Reinsurance News

An increase in catastrophe losses, less favourable loss reserve development and continued market headwinds saw private U.S. property/casualty (P/C) insurers record an unprofitable first nine months in 2016, according to data from ISO and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).

Overall, dedicated reinsurance capacity remained at a relatively flat level at the key January 1st renewal season, driven by a slowdown in the entry of alternative capital, which JLT Re says helped to stabilise an increasingly challenging sector.

The Hong Kong Office of the Commissioner of Insurance has set out new rules around insurance risk transfer to the capital markets, which stipulate that approval must be required for capital market risk transfer using an SPV, unless a reinsurance firm is involved.

The big European reinsurance firms are expected to use up or even exceed their fourth-quarter 2016 major natural catastrophe loss budgets, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank, but even a higher loss toll at the end of the year will not be sufficient to put upwards pressure on pricing.

The recently issued $200 million Leo Re Ltd. collateralised reinsurance sidecar transaction was funded by Dutch pension fund manager PGGM on behalf of one of the pension funds it administers, the Dutch healthcare and social welfare sector’s PFZW.

Risk modelling firm AIR Worldwide will benefit from liability and casualty risk modelling abilities after parent company Verisk Analytics announced the acquisition of Arium, an independent company focused on liability risk modeling and decision support.

Australian insurer Suncorp Group has revealed a further deterioration in its 2010 and 2011 Canterbury, New Zealand earthquake losses, increasing provisions by NZ$112 million (just over US$80m) with the majority to be passed on to its reinsurance providers.

Insurance and reinsurance industry losses from the severe convective weather and tornado outbreak in the U.S. southeast over the last few days are expected to reach well into the hundreds of millions of dollars, possibly higher, according to Impact Forecasting.

Warren Buffett’s reinsurer Berkshire Hathaway has entered into an agreement to provide insurer AIG with an adverse development reinsurance cover for 80% of the firm’s long-tail U.S. commercial liabilities, costing AIG $9.8 billion.

Insurance industry losses from the severe wildfires that hit Sevier County, Tennessee have risen significantly from early estimates, with the latest loss estimate reported as $842 million by the regional insurance department.