flood reinsurance

Flood Re, the UK’s government-backed reinsurance scheme designed to make flood insurance more accessible to property owners, has successfully added another roughly £800m of cover to the £1.29 billion of retrocession it secured in 2015, to complete its £2.1 billion ($3.025bn) reinsurance program.

The UK flooding caused by storm Desmond at the beginning of December is estimated to have caused £717 million ($1.035 billion or €950m) of insurance, and perhaps reinsurance, industry losses, according to PERILS AG.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has reported that the recent UK flooding will cost insurers at least £1.3 billion ($1.9 billion). At the same time the loss, at whatever its final level, has been reported to cause attritional loss to some ILS funds.

Insurance and reinsurance industry losses from UK winter storms and the resulting flooding that has been experienced in recent weeks could reach as much as £2.5 billion ($3.7bn), according to analysts at UBS, but the burden for the reinsurance market is uncertain with the hours clause a factor.

Consultancy PwC has raised its estimate for the insurance and reinsurance industry loss from flooding  and damage experienced in the UK from windstorms Desmond and Eva up to £1.2 billion ($1.8 billion), while storm Frank hitting the UK today will raise the toll further.

Estimates of insurance and reinsurance industry losses from the recent UK flooding caused by storms Desmond and Eva are rising, with KPMG suggesting re/insurers should expect a £1.5 billion ($2.23 billion) hit.

Flood Re, the UK’s government backed reinsurance scheme to help make flood insurance more accessible to property owners, has secured its first tranche of retrocession, securing £1.29 billion of cover from six traditional counterparties.

The UK’s new government backed reinsurance scheme, Flood Re, is planning to buy £2.1 billion ($3.27 billion) of retrocessional reinsurance cover, which is likely to include collateralised or ILS markets, adding another welcome source of new demand for capacity.

The UK government’s planned state-backed flood reinsurance pool, Flood Re, has published a tender for retrocessional reinsurance broker services, detailing that it is open to alternative risk transfer or alternative (capital) market solutions.

The UK’s planned state-backed flood reinsurance pool, Flood Re, could leave UK insurance companies more exposed than before as the facility relies on the government keeping its promises on flood defenses and could raise exposure to climate change, said S&P.