Reinsurance News

The outcome of the January 2021 reinsurance renewals and expectations for the rest of this year suggest “a real repricing of risk” is underway, which may now continue into 2022, according to analysts at RBC Capital Markets.

Marrikel, the company that launched in mid-2020 with a product offering of a full reinsurance broking platform, has rebranded itself as Re Square and pivoted to offer just reinsurance auction technology, as an option alongside its full platform, recognising many brokers want to retain control of their own transaction flows.

A number of insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds have continued to report small increases in losses and reserves set related to business interruption claims from the Covid-19 pandemic, we understand, which continued to weigh on results over the last two months.

The insurance and reinsurance market loss from a hailstorm event in October 2020 that struck south-east Queensland, Australia has been raised 6% to A$1.3 billion by PERILS AG.

Argo Group, the Bermuda headquartered specialty insurance underwriter, has promoted Tom McCartney to the role of Group Head of Ceded Reinsurance, giving him responsibility for the companies reinsurance buying strategy.

Broking, advisory, benefits and consulting giants Aon and Willis Towers Watson have defended their merger, with a response to the New Zealand Commerce Commission that cites alternative reinsurance capital, disintermediation by the big four and marketplaces such as Tremor, as threats to their own combined business.

AXA XL, the commercial property & casualty insurance and reinsurance arm of the AXA Group, promoted Niraj Patel to lead alternative capital activities as Head of AXA XL ILS Capital Management in late 2020, reporting to Peter Martin, who was also promoted to Head of Reinsurance Capital Management.

AXIS Re, the global reinsurance business of specialty re/insurer AXIS Capital, has appointed Katie Partington Howarth, who was formerly at Argo, as the new Chief Underwriting Officer for all of its reinsurance activities.

QBE, the Australian headquartered global insurance and reinsurance group, is centralising all of its global inwards reinsurance underwriting business to be managed in London under Steve Postlewhite.

The January reinsurance renewals fell well short of hard market price increases, with part of the reason being new capacity from both incumbents and new entrants, according to AXIS Capital CEO Albert Benchimol.