded last year in terms of insured losses from the California wildfires following a series of disclosures and loss estimates late last week.

Ardonagh debt weighs heavily as UK broker sells assets

*Debt yielding circa 11 percent ** New $235mn bond takes issuance beyond £1bn *** Acquires Nevada 3 assets at near 30 percent premium to cost

The ILS juggernaut faces a bump in the road

It looks increasingly likely that the vast ILS market – estimated to have grown to a new record size of $98bn – will now plateau or even shrink slightly at year-end.

California’s Camp Fire now the worst ever insured wildfire loss at $7.5bn+

The ferocious Camp wildfire will be fully distinguished later this week with firefighters finally aided by rain that will sweep into northern California later this week.

Lloyd’s 2019 focus now shifts to capital

*LoC deadline first; coming-in-to line 30 November ** Will all syndicates get capital in place? ***Losses, withdrawals and capital loadings add to squeeze

Berkshire Hathaway’s modest Q3 cat bill of $372mn a fraction of rivals

After a 2017 cat loss bill of $3bn, Berkshire Hathaway’s 3Q 2018 modest cat losses of $372mn are a fraction of rivals, such as AIG’s hefty $1.62bn and Swiss Re’s $1.1bn.

Analysis: RenRe’s $1.5bn TMR move cements strategic play

Shares in RenaissanceRe were trading off around 5 percent this morning in New York as some investors reacted negatively to news of the Bermudian’s $1.5bn deal to buy Tokio Millennium Re (TMR).

‘Alternative capital hasn’t tapped into Eastern Europe or MENA yet’: Aon

Cedants in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa are yet to fully embrace the burgeoning alternative capital markets, according to Aon’s Tomas Novotny

Trust Re downgrade the latest in shifting sands for Middle Eastern carriers

Trust Re’s downgrade this week below the critical AM Best A- threshold is the latest setback for Middle Eastern carriers in 2018. Re-Insurance tracks all the developments…

GIC Re expands on back of Indian agri-re boom

The rapid growth in India’s agricultural insurance market means GIC Re is now responsible for the industry’s largest non-US agricultural reinsurance treaty with the firm experiencing a doubling of inwards gross premiums for the class in only one year.

MMC-JLT deal makes space for Holborn as top-10 reinsurance broker

MMC’s unexpected $5.6bn deal to acquire JLT, which will cement Marsh’s position as the world’s largest intermediary, will promote US broker Holborn into the number ten slot in Re-Insurance’s list of largest reinsurance brokers by revenue.

Underlying Lloyd’s H1 2018 CR stubbornly above 100%

The challenges faced by Lloyd’s head of underwriting Jon Hancock to restore Lime Street’s underwriting fortunes were highlighted last week when, on an underlying basis, it was revealed Lloyd’s syndicates lost money from underwriting in H1 2018 with an accident year combined ratio of 101.2 percent, analysis by reveals.

Brexit whitepaper presents 'worrying' challenge for brokers

As plans for mutual market recognition are thrown off the negotiating table, the market now has to make the most out of “enhanced equivalence”, a term not so easily defined by brokers

Is Lloyd’s facing an existential crisis?

Industry sources question the Corporation’s ability to change as much as it needs to in order to maintain its relevance

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