TVAriel Re’s Pedraja targets property growth after $270mn capital raiseAriel Re will target property expansion following its recent $270mn capital raise, with 70 percent of the new funding set to be deployed in the class, according to the company’s group CFO Mike Pedraja.
AM Best: Recent storms raise concerns of California property capacity shortageConcerns the recent storms that battered California could evolve into a longer-term trend may force primary carriers with a property concentration in the Golden State to change their business models given their reliance on reinsurance and fears that such coverage could become increasingly scarce.
Inver Re names MS Amlin’s Thomas as global property re head following brand reshuffleInver Re, the reinsurance arm of the Ardonagh Group, has appointed Alun Thomas to the new role of global head of property reinsurance.
Armstrong: Palomar can take advantage of freed up CEA reinsurance capacityDespite analyst concerns about how the hard reinsurance market will affect Palomar’s earnings volatility, CEO Mac Armstrong has suggested the specialty insurer will benefit from the CEA reducing its cover and also revealed a new quota share for its motor truck cargo product.
UFG sees 54% increase in cat XOL cost at 1.1, adds specialty QS programUnited Fire Group (UFG) has become the latest carrier to report increased premiums and retentions for its reinsurance programs at 1.1, while investors sent its share price down 6 percent in response to a sharp drop in operating income in Q4.
AIG set to transfer HNW business to new MGA with Stone Point backingAIG is planning to move high net worth (HNW) business written by its Private Client Group (PCG) division into a new MGA that will be formed in partnership with private equity firm Stone Point, with the book fronted by the insurance giant backed by third-party capital, The Insurer can reveal.
Intact raises reinsurance retentions and ups 2023 cat loss guidanceIntact Financial cut its reinsurance limits for Canadian catastrophe events and raised them for incidents that occur in the US and UK at the recent 1 January renewal while the Toronto-based carrier upped the point at which its program attaches across the three geographical regions.
Horace Mann and Assurant latest to confirm higher retentions at 1.1Horace Mann Educators Corporation has increased the retention on its catastrophe reinsurance program at 1.1 for the first time in 12 years while Assurant expects to increase its retention this year, the managements of the carriers have revealed on earnings calls.
AFG trims cat program and raises retention to $50mnAmerican Financial Group responded to what co-CEO Carl Lindner called the “challenging reinsurance market” by “collapsing” its treaty tower to just one layer of $75mn that sits above its newly raised $50mn retention.
Swiss Re to split reinsurance business in operational restructureSwiss Re is set to revamp its organisational structure through the split of its reinsurance business into separate P&C Re and L&H Re units.
Lockton: Floridians to face further rate and attachment rises at mid-yearFloridian reinsurance cedants will see further rates and attachment point rises this year after the “drastic” increases at the 2022 renewal while the trend of residential and commercial property risks moving from admitted to E&S carriers in the Sunshine State will continue, Lockton executives have predicted.
Aon’s Van Slooten: “Strong pipeline” for capital optimisation covers in 2023There is “unprecedented demand” for adverse development covers (ADCs) and loss portfolio transfers (LPTs) in the casualty space as firms look to optimise capital and retain net positions, according to Mike Van Slooten, head of business intelligence for Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions.
Travelers ups cat XoL retention to $3.5bn and non-renews agg after no ’22 payoutTravelers management have said the insurer is at a relative advantage in a hardening reinsurance market after the insurance giant upped the retention on its corporate cat excess-of-loss (XoL) cover and non-renewed its partially-placed $500mn property aggregate XoL treaty, which didn’t attach last year.
The cat conundrum: need vs wantAfter the most challenging 1 January property cat reinsurance renewal in years, the attention is already turning to mid-year and what looks to be a bifurcation on the demand side of the equation between those that have to buy more limit and those that have more flexibility around retention.
TWIA board votes for Gallagher Re to seek $2.92bn in reinsuranceThe board of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has voted to instruct Gallagher Re to seek pricing for a reinsurance program to top out at $5.2bn, with a $2.28bn retention, although the 1:100 probable maximum loss (PML) has been set at $4.5bn.
Aon’s Monaghan: Insurers potentially exposed to greater earnings volatility after 1.1 reinsurance shiftInsurers may be exposed to greater earnings volatility after the reinsurance market put itself on a more sustainable footing and returned to its traditional core role of protecting capital at the recent 1 January renewals, Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions’ global growth leader Joe Monaghan believes.
CEA reduces risk transfer cover to $8.2bn at 1.1The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has $8.2bn of reinsurance and other forms of risk transfer obtained from the capital markets in place following the challenging 1.1 renewals, down from $9.1bn after the October 2022 renewal and $9.4bn at the end of 2021.
Hippo finalizes reinsurance program as 5 reinsurers drop off QS panelHomeowners-focused insurtech MGA Hippo has finalized its reinsurance program for 2023, disclosing it had trimmed its quota share panel to six third-party reinsurers from 11 in 2022, and that it bumped up the limit on its excess of loss cover by 32 percent.
CCR Re renews pioneering 157 Re sidecar for 2023CCR Re, the open market reinsurance arm of French state-backed carrier CCR, has confirmed the renewal of its 157 Re collateralised reinsurance sidecar, a move first revealed by The Insurer last year.
Australia’s Sure becomes latest member of ARPC’s cyclone reinsurance poolAustralia’s Sure Insurance has been unveiled as the latest participant in the Federal Government cyclone reinsurance pool.