Reinsurance News

Reflecting the improved underwriting and rate conditions in the global reinsurance marketplace, for the first time in a decade the average underlying return on equity (ROE) has surpassed the sector’s weighted average cost of capital (WACC), data from Gallagher Re shows.

Cincinnati Financial Corporation has announced an expectation that it will report pretax catastrophe losses of approximately $235 million, with severe US storms and tornadoes in March the main drivers.

At this time of year, all thoughts turn to the mid-year reinsurance renewals, particularly those for Florida, and in 2023 it’s expected to be a particularly interesting few months, with signs of competitive tactics already emerging.

Jean-Louis Monnier, a long-standing insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused senior executive at global reinsurance giant Swiss Re, has been named Global Head of ILS, as the firm’s Alternative Capital Partners (ACP) reassigns some responsibilities.

The renewals of US focused reinsurance programs and treaties at April 1 were more orderly than those seen at January, but the rate increases for catastrophe risk exposed towers were still significant, ranging from 30% to 100%, according to Gallagher Re.

Insurance and reinsurance broker Aon’s Impact Forecasting division has issued a preliminary estimate for first-quarter 2023 insured global catastrophe losses, putting the total at around US $15 billion and saying severe convective storms were the main driver.

QBE Re, the global reinsurance arm of the Australian headquartered insurance group, has announced the hiring of Andy Richardson as Head of Underwriting for its Bermuda operation, who joins the company after his last position with ILS specialist manager Aeolus Capital Management.

Resolute Global Partners, a registered investment advisor focused on niche opportunities in the insurance and reinsurance space and formerly known as ILS Capital, has aligned with broker Gallagher Re and catastrophe modeller Karen Clark & Company (KCC) to launch a new reinsurance product named Footprint.

The African Risk Capacity (ARC) has selected reinsurance broker Gallagher Re to assist it with its own risk transfer needs, with the design of alternative risk transfer mechanisms, such as insurance linked securities (ILS) part of a development plan for its portfolio hedging and risk transfer arrangements.

The industry loss warranty (ILW) market has softened somewhat, seemingly in-line with the catastrophe bond market, with what were record high ILW rates-on-line now coming in on average roughly 12% lower for the second-quarter of 2022, according to our sources.